MD Priest On Leave For Kicking Funeral, Mourners Out Of Church

CHARLOTTE HALL, MD — Catholic Church officials have placed a Maryland priest on leave after he threw a temper tantrum at a funeral, telling the bereaved family of Agnes Theresa Hicks to “get the hell out” of his church and take “this thing” — meaning Ms. Hicks’ casket — with them. The Rev. Michael Briese lost his cool when a mourner knocked over a chalice and damaged it while offering a hug to one of the deceased woman's daughters.

The priest’s rant, which brought to bear the full pressure of the Archdiocese of Washington, was captured on cellphone video and widely shared on social media. Briese ordered hundreds of mourners out of Saint Mary’s Catholic Church, and even called Charlotte Hall police, Ms. Hicks’ daughter, Shanice Chisley, said.

The Archdiocese apologized to the family in a letter on June 27, then on July 3 placed Briese on leave while the furor is investigated. (See the full text of the letter at the bottom of this story.) What occurred at Ms. Hicks’ June 26 funeral “does not reflect the Catholic Church’s fundamental calling to respect and uplift the God-given dignity of every person nor does that incident represent the pastoral approach the priests of the Archdiocese of Washington commit to undertake every day in their ministry,” the letter said.

“On days such as today, our response should always be one of compassion and sympathy for the bereaved as well as prayers for the deceased,” the Rev. Michael Fisher, secretary for ministerial leadership for the Archdiocese, wrote. “I reiterate and reinforce the sincere apology you and your family received from Father Woods earlier today.”

Briese also apologized for his actions in a letter. The text of his letter is also shared below.

"Instead of lifting them up, I let them down," the priest wrote. "For the anger and embarrassment I caused to that family, I am profoundly sorry."

The archdiocese said that in his time as pastor of St. Mary’s, Briese has accomplished a great deal, welcoming and helping people from all walks of life with support through his work with the local community food bank and offering employment assistance.

The 54-year-old Ms. Hicks did get a funeral Mass after stunned family members picked up her casket and carried it to the waiting hearse, but not at the church where she had been baptized. Police who responded to the priest’s call for help in ejecting the family determined they had done nothing wrong and provided an escort to Briscoe-Tonic Funeral Home in another county. There, the Rev. Scott Woods, a priest from another parish, performed the service.

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When the church’s golden cup was damaged, “all hell broke loose,” Chisley told television station WTTG.

“He literally got on the mic and said, ‘there will be no funeral, there will be no Mass, no repass, everyone get the hell out of my church,’ ” Chisley said. “He disrespected our family, he disrespected my mother. He called my mother 'a thing.' He said, 'get this thing out of my church! Everyone get the hell out of my church!’ It was very sad. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

Another daughter, Renetta Baker, had a message for Briese: “You're not a preacher. You’re not a pastor. You’re not a father of the Lord. You’re not any of that. You’re the devil,” Baker said in the TV interview.

Baker was on the receiving end of a hug when the chalice was knocked over. No one noticed it at the time, but “one of the ladies [at the church] came out and saw it, and she went back and told him, told Father Michael,” Baker told The Enterprise, a twice-weekly newspaper in California, Maryland.

“He came out yelling at me,” she said. “So I stood up and said we’re going to take care of it after the funeral. Then he went back, then he came to the mic and said ‘There will be no funeral today.’ ”

Larry Hicks, Ms. Hicks’ brother, said the priest’s response was “uncalled for and it really hurt me.”

“It really did,” he told WTTG. “To see your loved one come there to rest and to be shut down like that.”

Ed Hill, an attendant for the Briscoe-Tonic Funeral Home who was helping with the service, told The Enterprise he tried to diffuse the situation.

“I tried to calm him down, asked if I could pray with him, and he told me I need to get out of here, too. He told me ‘You need to get those people out of here, I want all their asses out of here right now,” Hill told the newspaper. “He was cursing, he didn’t want prayer, he didn’t want anything.”

Briese apologized in a letter the archdiocese shared, writing: "I lost my temper at a moment when anger was the most inappropriate response to those people entrusted to my care at that moment of ministry.”

