On November 30, Father Jack McKone (former pastor of Sacred Heart) sent a letter to all parishioners of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Wichita Falls. In the letter, Father McKone speaks out harshly against FRK Advocates and refers to it as a “disturbing” and “separatist movement”. He goes on to warn those who are considering joining FRK Advocates, that doing so would constitute a mortal sin that would endanger their immortal souls.
FRK Advocates feels that Father Jack McKone has been severely misinformed as to the purpose and actions of our group. Our goal is not to separate ourselves or others from the Church. It is quite the opposite – a large number of our group come together in daily Rosaries in which we pray for our priests, our Mother Church, and for the suffering parishioners across the Ft. Worth Diocese. Our faith has grown stronger in this time of adversity and we are more committed than ever to our Catholic Faith.
When FRK Advocates was initially formed, it was to support our pastor, Father Richard Kirkham, who had been unjustly silenced and swiftly removed from his flock. In our pursuit of this goal, we discovered that the problems were not only isolated to Saint Martin de Porres Catholic Church; rather, it was widespread across the Ft. Worth Diocese. Since our formation in June of 2018, we have had laity from across the diocese ask to join our group. We have transformed from supporting our one pastor to supporting many parishes across the diocese. The pattern of behavior that we have discovered since Michael Olson was appointed as bishop has led us to expand our focus. We are now not only seeking the lifting of Father Richard’s suspension – we are calling for the Apostolic Nuncio to launch an investigation into the actions of Michael Olson as Bishop of Ft. Worth.
We have spoken with priests (outside the diocese) who are more familiar with FRK Advocates and they have assured us that what we are doing does NOT constitute a mortal sin. Our actions are performed out of love for our Mother Church and not out of spite for our bishop. What our group is doing is also reinforced by the Catechism of the Catholic Church. According Paragraph 907, it states that the laity has the right and even duty to speak out to both our sacred pastors and to other Christian faithful:
“In accord with the knowledge, competence, and preeminence which they possess, [lay people] have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and they have a right to make their opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward their pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons.”
— Paragraph 907, Catechism of the Catholic Church
If Father Jack McKone would like to meet with our group leaders, we would be delighted to sit down with him to discuss our actions that we are taking to support our excellent priests, seminarians and parishes across the diocese.
We believe that now is the time for the laity to be actively involved in calling for transparency and improved leadership from our church hierarchy. If you agree and would like to add your voice to the call for an apostolic investigation into the actions of Bishop Olson, please sign our petition, found here.
As always, we ask you to join us in praying for Bishop Olson, all of the priests and seminarians in the diocese, and for all parishes which are currently suffering.
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