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	Church Debate Gets Heated; Mass Suspended at Red Springs Church By Michael Futch Fayetteville Observer August 20, 2009 http://www.fayobserver.com/Articles/2009/08/20/926220 RED SPRINGS - There's dissension in the church. Three days after being padlocked out of his parish, Father Walter Ospina returned to give the Wednesday evening Mass at the Iglesia Catolica San Andres on the outskirts of this rural Robeson County town. By order of the Bishop of the Raleigh Diocese, it will be the last Mass held in the church until a review of any parishioner's concerns is complete. Earlier this week, St. Pauls Police Chief Tommy Hagens said the Robeson County District Attorney's Office is looking into an allegation made against Ospina. Assistant District Attorney Joe Osman, who is handling the case, said Wednesday it remains "in investigative mode." Osman declined to discuss particulars involving the case. He said no charges have been filed against Ospina, who has denied wrongdoing. Temporary locks had been removed Sunday from the doors of San Andres, or St. Andrew Catholic Church. Four Red Springs Police officers stood watch under a large oak tree Wednesday evening in case things got heated as they had during a Sunday morning protest in the parking lot. Inside, the church was filled to near capacity with two factions from the Spanish-speaking community: members of the parish and community who are urging the Raleigh Diocese to remove Ospina as their priest; and another group of about 65, largely from Lumberton and St. Pauls, who support the Colombian-born Roman Catholic pastor. Ospina, who is 33, has been priest of the Red Springs church for nearly 13 months. He celebrates the Spanish Mass at St. Francis De Sales Catholic Church in Lumberton and the missionary station of St. Andrew in St. Pauls. Ospina entered the sanctuary Wednesday evening with Monsignor David Brockman, former pastor at Saint Patrick Catholic Church in Fayetteville, and Carlos Arce, vicar for Hispanics in the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh. It was a show of support from the diocese. The diocese has stated it has no reason to remove Ospina and that he will remain pastor of St. Andrew where he has been assigned to serve the Hispanic population of Robeson County. After a subdued, weary-looking Ospina delivered Mass, Brockman read from a prepared statement issued by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Raleigh. He told the congregation of about 250 people that Ospina "remains in good standing and has my support and confidence," according to an English translation of the statement. But because of the concerns of some parishioners, celebration of any regularly scheduled Masses at St. Andrew will be postponed, Brockman said. A facilitator will be appointed this week, he said, and "will gather together with Father Ospina and the lay leadership to address each of the concerns in a timely matter." Following the service, three churchgoers who want Ospina removed from the parish said Brockman ignored a letter that they requested he read to the congregation. "He didn't pay attention to us," said 27-year-old Julio Sanchez of Red Springs. Part of that letter reads, "... we do not understand how after so many problems of communication, mistreat and injustice which are well known by the 'Dioceses' of Raleigh, the Rev. Ospina continues oppressing a community." Frank Morock, who is spokesman for the Raleigh Diocese, said Ospina will remain pastor of the parish during the fact-gathering process. "I'm speechless in the way I think this is an injustice (that) they're staging here," said parishioner Maria Perez, who is 25 and a 14-year member of St. Andrew. But Lourdez Salazar was among the flock who disagreed. Salazar, who is 29 and from Lumberton, called Ospina a spiritual man who loves the Eucharist. "We worked with him," she said. "He worked with us. They don't have what they want. They want him out. They don't want his service. We do." Many Hispanic Roman Catholics who worship at the Red Springs church are unhappy with Ospina. He does not, they say, make time for them, he's disrespectful and a poor communicator. And, they say, he's not active in the the Hispanic community like his predecessor, Carlos Arce. "I cannot receive the body of Christ and the blood of Christ with his dirty hands," said Gabriela Sanchez, who is 22. "I'll have to go to another parish." Fourteen-year-old Ana Martinez disagreed. "They're wrong, man," she said. "They don't like him." Staff writer Michael Futch can be reached at futchm@fayobserver.com or 486-3529.
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