There comes a time when parishioners must call out priests, pastors, and even bishops on their ignominious behaviors. Being dismissive, ignoring parishioners’ flagrant opposition to Catholic Church teaching, evading or, worse, retaliating against the whistleblower, lying, unjustly protecting other clergy, and prioritizing headcount above preserving the Faith, are some of those behaviors. Victims of the Church’s sex abuse scandal would likely agree.
A whistleblower with perseverance is often needed. Look up synonyms for whistleblower, and you will be hard pressed to find a complimentary one. More readily you will find “snitch,” “rat,” “big-mouth,” and “betrayer.” Those words cause damage in whistleblower’s personal and professional relationships.
I am not talking about Judas Iscariot who outright betrayed Jesus for money. I am talking about upright, concerned parishioners who step forward on behalf of the Church. They frequently incur hostility from other parishioners and clergy, and often disappear from the parish, and even the Church. Breaks with family and employers are common. Many also develop significant mental health issues, beginning if their higher ups sidestep the concern brought forward, by claiming the whistleblower is unstable. [1] The virtue in a whistleblower’s attempt to right wrongs is painfully lost in labels like “informant,” “big-mouth,” and “betrayer.”
I had no idea I would be a whistleblower when I met my Melkite (Eastern Catholic) pastor to ask why he was not withholding the Eucharist from a particular parishioner. After all, this woman publicly claimed her ProChoice identity in a ProLife thread on the parish Facebook Page, and in parish emails. She also publicly vowed to fight me tooth and nail about the issue. And, she claimed other ProChoice Melkites exist—and are proud of their beliefs.
Our pastor oversaw and participated in our communications, thereby being a witness as it unfolded. This ProChoice woman’s status in our citywide community made the need to correct and educate her, more compelling. She counseled female teens, and women, potentially facing crisis pregnancies and considering abortion. She also gave a public talk at our parish without apprising the committee of her ProChoice affiliation.m
I thought surely my pastor would be grateful for this pertinent information. I was stunned when he told me he could never withhold the Eucharist from anyone. Even Eastern and Western Canon Law forbids dissenters from receiving the Eucharist. [3]
I reminded him: This ProChoice woman is a public figure in the community, openly sharing her parish membership and openly condoning abortion, which the Catholic Church—and our Faith—strongly oppose. My pastor appeared unmoved and I wondered if he were ProChoice also.
I sought more prayer and consults until too much time lapsed with no results. I wrote to the current bishop. He never replied to me with his thoughts. The situation was truly a scandal. I was embarrassed for the parish and Church—and for Jesus Himself. After more than ten years of service, I finally stepped down from my work for the parish and Eparchy (akin to Diocese).
As a well-known figure in the parish, I wrote to several parishioners explaining my actions. I included my research. Only two of those parishioners directly responded to me. They both supported and encouraged me in my efforts. Unfortunately, the intensity of my concern may have tainted my message for others, who became angry and distanced themselves from me. I felt isolated. Was it my message, my tone, or a combination of these two? I never knew.
I became disheartened.
Meanwhile, my pastor continued giving the Eucharist to this actively ProChoice woman. His lack of action with her scandal was indirectly condoning the killing of babies in the womb. He did not like hearing that. Again, I wondered if he were ProChoice.
The ProChoice woman eventually responded to my letter with one of her own. It was addressed to the parish’s legal entity and copied to the bishop, the pastor, and me. However, I never received my copy directly from her, even after asking her for it twice. In her letter, she said she wanted the bishop, the pastor, or me, to issue a public correction of items she thought were false or defamatory in my letter to some of the parishioners. She also explained she will not participate in the ProLife movement because she advocates for human and reproductive rights. She then set forth the ProChoice position, saying it advocates for ongoing legalization of abortion. Her disclosures confirmed the soundness of my whistleblowing.
Continuing in her letter, the ProChoice woman repeated her claim that other Melkite ProChoicers exist (even more reason for our clergy to uphold our Faith). She presented an ultimatum: She gave the bishop, the pastor, and me, ten (10) business days or she would be compelled to take legal action. Halfway into the ten days, my pastor suggested that he and I meet. He did not mention the ProChoice woman’s letter, but when we met, he offered me a copy.
In our meeting, my pastor informed me that the bishop and he decided I should write the response to this woman—with his oversight. Given the tight deadline, I declined. He became unsettled and alluded to me being excommunicated. I reminded him that he could not excommunicate me. His facial expression changed to one of realizing I was correct. He then alluded that the bishop would certainly excommunicate me. I reminded him that the bishop could not excommunicate me either and I remained firm in the face of his inexplicable hostility.
