And people want to know why people don't want to pay diocesan assessments any more ...

Parishes are assessed taxes by the diocese as the sole or primary source of funds to provide the compensation and benefits for individuals like this:

Bishop Hicks Former Diocesan Chancellor Reportedly ‘Marries’ Boyfriend

December 22, 2025 TagsHomosexuality from Complicit Clergy by Staff

In 2021, Bishop Hicks announced David Salvato as his new Chancellor for the Diocese of Joliet:

In late April 2021, Bishop Ronald A. Hicks announced the appointment of David Salvato as chancellor for the Diocese of Joliet.

As chancellor, Salvato will advise Bishop Hicks and diocesan officials on issues related to canon law. He will also record the ecclesiastical acts, decrees and dispensations issued by Bishop Hicks, as well as oversee the diocesan archives.

Salvato has worked since 2011 as a canon lawyer for the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. In that role, he led two teams that oversaw the investigation of nearly 200 marriage annulment cases each year.

He also has taught at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, California, as an adjunct professor; worked as an English translator for L’Osservatore Romano, the daily newspaper of the Vatican City State; and served as the director of the marriage and family life program at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Centennial, Colorado.

Salvato holds a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, where he also obtained bachelor’s degrees in theology and philosophy. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of San Diego.

This week, we learned from a reliable source within the diocese that Salvato went missing from his diocesan job several weeks ago.  The source further informed us that Salvato was “married” to his partner, Jacob Aguilar, last week in Naperville, Illinois.  The couple had a wedding registery on The Knot which apparently is no longer active.  We were able to locate a wedding registry that was still active at Bloomingdale’s.

This sad situation raises a few questions that we think Bishop Hicks should answer:

1. When did Hicks learn that Salvato was an active homosexual?  Did he know (or even suspect this fact) when Salvato was initially hired in 2021? If so, why did Hicks proceed in hiring Salvato?
2. Is Hicks concerned about the eternal salvation of Salvato’s soul?  What spiritual counseling did Hicks offer in an attempt to have Salvato turn away from his mortal sin?
3. Did Hicks ask Salvato to leave his position or did Salvato leave of his own accord?
4. Hicks had to recognize that this situation would eventually become public and create a scandal.  Why didn’t Hicks use this as a teaching opportunity by publicly stating Salvato was asked to resign because of his decision to enter into a sinful relationship that is contrary to Catholic teaching?
5. Did Salvato’s “wedding” ceremony take place in a Catholic Church?  Did a Catholic priest participate in the ceremony?
6. Has Salvato been barred from receiving Holy Communion in the diocese?
7. How many other active homosexuals are employed by the diocese (including diocesan schools)  and what is Hicks’ strategy for dealing with these individuals?

We understand that it is possible (although unlikely) that Hicks may not have known about Salvato’s lifestyle until just weeks before his “marriage.” But this should have been all the more the reason for Hicks to address this issue in advance of the information becoming public so that people would not have to speculate as to the answers to these questions. We hope and pray that Bishop Hicks will use better judgement when making staffing decisions in his new role as Archbishop of New York.