Ann Arbor Priest confirms on social media post that parish will not hold further gun classes
http://www.wxyz.com/news/region/washtenaw-county/ann-arbor-priest-confirms-on-social-media-post-that-parish-will-not-hold-further-gun-classes
Concealed pistol classes at Christ the King Catholic Church in Ann Arbor have been cancelled, according to the parish priest.
Rev. Ed Fride is still not talking to the media but he made several posts on Facebook, confirming that he would follow the directive of the Bishop of the Diocese of Lansing.
Fride encouraged parishioners to arm themselves after the recent threat of violence at a school near the church. He followed up his message from the pulpit with a 7-page follow-up that was sent by email to members of the congregation.
Holding the class on church property had generated some controversy within the parish community. This week local, national and international media picked up on the story. USA Today featured the Detroit Free Press story. The Daily Mail of London has a big splash online as well.
Fride did not respond to my phone call or email yesterday but a statement attributed to Bishop Earl Boyea of the Diocese of Lansing late Monday afternoon made it clear that Father Ed had overstepped his bounds. In a post on his Facebook page Tuesday, Fride joked he might become a cloistered monk by sending an application to the Carthusians.
Then later in the day, he posted this message:
I would like to make the following statement in relationship to the CPL controversy currently in the media:
The Lord Jesus has blessed us greatly in calling Bishop Earl Boyea to serve us as the fifth Bishop of Lansing. I have been and continue to be very grateful for his ministry, especially his great work in leading the Diocese in the fulfillment of the Holy Fathers' call to the New Evangelization that all people would hear the message of the saving love of the Lord Jesus Christ. As our Bishop, he is responsible for setting policy for our parishes and he has decided and publically stated that CPL classes are not appropriate on Church property. That is his call to make and we will obviously follow his policy on this and on all decisions he makes as he shepherds this Diocese. No parish is an island unto itself and no priest operates on his own. I am his priest and I will continue to serve him to the best of my ability."
Fr. Ed Fride
VIDEO NEWS CLIP AT LINK