BEAL CITY, Mich. (AP) — A Catholic priest has resigned as pastor of a church in a small central Michigan community, the result of weeks of controversy following his publicly expressed regret that a gay author had read a book to preschool children.
Gay rights activists and others have held regular protests outside St. Joseph the Worker Church in Beal City, 85 miles (136.7 kilometers) north of Lansing, the state capital.
The Rev. Thomas Held’s departure as pastor was announced this week by the bishop of the Saginaw Catholic Diocese, The Morning Sun reported.
Held “has come to the decision that it would be impossible for him to bring unity to the parish,” said Bishop Robert Gruss, who called it an “unfortunate situation.”
There has been tension since Held went on Facebook on March 13 to respond to a parish preschool visit days earlier by local author Dominic Thrasher, who read from his book, “The Adventures of Cece and the Sheriff.” The main characters are puppies.
Europe discards Arsenal and Liverpool shift focus to EPL title race
Danny Dyer horrified to learn son Arty, nine, is a fan of controversial influencer and self
Paul McCartney's psychedelic Wings 1972 double
Thailand and New Zealand vow to strengthen economic ties as they set lofty new trade goals
Taylor Swift 'calls out Kadarius Toney' on The Tortured Poets Department song about Travis Kelce
Virginia lawmakers set to take up Youngkin's proposed amendments, vetoes in reconvened session
Who will win the NHL's top awards this season? Here are AP's predictions
US court rejects a request by tribes to block $10B energy transmission project in Arizona
A man gets 19 years for a downtown St. Louis crash that cost a teen volleyball player her legs
A storm dumps record rain across the desert nation of UAE and floods the Dubai airport
Rangers option rookie Jack Leiter 1 day after he allowed 7 runs in his major league debut
Reynaldo López pitches 6 scoreless innings, Braves beat Astros 6