It has been years since Fathers Nicholas Cooper and Tyler Bischoff have been ministering in the Diocese of Gaylord. They are listed on the Diocesan website as being on a “leave of absence for personal reasons”. Fr. Cooper is now working at Oakland University and Fr. Bischoff is working as a public school teacher. This is after many faithful Catholics in the Diocese forked out thousands of dollars to educate and train these priests, not to mention the assorted European trips, before they were ordained. The “return on investment” was certainly a money loser. But more importantly is the question as to who vetted these individuals in first place. Who made the decision that they were worthy to be ordained? Who maintained and nurtured their vocation, if there ever was one, after they were ordained? Since they are still listed on the Diocesan website as priests of the Diocese, are they receiving any compensation for being listed as such? Are they getting healthcare benefits, stipends, etc.? What is being done to prevent this from occurring again, not only for the good of the Diocese and the Catholics in it, but for the seminarians themselves?
When done right, the priesthood is an incredibly hard job; it requires supernatural intervention and special men to become priests. It is incumbent upon those in charge to make sure, to the best that they can, that our seminarians are the right men for the job. Please keep praying for good priests.