Is it wrong to have a petition for a Priest?

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At my parish we have a visiting priest who is retired. Upon entering the Church there was a lady standing there with a chart asking people to sign a petition to keep Fr … at our parish. I felt a little strange about this asking myself if a democratic vote on the this is ok? I don’t know the reason to why this retired priest is no longer at my parish but I trust that the bishop or whoever is in charge decided to make the right choice. My question however is it wrong for this lady to stir up the pot by asking parishioners to sign their names as soon as the enter Church? I don’t understand what exactly a petition will be able to do in a situation like this? I felt as if this type of thing needs to handle outside the Church because people aren’t there for that but for God. Any thoughts on this? Confused on what I should say or do the next time this occurs. A part of me feels like mentioning this to my parish priest but I also don’t want to cause a fuss about it. Please help.:confused:
 
It is the wrong attitude to put your faith and trust in human servants of the Church. A true Catholic will follow any duly appointed priest or bishop and love him for his performance in persona Christi rather than any personal attributes he may possess. We are all sinful people, even priests, and a sinful minister is still capable of confecting the Eucharist, and granting absolution, etc.

A petition just shows that you have put your faith in a human being and that you are second-guessing the bishop’s carefully-considered decisions.
 
What if anything should I do if asked about this again by this lady? I personally feel it’s distracting. What would you do?
 
I would just tell her politely and firmly that you do not want to sign the petition. You do not have to elaborate on your reasons. There is no need to unnecessarily start an argument.
 
dfp42 said:
Will her petition have any weight on this matter?
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It’s more than likely (99.999%) that nothing will happen because of the petiton, besides possibly an extra meeting with the bishop.
 
I say its not wrong to ask the Bishop for something. If they want to petition the Bishop, then let them. But we should realize that once the Bishop has heard the petition and says no, we should respect that decision.
 
I would not participate in the petition. If the lady asks again, just say no thank you and keep going.

There are many competing issues involved in how a bishop assigns priests, so we can’t assume we know all about why Fr X is moved. Also, since the priest in question is retired, there are likely personal reasons of his own why he was moved (health, etc.)

Pray for your priests and your bishop, and for the lady with the petition.
 
The Church usually discourages petitions, especially the ones written under the name of democracy
Furthermore, activities such as protest-letter-writing seminars, leafleting of motor vehicles, door to- door canvassing for signatures on a petition, etc (that is, exerting organized political pressure on people, where the end justifies any means) is an appropriate tactic in a political campaign, but not in the communion of faith which is the Catholic Church. Groups such as “Call to Action” and “Voice of the Faithful” regularly employ such tactics against legitimate authority in the Church. Because these groups dissent from basic tenets of Catholic Doctrine and Discipline, they are not recognized as Catholic in the Diocese of Madison, much less are they able to exercise legitimate authority. It is my hope that these clarifications will prove helpful.
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badgercatholic.blogspot.com/2010/11/bp-morlinos-letter-to-platteville.html

This case is opposite, some groups collected petitions against certain priest, and the bishop simply rejected them.

I personally never sign any petitions unless the case and the reasons are clearly specified. I do not consider myself part of a voting machine.
 
That said, sometimes a petition is required in order to show that there is enough interest to warrant something. I’m thinking in the terms of requesting an FSSP apolstolate, or a TLM, etc.
 
There is nothing wrong in a petition drive. However, there is a proper way to present the petition to folks and its not inside the church. Just make it available to folks at coffee after Mass. Do not “push”.

We have done this in our parish and yes, it does work. We petitoned our priest for a Traditional Mass. The priest told us we had a legitimate request and sent it on to the Archbishop. After sometime and persistance we got that Mass.

😃 👍
 
dfp42 said:
At my I don’t know the reason to why this retired priest is no longer at my parish but I trust that the bishop or whoever is in charge decided to make the right choice. My question however is it wrong for this lady to stir up the pot by asking parishioners to sign their names as soon as the enter Church? I
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she absolutely may not stand on the grounds of the church, much less at the door, and solicit signatures on any petition for any reason whatsoever, w/o permission of the pastor. I can virtually guarantee a bishop will pay very little attention to any such request that comes in a way that defies the current pastor.
 
There is nothing wrong with getting signatures if you are doing it to show that people would like an EF Mass, or something like that. But something like keeping the pastor when the bishop wants to move him? Terrible idea. The bishop usually doesn’t listen and those groups of people only are a pain for the Bishop.
 
Has anyone considered the possibility that the priest requested the transfer himself? I cannot speak for everyone, but in our archdiocese the Bishop will give weight to the priest’s requests, especially if he has reached retirement age. Ultimately though, the Bishop’s decision is final.
 
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