Kansas City, Mo., Feb 3, 2020 / 10:30 am
The bishop who celebrated the funeral of Fr. Evan Harkins remembered the priest as a kind man who loved the priesthood and the Church. The bishop said that Harkins, who committed suicide last month, did not suffer from depression, and that the side-effects of a prescribed medication may have contributed to the priest's death.
"At the outset, I want to express our sorrows and our pledge of love and prayer for you, Fr. Evan's family," Bishop Vann Johnston said in his homily at the Feb. 1 funeral.
"You have suddenly and mysteriously received a fuller share of the cross. But we also want to express our gratitude to you too. Because it was consistently clear how deeply Fr. Evan was rooted in your family life his entire life."
Harkins, 34, died by suicide on Jan. 28. His funeral was celebrated at St. Therese North Catholic Church in Parkville, Missouri.