Popular Surfer Priest Resigns, Citing Problems Keeping Vow of Celibacy

SIMI VALLEY — Maybe, muse the parishioners at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church, God is testing us.

Repeatedly.

That was the refrain heard Wednesday at the growing Roman Catholic parish in Simi Valley that has seen both stunning successes and heartbreaking struggles in recent years.

This week, a beloved priest known for his charisma and his surfing resigned his parish post after wrestling with his vow of celibacy.

In a letter read to parishioners at Sunday Mass, Father Dennis Mongrain wrote that over his two-decade career he had “overstepped my limits in relationships with adult women.” Mongrain, 46, has left the parish, seeking counseling for his “brokenness” and asking for prayers and forgiveness.

Consider it done, say members of his 2,500-family flock.

“A lot of people have come up to me and said, ‘OK, we forgive him. Can he come back?’ ” said church Deacon Richard Hamm. “Or, ‘So he’s human, so what?’ We all love him.”

Mongrain’s many strengths should outweigh his one weakness, said one parishioner, who did not wish to be named because “these are the thoughts of the whole parish, not any one individual.”

“No one is holding a grudge,” said the woman, who believes priests should be allowed to wed. “Our priests are only people. We’re really, really going to miss him.”

The resignation comes at a sensitive time for the parish, which has struggled mightily over the last five years.

Under Mongrain’s stewardship, the parish has completed a massive fund-raising drive and is building a new, roomier church. That church is expected to accommodate the parish’s massive growth.

The growth came only after Father David Dean Piroli left the parish.

In 1992, Piroli was accused--and later acquitted during a criminal trial--of embezzling church collection money. In connection with those charges, Piroli is now suing the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles for defaming his character and ruining his career. The lawsuit could go to trial as soon as Sept. 22.

The incident is one that most parishioners preferred to put behind them, with Mongrain’s help. By bolstering youth activities, raising funds for a new church, throwing pool parties and keeping immaculate financial ledgers, Mongrain helped the parish regain members--doubling its size during his tenure.

Now he is gone, and churchgoers are awaiting a new priest.

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“Obviously, we had a problem before Father Dennis came here--a problem that he came here to solve,” Hamm said. “The parish was pretty discouraged and angry because of that. He was able to pull us together.”

It’s hard to say exactly when St. Peter Claver will get a new priest, said Father Gregory Coiro, the archdiocese’s director of media relations. In the interim, Msgr. Charles O’Gorman, pastor of the Santa Clara Church in Oxnard, will help the Simi Valley parish.

The archdiocese has also arranged for professional counselors to come to the St. Peter Claver rectory today between 7:30 and 9 p.m. to talk to any distraught parishioners.

“Father Mongrain was a very successful pastor,” Coiro said.

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“He went to St. Peter in a difficult situation, amid accusations against Father Piroli, a trial and accusations against a former pastor,” he said. “Father Mongrain was able to show such exceptional leadership that he was able to pull the parish together. . . . He got people’s attention focused on the future rather than the past.”

The archdiocese would not discuss any details of Mongrain’s letter, Coiro said. Nor would he disclose where the priest is pursuing his “program of assessment and treatment to address the issues that led to his resignation.”

Anyone wishing to contact Mongrain may send letters to the parish office and they will be forwarded.

The highest honor that parishioners can give Mongrain is continuing his legacy of outreach and growth, Hamm said,

The parishioner who believes priests should marry agreed.

“He helped us raise the money for our new church,” which is expected to open in May, she said. “We’re going to finish it. Father Dennis will see that we did this for him. He’ll be proud of us.”