{UAH} Outrage after priest says boy who committed suicide 'may NOT get to heaven' during funeral
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'He was up there condemning our son'
'Father, please stop': Grieving Michigan family are left distraught when priest uses teen's funeral to condemn his suicide and tell mourners how the young man 'might not get to heaven'
- Maurice Hullibarger, 18, from Temperance in Michigan, died on December 4
- The priest at his funeral suggested in his homily that Maurice may not get to heaven because he killed himself
- Hullibarger's family said Reverand Don LaCuesta kept mentioning suicide
- 'He was up there condemning our son', Maurice Hullibarger said
- The Archdiocese of Detroit said LaCuesta won't be allowed to give sermons at funerals indefinitely
A family whose son died from suicide expressed outrage after a priest suggested he might not get into heaven and 'called him a sinner' at his funeral, according to the boy's family.
Maison Hullibarger, an 18-year-old from Temperance, Michigan, died on December 4 after taking his own life.
Hullibarger's grieving family said Reverend Don LaCuesta would not stop bringing up his cause of death during the teenager's funeral on December 8, the Detroit Free Press reports.
Reverend Don LaCuesta (left) provoked outrage after suggesting that Maurice Hullibarger (right) who died from suicide, may not get into heaven at his funeral mass
'It was his time to tell everybody what he thought of suicide, (and) we couldn't believe what he was saying' said Jeff Hullibarger, Maison's father, according to the Free Press.
'He was up there condemning our son. He wondered if he had repented enough to make it to heaven. He said suicide upwards of six times'.
'There were actually a couple of younger boys who were Maison's age who left the church sobbing,' Hullibarger said.
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Maison's parents said they spoke with LaCuesta before the funeral about what they wanted to be said during the ceremony at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Temperance.
He jotted down notes during the conversation, according to the Free Press.
During the funeral, Maison's father tried to put a stop to the talk of suicide by approaching the priest and whispering to him, but he said the priest ignored him, WTVG reports.
The family has called for LaCuesta to be removed altogether.
'It's not OK,' Jeff Hullibarger added. 'He needs to be held accountable'.
Maison's parents Linda and Jeff Hullibarger were outraged at the priest's tone during their son's funeral homliy and felt like he was condemning Maison
Maison Hullibarger, an 18-year-old from Temperance, Michigan, died on December 4 after taking his own life. He was a straight A student and played football in high school
After the service, the family told the priest not to come to the cemetery, WTVG reports.
Linda Hullibarger, Maison's mother, said: 'He basically called our son a sinner.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Temperance where the teenager's funeral took place
She said: 'It was what he wanted. He said nothing about what we asked him to say'.
In a statement, the Archdiocese of Detroit said that LaCuesta won't be allowed to give sermons at funerals indefinitely.
'We understand that an unbearable situation was made even more difficult, and we are sorry', the archdiocese said, according to the Free Press.
'For the foreseeable future, he will not be preaching at funerals and he will have his other homilies reviewed by a priest mentor.
'In addition, he has agreed to pursue the assistance he needs in order to become a more effective minister in these difficult situations'.
A GoFundMe page to cover funeral expenses surpassed its fundraising goal of $10,000, bringing in $17,280 from more than 300 people in just a week.
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