ILLINOIS
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By Jesse Bogan
CHRISTOPHER, Ill. • Southern Illinois farming communities produce a lot of corn and soybeans, but not many priests these days.
The Belleville Diocese, the organization that oversees Roman Catholic churches in the region, depends on the church’s international ties to recruit missionary priests from across the globe. In Latin, they are called fidei donum, or gift of faith.
The Rev. Peter Balili, of the Philippines, was one such gift, with a tough assignment. He was called to replace the Rev. Steven F. Poole, who was arrested in 2010 for theft.
By many accounts, Balili was a good-hearted priest who was well-liked at St. Andrew Catholic Church in Christopher and St. Mary’s in Sesser, both small towns near Rend Lake. And not just because he kept the parishes alive amid pressures to close churches in remote areas.
Balili seemed to have the spirit to lead his flock out of an embarrassing time. He’d sing “You are my sunshine” and interact with parishioners of all ages.
Then, without fanfare, he left in 2014. Another international priest replaced him. …
There was nothing mysterious about the Rev. Poole’s exit.
Newspapers wrote about how he’d been caught stealing an old tavern sign in 2000 from a Ladue antique store. Then, a decade later, he was arrested trying to steal butter and a sofa cover and swapping price tags on a foam mattress at Walmart in West City, Ill. After treatment, he has since returned to ministry elsewhere.
Churchgoers never knew why Balili left, according to several interviews with parishioners over the past few months.
When asked Thursday, a receptionist at St. Andrew said: “That I have no comment on, goodbye.”
None of the congregants contacted for this story said they were aware that the Belleville Diocese had, in fact, kicked out Balili and requested that he be sent back to the Diocese of Tagbilaran in the Philippines.
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