Posted on 01/13/2022 7:26:23 PM PST by marshmallow
A Windsor County pastor is fighting a Vermont Roman Catholic Diocese call for Covid-19 vaccinations, masks and other pandemic precautions for the state’s largest religious denomination.
“Being more of the ilk of a patriot,” the Rev. Peter Williams said in a recent YouTube video, “I balk at any incursion into my rights as a human being and certainly a U.S. citizen.”
Vermont Catholic Bishop Christopher Coyne has asked all clergy to get vaccinated or, if not, wear a mask and undergo regular testing to curb the transmission of the coronavirus.
“Because he made it a matter of honor and obedience, I quickly responded to him saying that I would not,” said Williams, who heads the combined Holy Family Parish of St. Mary’s in Springfield and St. Joseph’s in neighboring Chester. “He got back to me and said that I had 14 days to comply or he would suspend me.”
Williams, in turn, has hired a lawyer.
“I have no intention of resigning as pastor, because that is my job,” said the priest, who has led his parish since 2003.
Calls to the Holy Family Parish office went unanswered Monday. But Williams, in his video, said the diocese wasn’t the only entity he was defying.
“I learned that my family had joined with the bishop,” he said, “in advancing the case that I was seriously ill and my liver function was failing and that had severely impacted my mental capacities.”
Williams, age 61, disputed that.
(Excerpt) Read more at vtdigger.org ...
Prayers for Fr. Peter Williams and also prayers that the Bishop may gain some common sense with the aid of Jesus Christ.
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