Bishop asks DFW priest to resign after he wrote intimidating, sex-fueled letter

By Nichole Manna
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
August 03, 2018

https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/dallas/article216037170.html

Kirkham

A priest in the Fort Worth Catholic Diocese has resigned after a letter he wrote to another priest in Dallas was deemed intimidating, manipulative and inappropriate by Bishop Michael Olson.

The Rev. Richard Kirkham, former pastor of St. Martin de Porres in Prosper, is also accused of failing to report knowledge he had of alleged sexual misconduct and predatory sexual harassment in the workplace regarding the Dallas-area priest.

Kirkham submitted his resignation letter on June 4, but later tried to rescind it. Olson said he declined Kirkham’s request.

The Star-Telegram was unable to reach Kirkham for comment.

Annette Gonzales Taylor, spokesperson for the Dallas diocese, said the allegations in Kirkham’s letter against the Dallas-area priest and woman were found to be untrue.

Olson said his request for Kirkham to resign shows that he’s committed to maintaining a safe environment for minors, the vulnerable, members of the clergy and employees of the church.

The incident began sometime in the fall, when Kirkham and the Dallas-area priest — whom Olson declined to identify for his privacy — met at Rockfish in Frisco for drinks.

The Dallas priest allegedly confided in Kirkham about an affair he was having with a woman involved in his parish. The priest told Kirkham that the woman had “more to lose” than he did, so he wasn’t worried about the affair, Kirkham wrote in the letter.

At some point between October and June, Olson said, the priest in the Dallas diocese started to “move away from the friendship” with Kirkham because it became too intense. Olson later said that Kirkham embraced the priest and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

The priest asked for Kirkham to stop contacting him, but Kirkham repeatedly continued to contact the man, Olson said.

Then, “a letter was written (by Kirkham) as an attempt to manipulate” the priest, Olson said.