A family whose son died from suicide expressed outrage after a priest suggested he might not get into heaven and 'called him a sinner' at his funeral, according to the boy's family.
Maison Hullibarger, an 18-year-old died on December 4 after taking his own life.
Hullibarger’s grieving family said Reverend Don LaCuesta would not stop bringing up his cause of death during the teenager’s funeral on December 8, the
Detroit Free Press reports.
'It was his time to tell everybody what he thought of suicide, (and) we couldn’t believe what he was saying' said Jeff Hullibarger, Maison’s father, according to the Free Press.
'He was up there condemning our son. He wondered if he had repented enough to make it to heaven. He said suicide upwards of six times'.
'There were actually a couple of younger boys who were Maison's age who left the church sobbing,' Hullibarger said.
During the funeral, Maison’s father tried to put a stop to the talk of suicide by approaching the priest and whispering to him, but he said the priest ignored him, WTVG reports.
The family has called for LaCuesta to be removed altogether.
'It’s not OK,' Jeff Hullibarger added. 'He needs to be held accountable'.
After the service, the family told the priest not to come to the cemetery, WTVG reports.
Linda Hullibarger, Maison’s mother, said: 'He basically called our son a sinner.