Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron has forbidden an Austrian priest from speaking at a Westland Catholic parish Friday because the Rev. Helmut Schüller advocates allowing women and married men to be priests.
Patricia Montemurri and Niraj Warikoo report Schüller was scheduled to speak at SS. Simon and Jude parish in Westland. Instead, his free public address will be at Wayne Memorial High School. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for the 7 p.m. talk.
Schüller was also banned from speaking in Catholic churches in other areas of the U.S.
For his Detroit talk Schüller was scheduled to be welcomed by Sister Chris Schenk, a Catholic nun with Future Church, a reform group. Schenk, associate director of the group, said the prohibition against Schüller’s speaking at Catholic facilities “is very sad.”
“We shouldn’t be prohibited from speaking about the main problems in the church,” Schenk said.
