Editor:
On the evening of Aug. 26, I was made aware that some animals kept at the San Juan Catholic Church had not been fed in two weeks. I learned these goats and chickens were the property of Los Cariños School and were personally cared for by Father Terrence Brennan in a locked area near the church. Imagine hearing that your parish priest was senselessly allowing animals to starve. There is no excuse for such cruelty against God’s creatures, especially by the parish priest.
I reported the abuse to the Ohkay Owingeh tribal police the next morning. My thanks to the officers who responded to this matter promptly and repeatedly until Father Brennan eventually found a new home for the goats and attended to the other animals. One part of this sad story is now resolved. However, the other part of this story, Father Brennan’s actions, is not resolved.
This recent act of animal cruelty is not the only example of Father Terry’s erratic behavior. Too many members of this parish have suffered his rudeness and sarcasm at weddings, baptisms and funerals. Too many members have been berated by him and some have even heard him screaming in the parish office.
Despite numerous letters to the Archdiocese from me and other members of the parish asking for assistance with Father Brennan, nothing has changed.
Some people say Father Brennan acts this way because he is overworked, has too many projects going at once and is frustrated with the pace of those projects. All of those reasons may be true, but none of those can explain the unnecessary starvation of animals. He had other options for the care of those animals, and out of all of those options, he made the cruelest choice.
Periodically each of us finds ourselves in situations that are uncomfortable, but we usually accept and tolerate those situations for a variety of reasons. But this case is different. Father Brennan’s actions can no longer be tolerated.
Carla Henson
Ohkay Owingeh