I lost my father last Sunday. It hurt just as much as the first time. Even worse, it happened with no warning. The first time ended my father’s four-year battle with cancer. Watching Dad fight this battle reminded me every day that he was my hero. We had the opportunity to stand by his side, comfort him, and shared a loving farewell as he went to God’s side. We had all the time we needed for our goodbyes. This time, I showed up for Mass last Sunday with hundreds of my parish family and found a stranger where our father should be.

The loss isn’t any easier to bear the second time around.

I know Father Jim Michaud is not gone forever. However, the stranger from the diocese made it clear to our parish family that his return “just isn’t in the cards.” And so, the card game continues. Now, instead of gambling that reassigned predatorial pedophiles will magically avoid bothering young children, those we hoped would lead our Catholic Church with wisdom and compassion are disrupting a family with hundreds of members and ruining a truly holy man.

We should not fault the diocese for its initial response to substantiated allegations of priest misconduct. Father Jim’s temporary removal, however painful, represents a commitment to err on the side of caution. Our parish family can heal far more easily than a child. The diocese must protect against the unknown. Such a policy is long overdue. It is a policy we all no doubt trusted our diocesan leadership to have in place decades ago. However, we were wrong and they were incompetent.

The most troubling aspect of Father Jim’s removal is that, despite an investigation that is only days old, the diocese has already decided there is no hope for our St. Joseph’s family to get our father back. In other words, it is irrelevant to our church leadership what the facts and circumstances might be that surround Father Jim’s past.

There are some facts we do know. On Sunday, Auxiliary Bishop Michael Cote spoke with the parish and shared those allegations that are now common knowledge to anyone with a TV, radio or newspaper. He also acknowledged that there is “only this one allegation.” There is no evidence of a predatorial pattern or any other misconduct in the 25-year career which followed these sad events.

We also know that our Holy Father in Rome has announced a zero tolerance policy, reminding 12 troubled cardinals of something they should have known from the beginning: “[t]here is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young.”

The holy father went one step further, however. In the true Catholic spirit, he said, church leaders could not overlook “the power of Christian conversion.” While one would never mistake me for a Catholic scholar, the message from Rome is clear: We must protect our flock, but always be mindful of keeping to the right path.

Clearly, a significant number of our church leaders have lost their way. I speak now not of those troubled priests who have violated the trust of a child. Rather, I speak of our cardinals and bishops. These princes of the Catholic Church, entrusted by the Pope to minister wisely, have adopted strategies more in keeping with an Enron CEO than a wise shepherd. After attending Mass with Auxiliary Bishop Cote and attending a meeting with him for over two hours, my fears and concerns for our foundering leadership have only grown.

Political expediency seems to be the diocesan battle cry these days. At the same extraordinary conference of cardinals that just concluded in Rome, a proposal was advanced that, rather than adopting an absolute “zero tolerance” policy for any implicated clergy, “largely lay diocesan review boards [might] assist the bishop in deciding whether to reinstate an accused priest.” The proposal hoped that such boards might help find “the difference between the moral monsters like [John] Geoghan, who prey upon little children in serial fashion, and someone who engages in an action with a 17- or 16-year-old … who returns his affection.”

I challenge the Diocese of Portland to embrace its flock and become an inclusive, rather than exclusive, organization. Our bishops are not CEOs. They are our shepherds, charged with applying the wisdom and guidance of our Holy Father in our best interests. It is time to hold the “conversation” that the diocesan stranger rejected last Sunday. It is time to act as true Catholics and Christians. Most of all, it is time to recognize that the 15th century has been over for a while now.

As was evidenced by the abysmal performance of Auxiliary Bishop Cote in answering our questions last Sunday, not only can the laity read and write, but it can contribute meaningfully to the dialog that must be held if we are to emerge from our time of crisis as a stronger, more just and Catholic Church. For the record, when I challenged Auxiliary Bishop Cote to commit to such a “conversation” to institute such review boards, he declined to do so.

I challenge the Diocese of Portland to abandon politically expedient press releases and sound bites. It is time for contemplation, carefully measured action and a renewed commitment to stop creating victims, whether they be children or priests. I challenge Bishop Gerry to establish a special panel of laity and professionals to address the crisis our diocese now faces and to unequivocally commit to listening to his flock as it aids him in finding the right path. We must sacrifice no more lambs to the gods of arrogance and expediency. I challenge our diocesan leadership to find the right way.

Christopher J. Whalley is an attorney in Ellsworth.