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- Priest condemned teenager who killed himself
- The teenager’s family expressed their disappointment regarding the priest’s sermon that focused on how their loved one died instead of celebrating his life.
The Archdiocese of Detroit said that a priest is suspended and is no longer allowed to speak at funerals after he angered the family of a teenager who committed suicide. It turns out that Filipino priest Rev. Don LaCuesta questioned if the boy had been granted God’s forgiveness in the afterlife.
On the December 8 funeral for 18-year-old Maison Hullibarger, the teenager’s father, Jeff Hullibarger said that LaCuesta condemned his son for killing himself instead of celebrating his life.
It is said that LaCuesta told the attendees of the funeral that “salvation belongs to Jesus Christ” and that “there is hope in eternity even for those who take their own lives.”
He added that they should not make what’s bad, good.
“Because we are Christians, we must say what we know is the truth — that taking your own life is against God who made us and against everyone who loves us.
“The finality of suicide makes this all the worse. You cannot make things right again.”
Photo Courtesy of WDIV
Some attendees were so upset over the sermon that they left the room in tears.
In a statement released by the archdiocese, LaCuesta apologized for the incident.
“As with any funeral, it was my intent to serve this family in their time of grief, but I fell well short of providing them the comfort they so desperately needed. Instead, I added to their pain. I deeply regret that, and I am sorry.”
