What Has Happened
We are privileged here in Whatcom County to be hosting Fr. Paul Keller, CMF over the holidays. Fr. Paul is the Provincial Superior of the Claretian Order of Priests, to which also belong Fr. Gerardo and Fr. Manuel. As Provincial Superior, Fr. Paul oversees all of the Claretian priests in the USA and Canada, and he is here to check in with and take care of the dozen or so Claretians in the Vancouver, B.C. and Whatcom County area. We are blessed and honored to have him spend so much time with us and his priests.
Unfortunately, Fr. Paul is now being assaulted online. Early this week, Fr. Paul was grocery shopping in Lynden when a woman took a picture of him with her phone and accused him of following her around the store. She promptly posted this picture to Facebook and the post has gotten a lot of play in different Lynden Facebook groups. At this point, these groups seem convinced that Fr. Paul is stalking half the city of Lynden and is a long-sought local murder. The situation is becoming absurd.
Why I am Posting
I am posting here for three reasons:
- I want Catholics in Whatcom County to know that Fr. Paul has my full confidence and that of his religious order. Every priest who celebrates public ministry while traveling in the dioceses of the United States must have his superior send a letter to the hosting dioceses stating that the priest is in good standing (including not being under active investigation for civil or canonical crimes). Priests must submit to regular background checks to maintain this “good standing” status.
If Fr. Paul had been credibly accused of committing a crime, the Archdiocese of Seattle and his religious order would immediately have implemented the Dallas Charter requirements – removing him from ministry while an investigation proceeded. But going grocery shopping is not a crime, even when someone pulls out their phone and wants to make it so.
Anyone in the Archdiocese of Seattle who believes that a priest has committed a crime is encouraged to contact the Archdiocesan abuse hotline: https://archseattle.org/protect-and-heal/protect-and-heal-victim-assistance/ - I want to encourage everyone – Catholics and otherwise – not to engage with posts like this on Facebook. I do not know why the woman at the store felt the way she did – she may have a traumatic past, or experience bouts of paranoia, or have had a negative experience with a man who looked like Fr. Paul. But I do know that Facebook rewards engagement, regardless of veracity or motivation, and the more we engage the more we empower the darkest impulses of humanity. Even fighting back against this on Facebook causes the post to get more views and publicity. Just do not engage!
- I am specifically posting here, on my personal website, because we do not want to make this into a bigger deal than it already is. We need a public statement online, but we want to restrict it to those already in the know, again to limit engagement. We do not feel this merits an e-mail to all parishioners or a run in the bulletin. But if anyone has questions, you can link them here or send them to me.
Final Thoughts
Please pray for Fr. Paul. And pray for the woman who made this post.
Lord knows that the priesthood does not have a spotless history, and we have learned to investigate carefully any credible accusation of a crime. And, again, if that were the case here, we would immediately implement our procedures.
But we also know that innocent priests have a target on their back, from the Evil One and from anti-Catholic elements in American society. When the simple act of grocery shopping blows up this fast on Facebook, I generally suspect that the solution is probably prayer and fasting because there are elements here better address by St. Michael than by a keyboard warrior. So, in your mercy, please pray for all involved.
Fr. Moore 