BEAL CITY, Mich. — Parents and parishioners of St. Joseph the Worker Church and School are calling for the resignation of their priest following his apparent comments made about a gay author, citing concerns over Father Tom Held's "ability to represent the values" of the Northern Michigan church.
On Friday, the release of a one-page letter detailed the father as someone who had "fallen short" in his tenure as parish priest, partly due to a "lack of engagement and support for the children of St. Joseph" and interactions that "left members of the community feeling unheard or marginalized."
"I think Father's job is to welcome everybody to the community," said Kate Johnson, a parent and parishioner. "Because of [Father's] comment, it has gone wild. It didn't need to go wild."
Two days earlier, Fr. Held had posted from the church Facebook account, appearing to apologize for the school's hosting of Dominic Thrasher— an openly gay Mount Pleasant author— for a book reading to a Pre-K classroom.
The guest did "not represent the values of our Catholic faith," Fr. Held wrote. "As your pastor I will see to it that a new vetting policy is put in place in order to minimize anything of the sort from happening again in the future."
In the since-deleted post, the priest also noted the book, titled The Adventures of Cece and The Sheriff was— to his knowledge— "appropriate."
"He just came to talk," Johnson said about the book reading, part of St. Joseph's celebration of National Reading Month. "I don't think it was necessary to call him out for that."
In a Thursday interview with FOX 17, Thrasher said he did the reading to "share the joy and love I have for what I created. Why my sexuality has anything to do with that, it makes me mad."
Describing the day he read the priest's post as one of the worst in his life, he said Fr. Held "made me feel like I'm a predator or a convict or something."
READ MORE: Openly gay Mt. Pleasant author crushed by apparent comments from local pastor
For safety reasons, St. Joseph also closed on Thursday because of harsh online reaction to the apology. On Friday, 79 of its 92 students to stayed home, including Johnson's children.
"I think a resignation or removal is necessary, the only outcome that can happen," Johnson said. "This is just what pushed parents and the parishioners over the top."
For several years, Johnson says the St. Joseph community has sent complaints about the priest to the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw "without avail."
"In addition, Fr. Held's demeanor and approach to community relations has been widely criticized," said the call for resignation from the communty.
"They have not done anything or changed the way he structures church," said Johnson about the diocese.
In a letter released Friday, the Saginaw diocese said it had been in contact with the parish and school leadership.
"Please know your community has been and is in my prayers," wrote Supt. of Schools Cormac Lynn, mentioning he would be in Beal City on Monday and that Bishop Robert Gruss is also "very open" to meeting with parishioners and had reached out directly to Thrasher.
"I would like to see the faith restored in our community," Johnson said. "We need someone that can bring us all back together, not cast a dark cloud."
What led to the call for Fr. Held's resignation may impact the school's bottom line, too, as Johnson says donors of an April fundraising auction have pulled out in protest, wanting to see a leadership change at the top.
"We want him to be removed," Johnson said. "That way, we can move forward."
In a phone call request for comment on Saturday, St. Joseph the Worker Church did not immediately respond.
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