A followup on yesterday’s posting,from MichiganLive:
Christ the King Church in Ann Arbor will no longer offer concealed pistol license (CPL) classes, the church’s priest announced on Facebook Tuesday afternoon. Edward Fride had sent out a letter defending his decision to offer the book-based portion of the course—not the live fire instruction—at the church after some parishioners expressed concern. The Detroit Free Press reported Monday that the Lansing Catholic Bishop Earl Boyea said in a statement that guns and gun lessons do not belong in a Catholic Church. The Diocese of Lansing oversees the Christ the King Church in Ann Arbor and Fride said in his Facebook post that he would respect the bishop’s decision. “As our Bishop, he is responsible for setting policy for our parishes and he has decided and publicly stated that CPL classes are not appropriate on Church property,” he wrote. “That is his call to make and we will obviously follow his policy on this and on all decisions he makes as he shepherds this Diocese.”
Fr. Fride’s statement, from his parish website:
I would like to make the following statement in relationship to the CPL controversy currently in the media:The Lord Jesus has blessed us greatly in calling Bishop Earl Boyea to serve us as the fifth Bishop of Lansing. I have been and continue to be very grateful for his ministry, especially his great work in leading the Diocese in the fulfillment of the Holy Fathers’ call to the New Evangelization that all people would hear the message of the saving love of the Lord Jesus Christ. As our Bishop, he is responsible for setting policy for our parishes and he has decided and publicly stated that CPL classes are not appropriate on Church property. That is his call to make and we will obviously follow his policy on this and on all decisions he makes as he shepherds this Diocese. No parish is an island unto itself and no priest operates on his own. I am his priest and I will continue to serve him to the best of my ability.Fr. Ed Fride
And today we celebrate...