Detroit archbishop’s new appointment sparks controversy
The Catholic Herald • August 12, 2025
Detroit Archbishop Edward Weisenburger has come under fire for appointing a priest linked to a group that supports women’s ordination as the archdiocese’s ombudsman.
On 18 March 2025, Archbishop Edward Weisenburger was installed as head of the Archdiocese of Detroit, one of the final episcopal appointments made by Pope Francis before his death.
Within a month, he announced a complete prohibition of the Traditional Latin Mass in parish churches, effective 1 July. Three weeks later, he dismissed three senior conservative faculty members of Sacred Heart Seminary: Dr Ralph Martin, Dr Eduardo Echeverria, and Dr Edward Peters.
The recent controversial appointment came in May when the archbishop named Fr David Buersmeyer as the archdiocese’s new ombudsman, a role described in the archbishop’s letter to clergy as providing “a neutral space to discuss interpersonal interactions that may fall short of our expectations for professional and pastoral conduct.” The ombudsman, the letter stated, would have authority to review complaints informally and, if necessary, escalate matters “within the chancery chain of leadership.”
The Lepanto Institute has alleged that Fr Buersmeyer was once associated with the Association of US Catholic Priests (AUSCP), a group which has publicly supported women’s ordination, lay-led parishes, and positions on sexuality at odds with Catholic teaching. Citing AUSCP’s 2015 document A Request to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Urging Full Restoration and Implementation of the Rite of Penance, the institute notes that Fr Buersmeyer was named among contributors to its call for broader use of general absolution — a sacramental form reserved by the Church for emergencies such as imminent danger of death.
Fr Buersmeyer also signed, on 7 February 2013, an open letter by the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland supporting three priests disciplined by the Holy See: Fr Tony Flannery, facing excommunication for advocacy of women’s ordination; Fr Roy Bourgeois, excommunicated in 2008 for participating in a simulated ordination; and Fr Bill Brennan, barred in 2012 from public ministry for concelebrating Mass with a woman.
In blog posts on his site ChurchWorldKingdom.org, Fr Buersmeyer has criticised what he calls the Church’s “continual suspicion” of modern ideas, suggesting that the faithful should “humbly learn with the modern world” on issues including “gender fluidity” and “support [for] gay marriage within society.”
To many Detroit Catholics, the appointment comes amid what they see as a pattern of centralising authority and suppressing traditional expressions of the faith. An unnamed cleric of the Diocese of Detroit told the Herald: “When the shepherd silences the Tridentine, removes great professors who taught me, and elevates those with questionable loyalties, the flock cannot help but feel exposed.”