USA: Fr Bill Rowe to appeal to Rome

Fr Bill Rowe

A 72 year-old American priest who was told to resign from the parish where he had served for 17 years, because he was in the habit of adding some of his own words to prayers when he celebrates Mass, has said that he will appeal to Rome.

Fr Bill Rowe, pastor of St Mary's Parish in Mt Carmel, Illinois, was told by his local bishop, Bishop Edward Braxton to resign. Initially Fr Bill said he would retire, but appeals from hundreds of parishioners and a petition which has attracted more than 1,500 names, Fr Bill said he was planning to appeal is to Cardinal Raymond Burke in Rome.

It seems that a small number of parishioners also complained about the fact that Fr Bill recently blessed two civil unions between divorced couples who had not received formal annulments from the church.

Fr Rowe said: "They knew I couldn't do the regular thing, so in both cases the gesture to keep them within the fold of the church was better than forcing them to go somewhere else."

Rowe is expected to leave his parish in July. But many members of his 450 strong parish want him to stay. Recently, more than 75 people made the two hour drive from Mt. Carmel to demonstrate outside St Peter Cathedral in Belleville to support him.

Read more here: www.bnd.com/2012/04/25/2154358/bishop-to-ad-libbing-priest-only.html#storylink=cpy