The parents of a Michigan teen who took his own life were left in shock after a Catholic priest used the teen’s funeral as an opportunity to condemn his actions. Maison Hullibarger committed suicide on December 4, and his family scheduled the funeral to take place on December 8 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church. Father Don LaCuesta, the family’s local priest, was set to preside over the service.
Shockingly, however, Father Don LaCuesta took the opportunity to slate Maison as a sinner for committing suicide and even asked whether the teen had “repented in the eyes of God.” On multiple occasions, the priest bluntly doubted that the enthusiastic football player had managed to reach heaven following his death. The family expressed their discomfort with his remarks, but the minister continued on his awful rant.
The parents of the University of Toledo freshman, Jeff and Linda, met with LaCuesta before the service to indicate what they wanted him to say at their son’s service. When he decided to instead preach a sermon emphasizing the sinfulness of suicide, Jeff was quick to react. The hurt father approached the priest in the middle of his condemning sermon, pleading “Father, please stop.” LaCuesta did not halt the sermon, but continued to fling words of conviction.
“He was up there condemning our son, pretty much calling him a sinner. He wondered if he had repented enough to make it to heaven. He said ‘suicide’ upwards of six times,” Jeff told the Detroit Free Press. “There were actually a couple of younger boys who were Maison’s age who left the church sobbing.”
When it was Jeff’s turn to deliver his son’s eulogy, the priest tried to end the mass.
“I had words prepared, but when [the priest] was done, he was going to finish mass without giving anybody else the opportunity to say anything. He had the organist start playing and they were going to roll the casket out — some nerve,” Jeff told DFP. Hullibarger that many in attendance recalled the priest having “a smirk on his face” while delivering his harsh comments.
Jeffrey Wood, Maison’s high school football coach, also attended the December 8th funeral despite claims that he repeatedly bullied Maison and his brother throughout their time as students at Bedford High School. He disregarded the requests from Maison’s parents urging him not to attend the service.
“We knew Maison would not want him at his funeral. He did not treat Maison kindly. So it was our wish that he would not be there,” Linda informed the outlet.
One of the couple’s sons immediately asked the coach to leave the memorial. Shortly afterwards, the coach took to Facebook to post the following disquieting message which caused him to be fired from his position:
“I was just asked to leave a funeral by a family member of a deceased football player. If you need someone to blame, I’m your man, I’m your fall guy. This is how society is when things go not as planned. We blame others for our own shortcomings. This tragedy is not about me or you. It’s about looking in the mirror as a human being and being real and honest with yourself.”
In regards to LaCuesta, a statement from the Archdiocese of Detroit released a statement on the situation which stated that they were “sorry.”
“We share the family’s grief at such a profound loss. Our hope is always to bring comfort into situations of great pain, through funeral services centered on the love and healing power of Christ,” the Archdiocese noted, according to Yahoo News.
“Unfortunately, that did not happen in this case. We understand that an unbearable situation was made even more difficult, and we are sorry.
“After some reflection, the presider agrees that the family was not served as they should have been served. For the foreseeable future, he will not be preaching at funerals and he will have his other homilies reviewed by a priest mentor. In addition, he has agreed to pursue the assistance he needs in order to become a more effective minister in these difficult situations.
“We have been in contact with the family since learning of this situation, and we will continue to offer our support going forward.”
“We wanted him to celebrate how Maison lived, not how he died,” Linda said of the appalling sermon. When asked if they ever plan on returning to the Cathlic church, the parents were adament: “No, no, no,” they declared. “Absolutely not!”
Faithwire reports that a GoFundMe campaign has been created to assist the family in coping with funeral expenses.
“A few days ago we all lost someone very special to us,” reads the description.
“A son, brother, friend, cousin. This is a hard time for us all. No one ever expects this to happen, no one is ever ready when this happens. All donations will go directly towards funeral cost, nothing else. This is hard for us to do as we do not enjoy asking for favors but the cost for a proper burial is vast. We love and appreciate everyones support regardless.”
At this point, more than $20,000 dollars has been raised, and messages of support have been flooding in on the page.
“Jesus knows his heart. He loved him so much as if he was the only one on earth. I’m super sorry for your loss. You will see him again,” one person wrote.
Another person stated:
“I am so terribly sorry for the loss of your incredible son. I am also so incredibly sorry about what happened at his funeral. At a time when you were supposed to be comforted, you had the complete opposite experience. I wholeheartedly support firing this priest. He was mean spirited, and frankly evil.
He knew he was hurting you and your family, and he continued despite your request that he stop. I hope that you take whatever extra money is available to help you and your children navigate this heartbreaking tragedy. And I hope that in time, you are able to find peace and joy again in your lives.”
Please pray for Hallibarger family as they grieve the loss of their beloved son.
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