Bend Priest Appeals Bishop's Decision to Remove Him from Church

The Republic
November 4, 2013

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/c0d94a9a0439461bb14c95fe64a98651/OR--Bend-Priest-Appeal

A priest removed from his post as pastor of a Bend church is appealing his case to the Vatican.

The Rev. James Radloff, leader of the Bend church for nearly two years, was stripped of his position Oct. 1 by Bishop Liam Cary of the Diocese of Baker.

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But in a letter to members of the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Cary said that Radloff had circulated a petition in the church protesting against the transfer of another priest, the paper said.

Cary called that a serious error in judgment.

"He actively recruited you to stand with him against your bishop," Cary wrote the congregation. "That is not the way to build up the unity of the Church"

Radloff has sent a letter to the Congregation for Clergy in Rome, requesting his removal be reversed and the reasons for the dismissal be made public, said the Rev. Tom Faucher, an Idaho priest advising him.

The Congregation for Clergy serves a role similar to a court of appeals within the church, Faucher said. It consists of Catholic clergy members and laypeople appointed by the pope, he said.

Faucher says Cary followed the correct process under canon law for removing a priest, but he said he and Radloff believe the reasons Cary provided for removing him will not stand up to public scrutiny.

Out of respect for the process, Radloff has chosen not to disclose the reasons that Cary gave him, Faucher said.