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	Bishop Apologizes to Local Parish By Margaret Levra Ironwood Daily Globe [Hurley WI] November 2, 2005 HURLEY -- A closer relationship between the Superior Diocese and its parishioners is necessary, Bishop Rafael Fliss told about 50 people Tuesday night. They gathered at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Hurley to talk about the late Rev. Ryan Erickson and the recent determination that he probably murdered a Hudson, Wis., funeral home director and his intern in February 2002. "It is highly unusual for a bishop to stand up in front of his people with humility and say, 'I messed up bad and I need your help to make sure it doesn't happen again,'" said the Rev. Michael Hayden, pastor at St. Mary's. "He was sincere in seeking the help of all of us. "We're looking at a serious oversight here. He (Fliss) needs the advice of a broad base of the diocese. He needs to pay attention to the people," Hayden said. Hayden termed Fliss's acknowledgment of his "mess-up" as a huge step for the bishop. "Bishop Fliss said he should know them (priests) personally, what they are like and what's going on in the parish," Hurley Chief of Police Dan Erspamer said this morning. Erspamer, a member of the parish, attended the meeting. He said Bishop Fliss also said he should get to know the people of the parish, and find out what they think of their priests. Erspamer said Fliss told the group he was "here to listen. He wanted to find out what he could do to make sure this type of incident does not happen again." He noted the bishop requested that the media not take notes or photos of the "private" gathering. Fliss told the group there's a system in place to weed out any potential problems with priests, Erspamer said. The Bishop said he was mistaken when he assumed that system works. Fliss said he should have done more himself. Erspamer said he spoke with several parishioners as they left the church. He said the consensus was that, "It's time to put this incident behind us." Parish trustee Joe Simonich this morning said he told Fliss the Diocese of Superior "has neglected St. Mary's Cluster for years, and every time an issue requires their attention, they do not take care of business." Simonich said Fliss agreed. "Yes, you are right," the bishop told him. "We must do a better job." Asked what he was going to do differently, Fliss said, "Pay more attention to what the parishioners are telling us."
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