Whether or not Father Fushak has transgressed appropriate boundaries is something I cannot know at this time and either can anyone else,except he and his accuser. Which is why it is important for people to respond to questions about the accused with honest answers. It would seem all Catholics should realize that God and the Church,victims,priests,bishops and accusers would be best served by a simple"I like and admire Father Blank and I hope and pray there is nothing to this allegation.I will be praying that the law and the local church will investigate this,find the truth and that justice will prevail".To say he is a "great religious leader" until we know more is not prudent.
I have noticed,how much judging is done by those who preach fervently that "we must not judge". When Jesus said something like that,I bet he meant not to judge people to be guilty or innocent,without the facts.To wrongly judge another to be innocent,if they are guilty,is unjust and unkind and judgemental and very harmful to society,to say nothing of the actual innocent who lodged the accusation.
The shows Father Fushak puts on at his hootenanny masses are almost beyond belief and the stadium style worship space without kneelers or a flat surface to kneel,if one chose to is also discomfitting.Nonetheless,St. Timothy's thrives,it is the largest catholic parish in the diocese and gave a tremendous amount of money to the bishop's diocesan fund raiser,it looked to me that they doubled the amount given by the closest competitor parishes. I also heard him give a talk on Mary once and it was very orthodox and dynamic.However,homilies in the Phoenix diocese are strangely silent on "homosexuality",even when the few parishes that tallk about morals give their annual homily on morals and related issues.
I agree with your assessment. I'm not judging Fr. Dale as innocent or guilty. What is troubling, however, is what appears to be a "Personality Cult" at St. Tim's. The Life Teen program has borne fruit, but it I believe it is the fellowship aspect of it which is so needed by the teens. I am singularly unimpressed with what I consider to be the "Short Bus Liturgy" there, with its incredible lack of a sense of the sacred.