Massachusetts Catholic deacon claims he was reprimanded for saying prayer for Buffalo deacon
David Baillargeon, a deacon at Holy Family Parish Roman Catholic church in Russell, claims he was reprimanded for saying a prayer during Mass on Sunday for a deacon in Buffalo, New York, who has called for the resignation of that diocese's bishop.
Baillargeon spoke out Monday against the church's handling of clergy sexual abuse, arguing that more needs to be done to investigate such cases, including in Western Massachusetts.
Baillargeon, who has worked with activist Olan Horne to advocate for survivors of clergy abuse, said local church officials have largely barred him from preaching after he was critical of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in a homily two years ago.
The deacon said he faced further pushback Sunday after offering prayers for Buffalo, New York, Deacon Paul Snyder, who has called for Catholic Bishop Richard Malone's resignation.
"After the prayers of petition for the church, I said that I wanted to say a prayer for Deacon Paul Snyder -- told the parishioners where he was and that he was the deacon at St. Mary's Church there -- and that I heard, from my smartphone really, that he had been suppressed from preaching because he spoke out against Bishop Malone and the clergy abuse that's going on there in the Buffalo diocese," Baillargeon said in an interview. "I said, 'We need to pray for him,' and then I raised my hand up and said, 'He's been suppressed for two months.' And, I said, 'Here, your own deacon has been suppressed for two years.'"
Baillargeon said after he finished, Rev. Ron F. Sadlowski, the pastor at Holy Family Parish, "went off" on him.
"He said, 'You're not going to be preaching again,' but he wants me to preach during the week every other week for daily Mass," Baillargeon said, noting that the small parish sometimes sees just one person attend such services.
Sadlowski, however, rejected the suggestion that he has retaliated against his deacon.
"There's been no retaliation," he said in an interview. "The fact is, I'm the priest here and when he preaches, he preaches against the bishop. We're supposed to preach on the word of God. He mishandles the role of being a deacon at the pulpit."
Sadlowski said Baillargeon's failure to promise he would not use the pulpit to preach against the bishop is why he is no longer preaching on weekends.
"My responsibility is to protect people from anyone who mishandles the proper use of preaching the word of God," Sadlowski said. "It's not based on focusing on any one person, except Jesus Christ. It's not used to preach against the bishop -- the deacon could talk to him one-on-one, there are other ways to get to him."
The pastor added that while Baillargeon was not out of bounds for extending prayers to a fellow deacon in Buffalo on Sunday, he acted inappropriately by using the pulpit to suggest he has faced retaliation.
Sadlowski said he told parishioners that the reason Baillargeon now only preaches during the week is because he misused the pulpit -- not due to retaliation.
"I would definitely say there's been no punishment, no retaliation -- it's something he's done to himself. ... I felt in my heart I had to respond to the people who were there," he said.
Springfield diocese spokesman Mark Dupont declined to comment on Baillargeon's performance.
While investigations into clergy abuse have grabbed recent headlines in other states, Baillargeon said he would like Massachusetts to look more into the issue, as well as see more deacons come forward.
"A lot of people know things. They're probably just afraid to speak out," he said. "I think that a lot of people, deacons especially, must know victims that are afraid to come forward and say anything. So I've been working with probably a dozen or more people who have been affected by all of this -- and some of them I talk to on a daily basis. The wounds are real deep and very hurtful."
Baillargeon, who started Mom's House -- a nonprofit letter campaign that allows victims to share their stories with Catholic leaders -- said while he tries to help victims, he believes the church has no accountability or credibility when it comes to addressing clergy abuse.
"I did have a lot of hope in Cardinal (Sean) O'Malley, but he's admitted to me that there's only so much he can do," he said, noting that O'Malley has said he delivered letters from that campaign to Pope Francis.
Moving forward, Baillargeon said he'd like someone outside the church lead any new investigations into clergy abuse.
"It's been many, many centuries, and the church has not been able to regulate themselves in this thing," Baillargeon said. "That's why I started the letter program to have a repository of these letters that are kind of like evidence. If the people want to come forward -- or speak anonymously, they can write the letter any way they want. But, it's a way for them to get validation and recognition and tell their story."
Baillargeon said he has no evidence that any abuse is taking place in the Springfield Diocese, but he has "very strong suspicions."
Horne, who called for Springfield Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski's resignation over the diocese's handling of a case involving the late Rev. Paul Archambault, also accused the church of retaliating against Baillargeon.
He argued that the Boston Diocese is aware of it, noting that he has raised the issue personally with Cardinal O'Malley, as well as in a March 28, 2018, email sent to the archdiocese, the Springfield diocese and Holy Family Parish.
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