Ten Florida priests have accused their bishop of being a bully and have forwarded their complaints to the apostolic nuncio in Washington.
The priests, in Venice diocese, accuse Bishop Frank Dewane of ruling by “intimidations, the use of fear, shaming, bullying and other non-Christian behaviours”.
They accuse Bishop Dewane of “outbursts of rage, use of blasphemous language, [and] despotic demands based not on reason or logic”.
The letter, dated January 17, also complains that the bishop ignores or violates canon law, abandons consultative processes and has not properly disclosed property transactions.
The priests have stayed anonymous, but two have spoken with media.
They requested that the nuncio keep their identities secret.
But they are believed to be pastors and administrators with considerable experience.
The priests said they had lost confidence in Bishop Dewane.
They also claimed other priests agreed with the letter’s sentiments, but were too scared of reprisals to add their signatures.
The diocese is served by 111 diocesan priests and several parishes are run by religious orders.
A Venice diocese statement defended Bishop Dewane.
The statement described the letter as “a clear attempt to maliciously and publically damage the reputation of Bishop Dewane and the Diocese of Venice”.
Bishop Dewane said he has had expressions of support from his priests since the contents of the letter were made public.
But he denied that there is a clear split among his clergy.
Venice diocese finance officials also defended the transparency of transactions and propriety of spending.
Bishop Dewane told the National Catholic Reporter the portion of the letter that “really hurt” was when the priests said that he is not doing what Pope Francis wants.
“I think I’ve listened to what this Holy Father had to say, and I’ve grown in that time,” the bishop said.
Bishop Dewane recently convened a meeting of all his priests in response to the letter, but he says he doesn’t anticipate doing anything differently.
The nuncio, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, had forwarded a copy of the letter to Bishop Dewane, but it did not include the signatories.
Sources