Text of Rev. Michael Kelly Letter to Bishop Stephen Blaire

By Michael Kelly
Modesto Bee
April 16, 2012

http://www.modbee.com/2012/04/16/2160600/text-of-rev-michael-kelly-letter.html

Dear Bishop Blaire,

By the time you read this letter I will be in Ireland with my family. I am sorry for any difficulty this may cause the Diocese, but my health can't take it anymore. I have sat back and listened to the vicious false allegations that have been spread about me for the past 4 ½ years, and my health has suffered greatly because of it. I have spent the last 39 years of my life serving God and the people of the various parishes of the Diocese of Stockton. Now I have not only lost my ministry, but this whole thing has taken its toll on my very being. I have lost everything I have worked for because of these false allegations.

I am mentally and physically spent. The stress of it all is causing my health to decline daily. Since the verdict I am on two kinds of medication for my stomach, I am having chronic bowel problems, I am getting an average of one hour of sleep a night, and I am losing weight at an alarming rate.

I hope you will understand that right now I need to be with my family, whose support and love for me is unconditional. I also feel at this juncture that I need to begin the healing process in an environment where I can get the medical care I need with my family nearby. Your faith in me has been unwavering, and for that I will be eternally grateful. I will have the same e-mail address for purposes of continued communication.