Ms. Hicks’ son, Davon Chisley, told WTTG the incident left a lasting impression.

“My mom was supposed to have a great funeral and all this came up and I’m so traumatized by it,” he said. “I'm going to be thinking about this every day. I’ll never forget this day.”

Letter from Father Michael Briese:

Two minutes can change a life. In an emergency medical situation, two minutes can save a life. But can two minutes erase a quarter century of a person’s life and commitment to serving and caring for his community and those entrusted to his care? I hope not.

I am a Catholic priest and pastor at St Mary Catholic Church in Newport, MD, and as reported elsewhere in this newspaper and on its website, I lost my temper at a moment when anger was the most inappropriate response to those people entrusted to my care at that moment of ministry.

Before the start of a funeral Mass on Wednesday, June 27, one of the guests in the church damaged a sacred chalice used for the Mass. The sight of that accident made my frustration boil over. My anger spilled out in a torrent. I uttered words I never use, and treated people I have lived with and committed my life to serve in an unacceptable manner. Instead of care and compassion for the grieving family and friends, my focus turned to anger.

The man who cancelled this family’s funeral and dispatched them in anger, is not the man who hours before worked to minister to their needs in a time of grief. Instead of lifting them up, I let them down. For the anger and embarrassment I caused to that family, I am profoundly sorry.

My vocation as a Catholic priest is not merely a job or a career. My calling to Catholic priesthood is but the summit of a life lived in service to those in need, who feel lost or are abandoned, those who are vulnerable. For more than 25 years, I have lived to offer my hand to countless men, women and children, who could not speak for themselves. I have sought to serve as an advocate, a voice on behalf of others. I remain a person whose deep desire to serve others is firmly rooted in my heartfelt desire to serve Our Lord.

Some might dismiss these words given the tenor of the words I uttered before the funeral that was to take place on Wednesday. That is a just part of the consequence I will bear for my behavior. Like all human beings, I too, am broken in nature, make mistakes and, yes, I fail. My life has been, is now, and prayerfully will always be, a life in which my daily words and deeds exemplify the Gospel message. My most recent actions do not reflect who I am as a priest. I have spent much of my life working to lessen the challenges and ease the burden of people whose lives are heavy with struggles. I understand that my recent actions have now added a burden to their lives – a sad consequence that I must confront and for which I take responsibility.

My recent actions words were not borne of kindness but a failure of my vow to serve the Lord and those entrusted to my care as a person and as priest. I am profoundly sorry for my words and actions. I pray for all in this community every day, and I can only ask that you pray for me, but also for other priests and ministers, and all who seek to serve those who suffer and struggle as we strive to build up the kingdom of God.

Letter from Archdiocese of Washington to the Hicks family:

June 27, 2018
Dear Ms. Chisley and Family,
It has come to the attention of my office as Vicar for Clergy that a funeral scheduled for your loved one, Agnes Hicks, at Saint Mary Parish, Newport, Maryland, did not take place due to a serious misunderstanding.
I have been informed that following the incident at Saint Mary Parish that one of the neighboring pastors, Father Scott Woods, completed the service at the Briscoe-Tonic Funeral Home and offered his sincerest apologies. What occurred at Saint Mary’s Parish this morning does not reflect the Catholic Church’s fundamental calling to respect and uplift the God-given dignity of every person nor does that incident represent the pastoral approach the priests of the Archdiocese of Washington commit to undertake every day in their ministry.
With this letter, I want to reach out to you first to offer my prayers for your loved one that God will grant her a place in his kingdom of eternal light and love, and condolences to your family.
On days such as today, our response should always be one of compassion and sympathy for the bereaved as well as prayers for the deceased. I reiterate and reinforce the sincere apology you and your family received from Father Woods earlier today. Should you wish to discuss this matter further, I would be happy to set up a meeting for a fuller conversation.
Tomorrow, I will celebrate a memorial Mass for the repose of the soul of your mother, Agnes.
Sincerely in Christ,
Most Reverend Michael W. Fisher
Auxiliary Bishop-elect
Secretary for Ministerial Leadership

This story includes reporting by Patch Editor Beth Dalbey

Photo by Rob Byron / Shutterstock