Monsignor Tinder dies
Monsignor F. Dennis Tinder, the pastor who made the controversial decision last summer to close Towson Catholic High School shortly before the start of the school year, has died, the Archdiocese of Baltimore announced on Saturday.
The 67-year-old priest had retired only last month, citing a neuromuscular disorder that affected his strength and motion. He spend his last nine years as pastor of Immaculate Conception in Towson, his childhood parish.
“We get so tied to this world with its shifting that we forget that we were made to go home,” he told The Catholic Review. “The God who made us is holding us and carrying us home.”
Tinder died late Friday, according to the archdiocese. In a statement, Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien called his death “a devastating blow to the Immaculate Conception community and an immeasurable loss for our entire Archdiocese.
“At all four parishes where he served, as well as in his various administrative positions, Monsignor Tinder served always with a joyful heart and with great love for the Lord and those he served,” O’ Brien said.
"Let us give thanks to the Lord for the priestly ministry of His servant, Dennis, and pray in these days of Advent that He will welcome him into the Kingdom for which he labored so generously."
The decision to close Towson Catholic in the face of declining enrollments and rising costs drew protests from students and parents and a lawsuit that was unsuccessful.
Tinder told us in July that if he had to do it over, he would have closed the school earlier, to give students and their families more time to make alternate plans for the fall.
"If there's a regret, it is that we tried too hard to keep the school open and went too long," he said. "I think we would have faced the same difficulty had we done it earlier. But it is my regret that we waited as long as we did in a failed attempt to keep it open."
We extend our sincerest condolences to Monsignor Tinder's family and all affected by his loss.
Comments
God rest his soul and everyone continue to pray for those that lost their beloved high school.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 7, 2009 11:10 AM
I knew Monsignor Tinder for over 40 years. To say he was an amazing person would be an understatement! I met him as a 14 year old boy who had lost his own father suddenly. He asked me to join the folk group at Immaculate Heart of Mary. He was one of 5 priests to marry my wife and I in 1979 and has been a good and loyal friend for all of these years. Dennis, rest in peace my friend! Until we meet again!
Posted by: RON BOBLOOCH | December 7, 2009 4:21 PM
Who cares about his death. He never cared about people at Towson Catholic.
Posted by: Rose | December 18, 2009 10:36 PM
Well deserved punishment for a cold and heartless man. THe lord has given him the ultimate punishment for his dastardly deeds in closing towson catholic, and not caring whatsoever about it's students and alumni. Rest in peace? NO! rest in eternal suffering!
Posted by: Anonymous | February 20, 2010 9:49 AM
Seems a bit harsh to condemn a man to eternal perdition for making a single, simple bureaucratic decision ... over which he probably struggled a great deal.
Posted by: BankStreet | February 20, 2010 10:30 AM
BankStreet - I always have trouble undertanding how someone can claim to be Christian yet make such statements. I'm sure you've encountered simliar at times and that speaks poorly for all of us.
Posted by: ravensfan | February 22, 2010 12:53 PM
What a tragedy. It hard to believe and I know he will be thoroughly missed. He was great person and I wish more people knew him
Posted by: Cremation Urns | February 25, 2010 4:38 PM