I summarized my thoughts about the meeting and the situation at hand in a letter to my pastor and bishop. Among other things, I included a suggestion to establish a prolife education and ministry program in our parish and in the Eparchy. Neither of them responded to me.
In the end, which was five month’s after I first approached him, my pastor composed his own response to this woman’s letter. Whether he did this on his own, or because he was obeying an order from the bishop, is unclear. He copied it to all parishioners without mentioning the threat of legal action by the ProChoice woman. He also omitted dates. Their omission obscured the timeline for him and the bishop to take responsibility. His use of generic, broad-sweep descriptors masked the accountability of their actions. He averred that he does not agree with the woman’s views on abortion, which oppose Catholic Church teachings.
He said “after consulting the bishop,” he decided to withhold the Eucharist from her. “Consulting the bishop” is one of those broad-sweeping qualifiers that hides my pastor’s ultimate motivation for his action. As before, was his action stemming from his own free will, or was it stemming from being obedient to an order from the bishop to withhold the Eucharist from the ProChoice woman? After all, he had told me that he could never withhold the Eucharist from anyone.
Multiple times in his letter, the pastor mentioned that my letter to some parishioners could be construed as demeaning to the woman of concern. I get it. I was the whistleblower. He was likely accommodating her to avoid legal entanglement. It stung nonetheless. I sought spiritual solace by asking Jesus to unite my suffering with His salvific suffering on the Cross, to bring about conversions for all involved.
Concurrently, I learned of a public fundraiser—for Planned Parenthood—on the ProChoice woman’s personal Facebook page. Planned Parenthood is the largest single provider of abortions in the United States.[4] She had given the fundraiser the name, “BANS OFF MY BODY” [all caps hers], a catch phrase used by Planned Parenthood after several states enacted bans on abortion. Some donations had already been received. I was again validated on the soundness of my whistleblowing.
The ProChoice woman quickly responded to our pastor’s letter and copied all parishioners. In her reply, she reiterated the ProChoice position and affirmed to all of us that she is ProChoice. I felt further strengthened in my position.
The ProChoice woman mentioned another item. She said she emailed the bishop and requested a meeting with him. She said he did not respond to her. He did not respond to me either, so one wonders: Was he not making laity a priority? Was he covering up for his pastor? Was he not wanting to be involved? Or was it some combination of these? A brief explanation directly from him would have allayed, or maybe eliminated, our dismay.
Many people misunderstood my motive for all of this. Some suggested I should feel settled because “I got what I wanted.” A Melkite Tribunal priest, from whom I sought clarification of general Tribunal protocol, and who said he heard of the scandal from our former pastor, even suggested that. This myopic view commonly undermines whistleblowers, who are often treated as being self-centered. For me, my motive originated from a higher place. At each step, I talked with the wise people supporting me, and I did my best to discern what Jesus would have wanted, as in WWJD. I then did my best to carry that out.
Ultimately, my pastor and bishop did the right thing, but taking five months to do it was reprehensible. The ProChoice woman and her parents withdrew from the parish. I eventually did the same [due to backlash and mistrust]. Remaining parishioners must now rebuild their trust with the pastor and bishop, and each other.
With no known commitment to a program for prolife education and ministry in the parish, or in the Melkite Catholic Eparchy, prochoice ideology can continue to fester, and even take root, among clergy and parishioners. We all must therefore remain vigilant, and prepare ourselves to be whistleblowers if necessary.
"I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out (Luke 19:40)!”
Kathleen Laplante is an author, a mother of two, and a long time revert to the Catholic Faith. She writes articles about Catholic Teachings. She speaks as a member of the Catholic Church, not as the Catholic Church Herself.
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REFERENCES
[1] “Whistleblower,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistleblower, June 20, 2020.
[2] Elya, John Adel.“WHAT IS THE TEACHING ON ABORTION? WHAT ABOUT POLITICIANS WHO SUPPORT PRO-ABORTION STANCES AND LAWS?” https://melkite.org/eparchy/bishop-john/what-is-the-teaching-on-abortion-what-about-politicians-who-support-pro-abortion-stances-and-laws, February 25, 2003.
[3] a) Canon Law Society of America. “Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches: New EnglishTranslation,” 2001, p. 272, Washington, DC. "CAN. 712†Those who are publicly unworthy are forbidden to receive the Divine Eucharist."
b) The Vatican. “Code of Canon Law“ (Western Churches, i.e., Roman Catholic), http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_p39.HTM, July 20, 2020. "CAN. 915† Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion.”
[4] Rovner, Julie. “Planned Parenthood: A Thorn In Abortion Foes' Sides, https://www.npr.org/2011/04/13/135354952/planned-parenthood-makes-abortion-foes-see-red, April 12, 2011.
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