A while ago, I heard someone tell me the reasons that she left a particular Catholic parish. I understood her explanation completely and agreed with her that it was the right thing to do. Sometimes, sadly, priests make bad choices; when they repent of those bad choices, that is great, but they do not always do so. There are a number of good reasons for someone to need to leave a Catholic parish; and, there are also some bad reasons to leave.
Let us briefly consider those bad reasons. Although there may be many aspects to various reasons, one of the worst of all of the bad reasons is because the priest did something you did not like. I am not speaking about sinful things (because that is an obvious problem). What about those other areas that are not an issue of sin, but merely something you did not agree with? Maybe the priest chose someone for the parish council that you do not get along with; maybe the priest used an illustration you disliked; maybe the priest did not respond to a text quickly enough for you. These are the kinds of things that I am speaking about.
Sadly, many people disagree with the priest because they do not have all the information necessary to make a good choice. Some people disagree with the priest because they want a certain thing to be implemented in the church that is against Canon Law and just plain good wisdom. Others might disagree with the priest because of a personal preference ("I like red flowers and he approved the white ones").
A good priest will allow his people to make certain choices for many things on their own, and not micro-manage the parish. Yet, there are times when a priest needs to put his foot down and insist on something because it is right. That is (supposed to be) what priests are trained for: to make good decisions on the details of parish life to keep the parish faithful to what the Church has commanded. Although not all priests follow through with it, we must say of them, "the buck stops here".
Priests are bound by their ordination vows to obey the Church, the Pope, and their Bishop in what they do. This means that they must obey even if they do not like it. This also means they must obey even if their people do not like it. This means that there are times when someone is going to be upset, and even if the priest makes a "less than perfect" choice, he is the one accountable for it; accountable to his Bishop and to Jesus Christ our Lord.
Thankfully, nothing like this "upset-ness" has happened at St. George recently (to my knowledge), but it can always happen because we are different people who have different opinions of what is best for the parish. In this, I ask that you all offer up a prayer for me (even, right now!) that I would make good choices; that I will hear the desires of the people; that I will know what is best for the parish; and that we can all love one another as Christ loved us.