1997 Dec 7 – Fr Frank Resigns Pastorship (Bulletin Letters)

1997 Dec 7 – Fr Frank Resigns Pastorship (Bulletin Letters

“A herald’s voice in the desert, crying,. “Make ready the way of the Lord, clear him a straight path”  Lk. 3/4

Fr. Frank Resigns Pastorship

December 7, 1997

Dear Bp Charron and Priest Personnel Board members

I’m submitting my resignation as pastor of Holy Trinity of SE Warren Co., effective June of 1998.  Come April of 1998, I will have fulfilled the pledge I made to you in my March 13, 1995 letter from Yankton Federal Prison Camp, in which I wrote I would “forgo doing any kind of civil disobedience at Offutt Air Force Base for the next three years”.

I made this pledge to assure you that you could count on me to take a new assignment and wait three years before I put myself at risk of being imprisoned, again.   Those three years are up in April, 1998, and I am currently working with others in planning a serious nonviolent direct action witness some tome after Easter ( April 12th).  You will probably need to find a priest to cover for my absence from the parish soon after Easter.

I believe this letter of resignation at this time is the best thing I can do for the people of Holy Trinity of SE Warren Co.  They are fully aware of my intentions and the probable consequences.  Resigning now gives you time to find a suitable replacement for me and assures the people of Holy Trinity of SE Warren Co. their pastoral needs will be met in my absence.

I regret that Fr. Larry Morlan and my offer to do Team Ministry in the Diocese was not accepted at this time.  I hope that we can revisit this idea when I return to the diocese at the end of my likely imprisonment.  Your brother in Christ;

Fr. Frank Cordaro

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I want to make it very clear, I am not quitting the priesthood!  I’m resigning my assignment, not the priesthood.

               The reason I’m resigning now, is because in December, the Priest Personnel Board begins to make the list of all the parishes that will be open for new priests next June.  I’m resigning now so Holy Trinity can be on that list.

I must admit that I wrote my resignation letter with a lot of mixed feeling.  I really love being your pastor.  There is much to be said for staying on, continuing the good ministry and peace and justice work that I am doing.

Yet, it is not enough for me right now.  Down deep, where it really matters in my heart of hearts, I know I’m following a path that the lord has set out for me.  I feel I must follow this path.

My decision to write the above letter came only after a great deal of painful prayer and anguished discernment.

At this time, I beg from you some measure of understanding and prayerful support. I will, of course, keep you informed of how the Bishop and the Personnel Board respond to my letter.

There is a lot that can happen between now and Easter.  I welcome any feed back, comments or questions that you might have.