Fr. Gantley Letter Writting Campaign

Here are some further details in the case of Fr. Mark Gantley's sudden dismissal from St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church.

After Fr. Gantley was told that his "services were no longer needed in the Diocese" a letter writing campaign to the Bishop was launched by supporters of Fr. Gantley. This campaign generated an estimated 800-1,000 letters (or more). Supporters of Fr. Gantley had circulated this letter, encouraging parishioners to "let their voices be heard". The only response from the Bishop was the same basic form letter to anyone who had written to him, a copy of which can be read here.

Almost all of the St. Francis ministry heads signed this letter in support of Fr. Gantley. The names and signatures of ministry heads have been removed because I did not obtain permission to publish them. I deleted the 3rd page of this letter because it contained signatures only and was not part of the text of the letter.

In addition this letter was sent to all the priests in the Diocese, appealing for their help or intercession. Sadly, only two priests responded.

The letter writing campaign made it clear that a solid number of parishioners wanted Fr. Gantley to stay and that they approved very highly of his administration abilities (those same abilities which were put into question by the Bishop).

According to this timeline of events provided by the Letter Campaign organizers, Fr. Gantley was ejected from both his office at the parish and his home at the rectory on the very day of his dismissal. It was conveyed to me by individuals close to Fr. Gantley that he was thrown out without any assistance, guidance or support whatsoever by the Diocese.

I was also provided a short history of what has occurred from Fr. Mark's removal until now is as follows:

Just after Fr. Gantley left, Msgr. Kevin McAuliffe was put in as Administrator pro tem, with Fr. John Assalone as Parochial Vicar. This temporary arrangement soon gave way to an arrangement that was portrayed by the Bishop to be more permanent, with Fr. Charles Urnick as Parish Administrator for both St. Francis and his home parish in Laughlin, Nevada and Fr. John Assalone continuing as Parochial Vicar.

But just a few short months later, Fr. Urnick had resigned, citing health problems and stress from running two parishes. This is when Fr. Steven Hoffer was brought in from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and was named Parochial Vicar while Fr. John assumed his position as Parish Administrator.

I have received a lot of comments and information since I have put up the initial Fr. Gantley post. It has even attracted Fr. Gantley himself to become a follower to this site. Fr. Gantley's profile states:

"My reputation was unfairly damaged as a result of my removal by Bishop Pepe. I joined as a follower of this blog after a message was posted about me to let people know that I am still a priest in good standing who has returned to my home Diocese of Syracuse and am currently assigned to a small rural parish. Pepe told me that the reason why I was removed from St. Francis was due to my administration of the parish -- the very thing for which many supporters praised me. Good administrators often have vocal critics."

The issue of his dismissal continues to be one that inspires strong feelings in all who knew Fr. Gantley, and they continue to seek answers to the many unanswered questions surrounding this situation.

What Happened to Fr. Gantley?

Fr. Mark Gantley, a canon lawyer and EWTN Catholic Expert who came on as the Parish Administrator of St. Francis of Assisi in 2009, was dismissed suddenly from his position there in June 2010.

Astounded parishioners were given no reason for the dismissal. Many considered Fr. Gantley a very solid priest with efficient administration skills. He had a policy of clarity and openness regarding parish finances (one of his first actions was to publish the parish accounting information in a bulletin insert).

After many inquiries, Fr. Gantley eventually published this letter in the bulletin attempt to answer the questions, although it contained no actual details of his dismissal. The same weekend that this appeared it in the bulletin, a group of concerned St. Francis parishioners circulated an open letter that they had written, encouraging them to let their voices be heard and to tell the Bishop they did not want Fr. Gantley to go. Just days after Fr. Gantley's letter to the parish, the Bishop terminated Fr. Gantley's parish duties on the spot, leaving the parish in turmoil.

After several weeks, the Bishop finally responded with this letter to parishioners.  In a diocese that is very short of priests, why would the Bishop send away a priest that on the surface has done nothing wrong?  Maybe after the financial audit is complete, then a different story may appear but if the audit shows that no funds were mishandled then this just adds to the mystery.

Note: I have just heard from a parishioner at St. Frances that Fr. Urnick is stepping down as Parish Administrator and Fr. John Assalone, who was just ordained to the priesthood last year on May 14, 2009, is now going to be the new Parish Administrator. He and Steven Hoffer, a recent addition to St.Francis (and to the priesthood, being ordained only in 2005), are now in charge of this large parish and responsible for building a church and grade school. This seems like a big task for two priests that only have six years of combined experience.