You may rememberthis item from a few months back. Now, there’s more.
A former Seton Hall University chaplain who said he was fired from that position because he supported an organization opposed to anti-gay bullying has been appointed to a new post in the Archdiocese of Newark, church officials confirmed Monday. The Rev. Warren R. Hall will be installed as parochial vicar at Sts. Peter and Paul parish in Hoboken on Aug. 15, a parish spokesman said, adding that Hall is a longtime friend of the pastor. Hall has posted on social media sites that he was removed from his job at Seton Hall earlier this year because of a photo he posted on Facebook supporting the NOH8 Campaign, an organization that says on its website that it promotes “marriage, gender and human equality.” After he lost his job, Hall publicly stated that he is gay, adding that he has kept his priestly vow of celibacy. The priest said in a July letter to Pope Francis, which he posted on the Internet, that he has been without an income since he was fired and that the Newark Archbishop, John J. Myers, told him in a letter that he was removed as chaplain because his social media posts had “raised serious questions in my mind about where you stand with reference to some important Catholic teachings.” James Goodness, a spokesman for the Archdiocese, contradicted the priest’s assertions on Monday, saying Hall has been on six weeks of “paid vacation” and that he was removed from Seton Hall because “his assignment was ending” and it had nothing to do with anything posted on the Internet. Goodness said the Archdiocese has no problem with the priest taking a stand against discrimination but acknowledged that Hall’s support of the NOH8 Campaign “was an area of conflict” because of the group’s advocacy for same-sex marriage. He added that the issue was “resolved” late last year when Hall removed the post from his Facebook page.
And today we celebrate...