Congregation Doesn’t Fault Father Over Son

Parishioners offered support for their pastor on Sunday after it was revealed that he is the father of a 12-year-old son and had recently faced a legal battle over child support payments.

In a short statement read on his behalf, Father Arturo Uribe said he takes his child support commitment seriously and that his religious order, the Redemptorists, was paying more than what was required by the courts.

After the statement was read at the end of the 9:30 a.m. Mass, parishioners reacted with loud, sustained applause. At the next Mass, reaction was more muted.

Some parishioners at St. Mary of the Assumption Roman Catholic Church in Whittier told Father Brian Johnson, who said both Masses and read the statement, that Uribe would be in their prayers.

Uribe, 47, did not attend Sunday’s morning services. Information about his child and former girlfriend was reported in a Times article Sunday about his support hearing in Oregon.

“He’s been an excellent priest. What happened before he became a priest shouldn’t affect our opinion of him,� said Aurora Pina, 60, of Whittier, who said she has known Uribe for 14 years but had not known until Sunday that he has a son.

“He’s not denying his obligations,� Pina added, noting that priests make a vow of poverty and don’t make much money.

John Margado, 42, of Whittier, said he believed Uribe was doing all he could to support his son.

“I think for him to have been a father out of wedlock, that’s between him and God and the kid,� Margado said. “What we’re talking about is one man who made a mistake a long time ago and is trying to do the best he can.�

Parishioners painted a portrait of a priest well-loved by his community. Uribe, who announced in April that he was being transferred to Chicago this summer, won a standing ovation two weeks ago at one of his farewell sermons, Pina said.

She added that Uribe, who was born in Mexico and studied there until 1991, was a role model for Latinos and often celebrated Spanish-language Masses.

Uribe this month faced a legal battle with Stephanie Collopy, whom he met in 1991 in Portland, Ore., when he was working as a seminarian. The two had a seven-month relationship that ended when she told Uribe she was pregnant. Their son was born in February 1993; Uribe has never seen his child.

In 1994, just before Uribe was ordained as a priest, the Redemptorists agreed to pay monthly child support payments to Collopy and she agreed to drop a lawsuit. This month, Collopy asked a court to raise the monthly $323 child support payments she receives, citing her son’s chronic asthma, allergies, his numerous prescriptions and her unemployment.

Collopy also asked the court to place her son on his father’s health insurance plan. The court sided with Uribe, who argued that his vow of poverty means that he does not have the money to support his son and that his insurance plan does not cover children. The judge, however, said Uribe must request that his insurer make some provision for his son.

Johnson said Uribe had prepared Sunday’s statement to be read to parishioners following publication of the Times article.

Uribe added that it was inappropriate for the dispute to be brought out by the media.

“Any disagreements should be resolved by the parents personally,� Uribe’s statement said.