What Problem Are They Trying To Solve With Fr Kenyon?

A quick answer is we don't know, but it must be an awfully big one. "They", for one thing, is not only the OCSP, but the Diocese of Shrewsbury in the UK, and considering the air of confidentiality around this matter, the CDF. Let's look at the level of disruption we see in the effort to solve the problem, whatever it may be. I keep pointing to the principle of sufficient reason in questioning the minimal public explanation for Fr Kenyon's move -- but now it seems that after all the effort to solve it to date, the problem still hasn't been solved.

Ordaining a Permanent Deacon a Priest. My regular correspondent has found confirmation that Fr Kenyon's replacement, now-Fr Martens, was originally ordained to the permanent diaconate in 2014. This site suggests that ordaining a permanent deacon to the priesthood, while not completely out of the question, "must always be a very rare exception, and only for special and grave reasons..." The site, in fact, speaks mainly to the question of ordaining a widowed or celibate permanent deacon to the priesthood and hardly mentions married ones. A major issue is that permanent deacons don't have the same formation as priests, and it's incumbent on the bishop to ensure that the deacon candidate for the priesthood is adequately prepared.

This suggests two possibilities: either the OCSP deviated from standard Catholic practice in quickly ordaining a permanent deacon to the priesthood to fill a sudden need, or now-Fr Martens's preparation was extensive, which would imply that a problem was well known to Houston for many months. However, deviation from policy and standard practice, certainly to the point of slapdash ordinations to the priesthood, has been a hallmark in Houston. This is yet a further instance of what could well be inadequate formation of OCSP priests, which I've mentioned many times here.

The Disruption in the Diocese of Shrewsbury. Preparation for Fr Kenyon's move to the UK had been in train for some time prior to the announcement, and it was a serious matter.

This notice was published in the St John the Evangelist Calgary bulletin for June 25, 2017:

Today marks Father Kenyon’s final public Mass at St John’s after over eight years in the parish. Since the announcement has now been made in his new parish, he is able to name his next appointment as the Parish Priest of Our Lady and the Apostles, Stockport, Cheshire. This is a parish of the Diocese of Shrewsbury, four miles from Father Kenyon’s parents’ home. In addition to his diocesan duties, Father Kenyon, who continues as a priest of the Ordinariate, will also develop an Ordinariate apostolate for the South Manchester area, based at Our Lady’s. Father Kenyon takes up his new position on 1st August. Please gather in the Cross Hall after the Solemn Mass for an informal farewell to the Kenyons.

My regular correspondent pointed out that although I've previously referred to Fr Kenyon as being "reincardinated" to the Diocese of Shrewsbury, he was in fact on a five-year loan there and is still a priest of the OCSP. However, the Diocese of Shrewsbury went to considerable effort to place Fr Kenyon and his family in the rectory at Our Lady and the Apostles, including moving a priest out. The August 2017 newsletter of The Sacred Heart & Our Lady of Lourdes parish of Moreton carries the note,

Fr Tony Myers retired from Timperley and he is replaced by a former curate from Sacred Heart, Fr Pat Munroe who, at the age of 66 has been asked to take on this big parish. Pat has been asked to move from Stockport to accommodate a Fr Lee Kenyon, a priest of the Ordinariate who moves in to Edgeley with his wife and 5 children.

But as noted here September 19, although the announcement here and in the Diocese of Shrewsbury referred to him starting at Our Lady and the Apostles on August 1, there has been no mention of his arrival. As best we can tell, the associate at the parish, Fr Francis Uchenna Nnadi, is filling in as pastor, which presumably adds to his workload, and so far, it appears that moving Fr Pat Munroe out of the rectory was for naught.

On September 19, I sent the following e-mail to the parish office at Our Lady and the Apostles:

I note that letters from the bishop and the previous pastor announced the pending arrival of Fr Lee Kenyon from Canada. However, so far, there doesn’t appear to be any mention of him on the parish website. Can you confirm his current status?

Many thanks!

So far, I've had no reply. One credible interpretation would be that this is a confidential personnel matter, and the parish is not authorized to make any statement on Fr Kenyon's status.

Where is the Kenyon family, if not in the Stockport rectory? The May 1 announcement of Fr Kenyon's departure from Calgary was noted here. But as best we can tell, although my regular correspondent cites Mrs Kenyon's Facebook page indicating the family now lives in Manchester, there is no evidence that Fr Kenyon ever took up his planned residence in the Stockport rectory.

It appears tha the family's previous residence in the Calgary area has been sold.

After All This Effort, The Problem Isn't Solved, whatever it is. From what we see in the public record, there was some need to relocate Fr Kenyon, not just to another OCSP parish, but back to the UK. But the canonical move hasn't taken place, although it appears that the Kenyon family is living somewhere in the Manchester area. It's hard not to speculate that some sort of personnel issue was involved in the move, and during the course of the move, the problem somehow resurfaced or was exacerbated, such that Fr Kenyon is not functioning as a priest, as had been clearly anticipated, and his current circumstances appear to be under a seal of confidentiality.