Head of Catholic Charities Fort Worth has ‘no intention’ to resign despite bishop’s pressure
The head of Catholic Charities Fort Worth said he does not plan to resign his post, even while the bishop of Fort Worth is pushing him to leave his role after a contentious meeting earlier this month.
Christopher Plumlee, the chief executive officer of Catholic Charities Fort Worth, told the Star-Telegram on Wednesday that stepping down would indicate that he’s done something wrong.
“I have no intention of resigning,” Plumlee said. “If I resigned, it would have intimated that I’ve done something that I should have resigned over. And I haven’t.”
Plumlee took the reins at Catholic Charities Fort Worth, which is the service arm of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth, in September. He previously served on the organization’s board.
But a matter of months into his new role, Plumlee is under pressure from Bishop Michael Olson, who has asked him to resign his post after an early April meeting between the two men.
In an April 4 letter, which the Star-Telegram obtained, Olson recounts a conversation from several days earlier, about a women’s summit that was being planned by Catholic Charities. According to Olson’s recollection, Plumlee told the bishop during an April 1 meeting that he was not invited to attend or speak at the event, and that Catholic social teaching could not be included on the event’s agenda.
“You … stated that you promised the group of speakers that no men would speak at this event and that I was not invited to speak because of my masculinity,” Olson wrote in his letter to Plumlee.
That stance, Olson wrote, conflicted with Catholic teachings and was more similar to principles of diversity, equity and inclusion.
“These social principles and your action in alignment with them are most truly hostile to the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church and thus to the authentic mission of CCFW,” Olson wrote.
The next day, Plumlee sent a letter in reply, denying any conflict with Catholic teachings and asking the bishop to reconsider his request. In both that responsive letter and an interview with the Star-Telegram, Plumlee said the April 1 meeting that sparked the situation was filled with miscommunications.
Plumlee told the Star-Telegram that he has been working to expand the donor and volunteer base of Catholic Charities, including through the women’s summit that was planned for later this month. But when explaining this aim and the summit’s premise to Olson, Plumlee said, the conversation took a turn for the worse.
“Things went completely sideways,” Plumlee said.
The Catholic Charities head said he was taken aback by the sudden souring between himself and the bishop. During his tenure, Plumlee said, his interactions with the bishop have been relatively infrequent. The two men met a number of times in the past seven months, so that Plumlee could update Olson on the organization’s activities. But Plumlee said they had not become close enough for there to be tension.
“Believe me, I’ve played this over in my head 175 times,” Plumlee said.
“There was never any indication that there was a problem. Never.”
But over the course of the April 1 meeting, which lasted approximately half an hour, that changed.
In the more than two weeks since Olson requested his resignation, and since Plumlee responded by asking him to reconsider, Plumlee said he has not received any additional communication from the bishop. The bishop’s spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday, although he told the Star-Telegram on Tuesday that Olson’s letter and resignation request still stand.
In the meantime, the women’s summit that acted as a flashpoint has been canceled, Plumlee said. And for his part, Plumlee said, he has “stepped away” from the organization while he and lawyers attempt to resolve the situation.
Ideally, Plumlee said, he would like to be able to sit down with the bishop and work through the issues. But he doesn’t know how likely that is.
“I’m hopeful that the bishop has a change of heart,” Plumlee said. “I know it’s pollyannish. But I know our God can move mountains, our God can part seas.”
This story was originally published April 20, 2022 at 5:05 PM.
