Posted on 11/16/2019 1:30:02 PM PST by SeekAndFind
The mother of an 18-year-old college student who died by suicide last December, has filed a lawsuit against the Rev. Don LaCuesta, a priest at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Temperance, Michigan, for suggesting at her son’s funeral that he might not go to Heaven.
Linda Hullibarger and her husband, Jeff, whose son, Maison Hullibarger, died by suicide on Dec. 4, 2018, had previously called for LaCuesta to be fired for traumatizing grieving friends and family at his funeral on Dec. 8, 2018.
In a statement shortly after the backlash over LaCuesta’s comments, the Archdiocese of Detroit apologized and admitted that LaCuesta failed to bring comfort to the family. It was also noted that the priest would be suspended from funeral duties and undergo additional training and review.
On Thursday, The law firm of Charles E. Boyk said the family was taking things further and had filed in a lawsuit against The Archdiocese of Detroit, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, and Father LaCuesta for injuries the Hullibargers allege were caused by the pastor’s conduct during Maison’s funeral, The Monroe News reported.
The mother of six, who is seeking restitution in excess of $25,000, alleges that LaCuesta deliberately ignored the wishes of her and her husband regarding their son’s funeral. She said that her family had not shared the cause of her son’s death with the pastor or the wider community which made the pastor’s comments all the more shocking.
″[A]t our own child’s funeral, we were taken down yet again when it was a place that we were supposed to be lifted up,” Linda Hullibarger said. “And we had no idea, no indication that was going to happen. ... No parent, no sibling, no family member should ever, ever have to sit through what we sat through.”
Andrea Young, an attorney at Charles Boyk Law, further noted that they believe the pastor planned to condemn suicide at the funeral.
“It was apparent to those in attendance that Father LaCuesta had a message he wanted to relay,” Young said. “That message was not previously disclosed to the Hullibarger family and it did not conform to homily that Father LaCuesta previously agreed to deliver. At a time of tragedy, the Hullibarger family turned to their church for peace and comfort but instead Father LaCuesta’s actions caused them irreparable harm and pain.”
A copy of LaCuesta’s sermon the archdiocese posted on its website shows the pastor warning Christians against taking their own lives.
“If we Christians are right in believing that salvation belongs to Jesus Christ, that it does not come from us — and that our hand cannot stop what God allows for us, then yes, there is hope in eternity even for those who take their own lives,” he said.
“Having said that, I think that we must not call what is bad good, what is wrong right. Because we are Christians, we must say what we know is the truth — that taking your own life is against God who made us and against everyone who loves us. Our lives are not our own. They are not ours to do with as we please. God gave us life, and we are to be good stewards of that gift for as long as God permits,” he continued.
“The finality of suicide makes this all the worse. You cannot make things right again. Neither can [REDACTED]. And this is much of the pain of it all. Things are left unresolved, even if it felt to [REDACTED] like this was the only way to resolve things. You want to turn the clock back and say, ‘Please don't give up. We can work through this pain together.’ But now you will have to work through this pain by yourselves, or with those close to you now who will need to lean on you even as you lean on them,” he added.
+1000
To say you know who is going to heaven and who is not is to “judge”, and the is God’s alone to do.
So this earthy judge is going to decide this?
Wow! I hope he is up to the task.
A position only.
I don’t really see how she can sue him for this. I could see it maybe in some situations, like if the poor fellow was still alive and in the public eye, running for office, something like that, and this priest is saying he’s going to hell. I could see that being actionable in some way. But this, no. He said something she didn’t like and agree with; she can’t sue anybody for doing that.
If this ‘priest’ judges people regularly like this then he is a fundamentalist much like the late Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church. Maybe he made a mistake and stuck his holy foot in his unholy mouth...but he didn’t.
Sorry...I’m sensitive to this kind of thing. My ‘devout Christian’ father told my Mother that she was responsible for her own daughters death...she was murdered by her psycho husband. I still cant forgive my Dad for that sht. He still spouts the same sht at 85 years old.
Thank goodness Epstein didn’t commit suicide!
Needs to be Summarily dismissed and she should pay all the court fees.
There’s this thing called free speech, freedom of religion and it wasn’t slander.
Maybe she should read up on her catholic beliefs (not that there’s much left of them after Francis.) or how suicides tend to lead to other suicides and this priest was bravely speaking out trying to stop copycats.
The Catholic Church considers suicide a direct rejection of Christ’ salvation.
See post 13 - it is actual church policy. Also, it is church policy that until sainthood is awarded, anyone might not go to heaven.
Now you have very high suicide rates while saying you will go to heaven if you kill yourself
Formerly families attempted to stem mental illness for dear of suicide and hell
Wages of sin is death.
But,OTOH,it might not have been entirely appropriate for the priest to make such a comment.
I was taught by the nuns that suicide is a mortal sin. But my attitude is...God made us and obviously knows that the brain can “malfunction” just as surely as any other organ can. And one way it can malfunction is to cause a person to believe that suicide is "the only way out".
Can you litigate a matter of faith? Doctrine?
Really? by what wild stretch of your imagination is that true? The doctrine is straightforward - suicide is murder and disturbed or not, the individual himself is responsible for their sins, not a priest. The priests are available and will help any way they can but in the end, it's between that individual and God, nobody else.
Given the fact that you can rationalize excuses so well and blame doctrine, the clergy - anyone except the one who murdered himself, you must be a Democrat.
Question: since when to suicides get funeral Masses?
It is a completely ludicrous lawsuit. When one chooses to have a funeral in a Catholic Church, that does not come with editorial control over the content of the sermon.
In case your Bible is damaged or missing some important pages, look up Genesis 20, 3-13: "thou shalt not kill".
Odd that you didn't know that one.
Sure - and only God himself knows how will accept or not accept a particular soul.
But - that priest was exactly right even though he was very gentle about it, it is a grievous violation of the 4th Commandment.
They should never have a priest officiating at a funeral for a suicide. It's the same as demonstrating approval for the murder of yourself.
Suicide = not going to heaven is Catholic Doctrine.
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Considering the current CEO of the Catholic Church, perhaps they should not be throwing any stones.
Don’t know that suing is the right answer, but the priest should have just stayed silent on such speculation and instead sought to give the family the day to mourn with friends and family. It wasn’t a day for him to inject his opinion.
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