Thomas J. Quinlan


The Reverend Thomas J. Quinlan was a Roman Catholic priest of the Richmond diocese.

Career

Father Quinlan was ordained priest on May 1, 1958, and was named a curate at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Alexandria, Virginia. He started a new parish in Poquoson, Virginia from the beginning and a church was built there. He led the Church of the Holy Parish toward retiring a large debt from its expansion. Father Quinlan was instrumental in providing a Haitian village with a freshwater well and a school by partnering their parish with Holy family. He was also the president of the priest senate in the Richmond diocese.

Controversy

The Bishop of Richmond, Most Rev. Francis X. DiLorenzo, retired Father Quinlan in June, 2005 from service at Holy Family in Virginia Beach. A Christmas Eve homily, which made references to Mary's humanly giving birth to Jesus, offended some members of the parish and was reported to Bishop DiLorenzo. However many members of the Parish stood up for and appealed to the Bishop to retain Father Quinlan.
Father Quinlan's homiletic language was vulgar and disrespectful, and there were some instances of sacrilegious behavior at Mass. According to local newspapers, Father Quinlan drove a Volkswagen down the aisle during a Palm Sunday procession at Good Shepherd Catholic Church. At another Palm Sunday Mass, "T.Q." drove a three-ton forklift down the center aisle at The Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Norfolk VA. The "yellow brick road" imagery was a metaphor for Jesus' pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Father Quinlan occasionally costumed himself as The Grinch or as Superman at the beginning of a Mass. Another endeavor included a psychedelic Mass with lighting effects.
On 30 January 2006, The Catholic Virginian, printed the following regarding Fr. Quinlan:

"The Rev. Thomas Quinlan, a retired priest of the Diocese of Richmond, can no longer celebrate the sacraments publicly. He can celebrate Mass privately. Bishop DiLorenzo said he took this action as a response to Father Quinlan's behavior that has 'engendered anxiety and emotional upset which interferes with an individual's religious experience.'"