CINCINNATI (AP) - A fire department chaplain who said he was
trying to unify the predominantly white fire union and the black
firefighters' association has been fired from the volunteer
position.
The Rev. Mike Paraniuk, 52, was fired Thursday by Cincinnati
fire Chief Robert Wright, who said the volunteer chaplain's focus
on race relations had drawn complaints from some firefighters who
argued the priest was getting too involved in departmental matters.
The union and the black firefighters' association have been
divided for years over racial issues.
Paraniuk said Saturday that he had made it his goal to unify the
two groups after he saw a church filled with black and white
firefighters at the funeral of black firefighter Oscar Armstrong
III, who was killed on duty in March.
"When he thinks that he's going to be the peacemaker, I don't
need him to do that," Wright said. "That's my position, that he
should've stayed out of that."
Mayor Charlie Luken said Wright called him Friday to tell him
he'd removed Paraniuk. Luken said Wright told him the priest had
become a problem.
Wright also said some firefighters had complained of the amount
of time Paraniuk spent with them at the fire houses.
"This is a moral issue," Paraniuk said of the department's
racial divisions. "As the chaplain, I'm the spiritual leader and
it's my job to address the moral issues."
He said he would like to be reinstated as a volunteer, but
Wright said that won't happen.
"When you're a volunteer, you have to follow the directions of
the person that appointed you," Wright said. "He's supposed to be
helping me keep my firefighters whole."
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
trying to unify the predominantly white fire union and the black
firefighters' association has been fired from the volunteer
position.
The Rev. Mike Paraniuk, 52, was fired Thursday by Cincinnati
fire Chief Robert Wright, who said the volunteer chaplain's focus
on race relations had drawn complaints from some firefighters who
argued the priest was getting too involved in departmental matters.
The union and the black firefighters' association have been
divided for years over racial issues.
Paraniuk said Saturday that he had made it his goal to unify the
two groups after he saw a church filled with black and white
firefighters at the funeral of black firefighter Oscar Armstrong
III, who was killed on duty in March.
"When he thinks that he's going to be the peacemaker, I don't
need him to do that," Wright said. "That's my position, that he
should've stayed out of that."
Mayor Charlie Luken said Wright called him Friday to tell him
he'd removed Paraniuk. Luken said Wright told him the priest had
become a problem.
Wright also said some firefighters had complained of the amount
of time Paraniuk spent with them at the fire houses.
"This is a moral issue," Paraniuk said of the department's
racial divisions. "As the chaplain, I'm the spiritual leader and
it's my job to address the moral issues."
He said he would like to be reinstated as a volunteer, but
Wright said that won't happen.
"When you're a volunteer, you have to follow the directions of
the person that appointed you," Wright said. "He's supposed to be
helping me keep my firefighters whole."
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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