CARMEL, Ind. – A bishop suspended an Indianapolis suburban Catholic priest from public ministry on Wednesday for comparing the Black Lives Matter movement and its organizers to “worms and parasites” in a recent church bulletin.
Bishop Timothy Doherty of the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana took action against the Rev. Theodore Rothrock of St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church in Carmel for comments the pastor wrote Sunday in the weekly bulletin.
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“The only lives that matter are their own and the only power they seek is theirs,” Rothrock wrote. “They are wolves dressed as wolves, masked thieves and bandits, who only seek to devour the lives of the poor and take advantage of the fear of others. They are worms and parasites at best, feeding on the isolation of addiction and broken families, and offering to replace any current frustration and anxiety with more misery and resentment. “
The diocese expressed “pastoral concern for affected communities” in a statement posted on its website.
A bishop suspended a Catholic priest at St Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church in Carmel, Indiana from public ministry on Wednesday, July 1, 2020 for comparing the Black Lives Matter movement and its organizers to “worms and parasites” in a recent newsletter from church. (Facebook page of St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church)
“The suspension offers the Bishop an opportunity for pastoral discernment for the good of the diocese and for the good of Father Rothrock. Various possibilities are being considered for his public continuation in the priestly ministry, but he will no longer be assigned as Pastor of Our Lady of Mount. Carmel Deacon Bill Reid will serve as administrator of St. Elizabeth Seton, “the statement said.
Rothrock was to assume the position of pastor of Our Lady of Mount. Carmel next month.
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Rothrock issued an apology Tuesday night in a message sent to parishioners and then posted on the church’s website, The Indianapolis Star reported.
“It was not my intention to offend anyone, and I regret that my words have caused harm to someone,” Rothrock wrote.
The church must condemn intolerance, which is “a part of the fabric of our society,” he wrote.
“We must also be fully aware that there are those who distort the Gospel for their own wrong ends,” wrote Rothrock. “People are afraid, as I pointed out, quite badly, I would admit, that there are those who feed on that fear to promote more fear and division.”
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Doherty said Tuesday that Rothrock should issue a clarification of the bulletin’s comments.
The newly formed Carmel Against Racial Injustice group sought Rothrock’s removal from leadership. The group has said it planned to demonstrate Sunday on the sidewalk surrounding the church. It was unclear Wednesday whether Rothrock’s suspension changed that. The group did not immediately respond to a message that came out Wednesday seeking comment on the suspension.
