KC follow-up: "Jim decided that he could not just go through the motions of the ordination rite…"

Following the news I posted yesterday, about the deacon candidate who withdrew from his scheduled ordination, a reader alerted me to this posting below — the remarks the candidate’s pastor made at mass last weekend:

Jim decided that he could not just go through the motions of the ordination rite in which he would have to kneel before the Bishop and promise to respect and obey a person he no longer had respect for. And I say better that this faith community has lost a deacon than to just have one more person lose their integrity. Someone better than I once said that evil exists in the world because good people stand idly by and say and do nothing. So I say to Jim — and I hope it is with the backing of this community — thanks, Jim, for leading the way in not standing idly by.

Jim from the very beginning, and Cindy, almost from the very beginning, have been members of Holy Family. And so it is with a bit of pride that I hope in some small way it is due to the fact that Sunday after Sunday they were nurtured and formed by the Word of God in this place and were constantly being comforted and challenged by us – and this is what gave Jim the strength and conviction to do what he did. So standing among the poor, losing someone you love, and making a tough decision are all ways that we can tell if we stand for the things Jesus stood for: compassion, understanding, integrity, acceptance, forgiveness and mercy.

There’s more at the link.