[T]here are three distinct issues at stake: (1) the canonical validity of Archbishop Garcia-Siller’s attempt to remove Fr. Phillips from the office of Pastor of the Parish of Our Lady of the Atonement, (2) the “particular church” (Archdiocese of San Antonio or Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter) to which the Parish of Our Lady of the Atonement belongs, and (3) the “particular church” to which Fr. Phillips belongs. There is actually nothing whatsoever that precludes a priest of the local diocese from serving as pastor of an ordinariate parish or vice versa.My understanding is that the issue that governed the pastors of SMV and OLW not transferring to the OCSP was pension -- they retained their diocesan pensions and retired with the moves, which seems like a prudent and sensible choice. Since Fr Phillips is himself close to retirement, it's difficult to discern his intentions here, since by this account, the OCSP would be responsible for his pension -- but he wouldn't qualify for an OCSP pension, as far as I can see.In the Catholic Church, the normal process for a member of the clergy to transfer from one jurisdiction to another, officially called “excardination” and “incardination,” is governed by canons 265–272 of the Codex Juris Canonici. Note that a bishop normally cannot refuse a request for excardination without “evident grave causes” and that the affected cleric may take recourse against such a decision.
If a cleric transfers from one “particular church” to another by this process, the receiving “particular church” assumes responsibility to provide for that cleric’s support in retirement. There is no automatic transfer of pension funds, and no right to income from a pension fund of the previous “particular church.” If Fr. Phillips were to transfer to the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, that responsibility would go to the ordinariate with him.
A transfer of a parish from one “particular church” to another is an extraordinary event, so I’m not aware of any explicit provision in ecclesial law pertaining thereto. AFAIK, the normal method of effecting such a transfer is agreement between the ordinaries (diocesan bishops or equivalent) of the affected “particular churches” negotiate the terms, effective date, and compensation of such a transfer. The pastor may, but need not, make the transfer with the parish — Fr. Bergman of St. Thomas More in Scranton, Pennsylvania, did, but the pastors of Our Lady of Walsingham in Houston, Texas, and St. Mary the Virgin in Arlington, Texas, did not. Note that Our Lady of Walsingham was under the pastoral care of its diocesan pastor for several months after the parish officially transferred to the ordinariate, while St. Mary the Virgin was under the pastoral care of an ordinariate priest serving as its “administrator” for several months before it officially transferred to the ordinariate.
A recent comment at the Texas Public Radio site says that OLA has $6.5 million in debt, for which the archdiocese would still be responsible if the parish moves to the OCSP. But in addition, there would be a question of whether the OCSP would be in a position to assume this debt. Presumably this is an issue that will be resolved by the CDF.
Many thanks to this visitor for this additional insight.
