Facing protests and calls for new leadership, the Archdiocese of Mobile defended its handling of misconduct complaints, including the recent news of a priest fleeing the country with an 18-year-old graduate of McGill-Toolen Catholic High School.

“Under the leadership of Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi since 2008, school and parish officials have responded to every complaint of misconduct with the full force of the office within — and with respect for — canon and civil laws,” the archdiocese said in a statement on Friday.

After Alex Crow, a priest in Mobile, fled the country with the young woman in July, a group of concerned Catholics formed the Catholic Warriors Initiative to advocate for accountability in the Archdiocese of Mobile. One member, Bud Hadley, started an online petition on Sept. 24 calling for the replacement of the archdiocese’s leaders and alleging “deeply troubling cover-ups” in the Archdiocese and McGill-Toolen School.

As of today, the petition had reached more than 15,000 signatures.

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“Our goal is not to tarnish the reputation of any individual but to ensure the safety, transparency, and integrity of our Catholic institutions and schools,” the petition reads. “We firmly believe that for the community to heal and move forward, there is a pressing need for a change in leadership.”

The petition calls for the removal of Rodi, the archbishop, Bry Shields, the president of McGill-Toolen, and Michelle Haas, the school’s principal.

In the statement on Friday, the archdiocese said that it immediately reported Crow’s departure to the authorities, adding that it’s fully cooperating with the investigation.

The archdiocese stripped Crow of his duties after he left the country. Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch has since accused Crow of “grooming” the young woman as well as others who were students at McGill-Toolen. Burch also suggested in late August that the archdiocese had not fully cooperated in the Crow investigation, an allegation the archdiocese denied.

Crow, who served in the Archdiocese of Mobile from the time he was ordained in June 2021 until he fled with the young woman. Her family reported locating them in Italy in late July but said she chose to leave with Crow and would not return home. However, by the end of August, the family said they hadn’t had recent contact.

“The Archdiocese joins with those who have concerns about the case involving Alex Crow and are frustrated by unanswered questions,” the Friday statement reads. “We all express frustration differently, and as the investigation by civil authorities, with the cooperation of the Archdiocese and others, continues in its quest to provide more answers, some of that frustration has taken the form of protest, petition, and blame. This is our human nature and our right in a democracy, and the Archdiocese respects that.”

The archdiocese’s statement added that when he first took on his role in Mobile the archbishop said that he couldn’t promise there would be no sexual misconduct cases.

“But he did guarantee that it would not be tolerated,” the statement reads. “He has kept that promise and continues to honor it.”