Iâm going to weigh on this one and side with Sure, being a member of the Diocese of Rockford.
One reason I can think of Bishop Doran moving Father Bartolemeo: He is over 70, came to the priesthood late, and may not be âupâ to handling two cantankerous people. Perhaps His Excellency did not feel leaving an older man with only a year or two under his belt in the job was a good idea.
Priests arenât so much afraid of Bishop Doran or Monsignor Barr. They are very afraid of Monsignor Kagan, and with good reason.
Monsignor Barr is the âgood copâ. He is the one who takes priests out to lunch and gently reasons with them, jokes with them. He is very much personable, likable, a manâs man, good pastor, likes women but not too much, great with kids. Prior to his current position, he was the pastor of Old Parish. He had the numbers up to 1200+ families in a changing neighborhood with two other parishes in close proximity, and built a much needed parish center, with a school of over 400 students. Sadly, the next man has it down to about 500 families, with 650 on paper, and under 270 students.
Monsignor Kagan is dry, an academic, and while a good, orthodox priest, has trouble âthinking outside the boxâ in the sense of rules. Go read his column in the Observer. He only tends to see them two ways, and thatâs as either broken or followed. A priest does not want Monsignor Kagan to show up at his parish- as he is wont to do, unannounced, if something is wrong. There will be no lunchtime conversation. There will be results, pronto. He is not a comfortable polish cloth, but somewhat abrasive sandpaper. If Monsignor Kagan is at a rectory or parish office door, something is terribly wrong.
The St. Peter Geneva and Father Campobello situation is much more complicated than the link provides. For one thing, the Kane County States Attorney wanted to go through every last employee and religious file the diocese had, not only those necessary for the court case. If I were the people of CAF, I would do my own research on this one, starting with the Kane County Chronicle, Daily Herald, Observer, Kane County court records (they are not sealed).