Letter may shed light on ouster of pastor

In an indication that a Newton pastor's position on gay rights may have played a role in his ouster, a conservative website has posted a letter from a top archdiocesan official saying that Roman Catholic Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley had been ''very disturbed" by an accusation that the pastor had invited parishioners to consider marching in a gay-rights parade in Boston last spring.

O'Malley's spokesman said last night he could not authenticate the letter, which is posted on the website of the antiabortion organization Operation Rescue Boston, but he insisted that the archbishop sought the resignation of the Rev. Walter H. Cuenin from his post as pastor of Our Lady Help of Christians Church in Newton solely because of financial improprieties, and not because of church politics.

''I can't vouch for this letter's authenticity, but it doesn't change the dynamics of what happened here, which is that Father Cuenin broke archdiocesan policy, and by virtue of his agreeing to reimburse us, he obviously concurs," said the spokesman, Terrence C. Donilon. ''Seventy-five thousand dollars is a lot of money, and we cannot ignore the financial piece of this. We cannot allow one pastor to operate under a separate set of guidelines or rules."

In the letter posted on the website, Bishop Richard G. Lennon, the archdiocesan vicar general, writes of receiving complaints that Cuenin had positively mentioned an upcoming gay pride parade in the church bulletin, and says, ''Please know that the archbishop is very disturbed by the information that you, along with others, have sent to him regarding this event and the involvement of Father Cuenin. He wishes to assure you that he is in the process of addressing this whole matter."

The letter was dated July 8, one month after the annual Boston Pride parade on June 11. Cuenin was forced to resign, effective yesterday, after the archdiocese said a $500 monthly stipend and a leased Honda Accord he was receiving from his parish were in violation of archdiocesan rules. Cuenin said that the payments had repeatedly been approved by the parish finance council and reported during previous archdiocesan audits.

A leader of the parish's delegation to the gay pride parade said Cuenin did not author the bulletin announcement and did not march in the parade.

''It wasn't an invitation from Walter, but from the justice and peace committee of the parish, because gay rights is an issue of justice in our minds," said Larry Kessler, a member of the parish council at Our Lady Help of Christians and a founding director of the AIDS Action Committee.

Kessler said this year was the second that a group from Our Lady Help of Christians marched in the gay pride parade. A dozen people participated, and there was a banner with the parish's name and the slogan, ''All are welcome."

Kessler said several other Catholic congregations also sent delegations to the march, including the Jesuit Urban Center in Boston, St. Ignatius Church in Newton, and the Paulist Center Boston, as well as Dignity, a gay Catholic organization. He said the delegations marched alongside a large contingent of Protestant and Jewish organizations. The Catholic groups also shared a booth at a Pride Festival on the Boston Common after the parade, Kessler said.

''Walter's role was nothing -- he didn't participate, and when we asked him if he was going to walk, he said no, because he didn't think that was a good idea," Kessler said.

The Lennon letter, on archdiocesan stationery and over the signature of the bishop, is reprinted as a scanned image on the website and includes several characteristics that suggest it is authentic.

A parish leader said Lennon's letter reinforces the belief that their pastor was ousted because of his liberal political positions and his outspokenness.

''I believe this is about more than money -- that is an excuse, not a reason," said Christina Graf, the vice chairwoman of the parish council at Our Lady Help of Christians. ''They've used that as a way of moving Walter out of the way, and ensuring he can never be a pastor again, and I believe it has more to do with his stand and activities in the sexual abuse crisis and his support of women, of gays and lesbians, of divorced couples, and of marginalized people."

Donilon said that the Cuenin resignation should be seen not in the context of the gay-rights debate, but in the context of O'Malley's effort to bring greater financial accountability to the archdiocese.

Regardless of whether gay rights played a role in Cuenin's ouster, the increasing acceptance of same-sex relationships in Western societies has become a major concern for Catholic bishops nationally and globally. O'Malley has been a strong opponent of same-sex marriage and is supporting an effort to have it declared illegal in Massachusetts.

Cuenin has been an outspoken supporter of welcoming gays and lesbians to the church, and his position on that issue, as on many other issues, has angered conservatives, some of whom have been agitating for his ouster for years. The Operation Rescue: Boston website, www.orboston.org, for example, refers to Cuenin as a ''pro-gay, dissenting priest," and to his actions as ''heresy."

Last year, on the eve of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, Cuenin was one of the lead signers of an open letter from 100 prominent Catholics asking state residents to defend the ''fundamental human rights of homosexuals."

In the parish bulletin at Our Lady's earlier this month, Cuenin wrote: ''We have made a special effort to welcome gay and lesbian persons and their families. The parish is blessed to have many couples, some now legally married, as members of the community. They come on Sundays and are raising their children in the faith. Their marriage seems to have been a good experience for them. It doesn't appear that anyone's marriage has been threatened or compromised by the 1,800 gay marriages that have already taken place in the past year."

Cuenin acknowledged in the bulletin that ''there are, however, those who are opposed to gay marriage including the Massachusetts Conference of Catholic Bishops."

He said that the bishops are asking Catholics to sign a petition for a ballot measure to define same-sex marriage as a heterosexual institution.

Cuenin had previously landed in hot water in 2002, when he was quoted in The New Yorker magazine saying that divorced people should be granted a ''front-row seat" in Catholic parishes, and that gays and lesbians should be granted the ''other front row."

Cuenin also led a group of priests who wound up signing a letter calling for Cardinal Bernard F. Law to resign in December 2002.

Meanwhile, about 50 parishioners and Cuenin supporters met last night to discuss plans for a celebration after his last Mass on Sunday, and for putting pressure on the archdiocese to bring him back as pastor.

Peter Metz, one of the organizers, said that he expects several thousand people at a reception honoring Cuenin after the Mass, and that the group also discussed a possible protest at the chancery in Brighton on Sunday afternoon.

''The basic feeling is that Walter has been terribly wronged, and falsely wronged, and that the parish has been wronged, and we want him back," said Metz, 63, of Newton.

Michael Paulson can be reached at mpaulson@globe.com.