Weymouth parish rocked by another priest's departure

WEYMOUTH -- Life at St. Albert the Great had just started to feel normal again, parishioners said.

It had been six months since the Catholic parish had reopened, and the tumult of 10 months of round-the-clock vigils protesting its closure had slowly receded. Anger lingered toward the Archdiocese of Boston over the standoff and the departure of a beloved priest. But most parishioners were ready to move on.

Then yesterday, the feelings of betrayal and upheaval rushed back. The Rev. Robert Bowers announced at services yesterday that he was seeking a one-year leave of absence from the priesthood after church officials had denied his request to continue his part-time ministry at St. Albert.

''How many times can you get slapped in the face and still turn the other cheek?" asked Colin Riley, a member of the church's parish council, following yesterday's morning Masses. ''We were on the road back. Now this has to happen."

For many saddened parishioners, Bowers's announcement stirred painful memories of the departure of Rev. Ron Coyne, a popular priest who was not reassigned to St. Albert when it reopened in June. To live through that again, they said, was almost unbearable.

''Oh, no, here we go again," said Gloria Noble of Quincy. ''We're so disappointed. Our heart is broken again, just like it was before."

Bowers, who has been assisting the new pastor of St. Albert's by saying occasional weekend Masses, told the congregation that he was disappointed to leave, but that church officials had asked him to end his work in Weymouth and to take an assignment helping at a parish in Chelmsford.

''It's been a wonderful eight months," he said. ''But the archbishop [Sean P. O'Malley] will simply not allow me to stay. He was unrelenting."

Bowers, a critic of the church hierarchy, had resigned in November 2004 at O'Malley's request as pastor of Charlestown's St. Catherine of Siena parish, which had been slated to close. Bowers said he requested the leave in a letter sent to the archdiocese on Saturday.

At the end of the service yesterday, Bowers told the congregation that the archdiocese still had to consider his request for a leave, and quipped that he could ''pull a Theo Epstein on you" and stay at the church.

Bowers had assisted with weekend services to help the church's pastor, the Rev. Laurence Borges, who will be 75 this month. Bowers, who described weeks of meetings with church officials over his future, said he held no bitterness toward the church but said his decision was part of ''following God, not a church leadership that I don't necessarily agree with."

In an e-mail message, Terrence C. Donilon, the chief spokesman for the archdiocese, said O'Malley learned yesterday that Bowers is considering applying for a leave of absence and that he ''will respect his decision."

But parishioners denounced the decision to reassign Bowers as punitive. They said they believe Bowers is being targeted for his criticism of the archdiocese and his progressive views, and that St. Albert is being singled out because parishioners staged a highly publicized, 10-month occupation of the building that inspired members of other closed parishes to take similar action.

''I don't think we're in great favor," said parishioner Harold Pugh, 57.

Coyne, many parishioners said they believe, also was frowned upon for his independence and liberal views.

''He's being forced out, because he doesn't necessarily go by the book," said Brian Hurley, 42. ''It's just like before."

Donilon rejected criticism that the reassignment was politically motivated.

''There is absolutely nothing of a punitive nature going on here," he wrote. ''Furthermore, it is important to note that in an effort to meet the pastoral care of the entire Archdiocese, it is quite normal for the Archbishop to ask priests to consider new assignments based on any number of needs within the Archdiocese."

Bowers told the parish that the archdiocese had asked him to leave St. Albert after yesterday's service, but that he would stay on to preside over next Sunday's Mass as well, drawing sustained applause from the congregation.

He said he hopes to work full- time at a program for disaffected Catholics at the Paulist Center in Boston.

In an interview after the service, Bowers said he was deeply disappointed to leave and that his ''heart ached" for a parish that had been through so much.

''I don't want to leave them, but I have no choice," he said. ''I've been very blessed to have been here. We were made for each other."

Parishioners said Bowers's experience in Charlestown had made him an ideal person to help a closed church through a difficult transition. He was well equipped, they said, to help parishioners overcome their feelings of dislocation and find forgiveness and stability.

''He understood what we had gone through," Riley said. ''He gave us a voice."

Mary Akoury, a church council member, said the parish was strong and would persevere. But she lamented what she described as ''another good priest not treated with the respect he deserved."

Leaving the 9 a.m. service, Carole Murphy, 73, said the timing of Bowers's announcement, just after the church had regained its footing, made the news harder to accept.

''Everyone is just crushed," she said.

Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com.