Parish life normal after pastor suspended

Despite the shake-up at Risen Christ Parish caused by recent charges against the Rev. Rudy Bullman, the Evergreen parish has been moving along relatively smoothly.

Bullman, who led the parish for more than a decade, was placed on administrative leave in December of last year. He has been charged with felony sexual abuse of children for allegedly possessing child pornography.

According to parishioner Jack Fallon, guest priests have been coming in weekly to assist in the ongoing activities of the parish, as well as to help address questions regarding what will happen as Bullman’s case moves forward.

“It seems like there’s been some discussions with the youth programs, and there was a bishop here that had question-and-answer time with the congregation after each of the Masses,” Fallon said. “I think there’s been discussion to have it be as open as possible, even though there’s still some respect for privacy and respect for the process of ‘innocent until proven guilty.’”

He said there is an added bonus in the rotating schedule of priests who have been leading the parish.

“I think it’s always a healthy experience to have visiting priests because you get a lot of variety,” he said.

Fallon said gossip about Bullman has been at a minimum and that no one has talked to him about it. He said he was most interested in the way the diocese is handling the situation.

“The church, for the last at least five years, has worked on various teaching sessions for protecting youth and getting protocols in place for any kind of action, and when [Bullman’s situation] first came to light those were kicked into place and he was relieved of his duties,” Fallon said.

As for his own thoughts on the case, Fallon said he was disheartened.

“There’s disturbing aspects, but I think we still have to have some compassion for the situation, not that there’s always acceptable levels of activity and action and unacceptable levels, but everybody has weaknesses and faults,” he said.

“One of the basic tenets of any religion is forgiveness and healing. It just seems that that’s the direction we go in and you still have to practice some caution along the way.”

Bullman’s arraignment is scheduled for April 19.