Corner Brook minister restored as cathedral dean and rector after 20 months

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeAtlantic CanadaNewfoundland & LabradorNews Corner Brook minister restored as cathedral dean and rector after 20 months Parishioners rallied against the decision to revoke Rev. Kay Short's ministry licence in January 2025 Author of the article: By Gary Kean  •  The Telegram Published Sep 14, 2026 4 minute read St. John the Evangelist Anglican Cathedral in Corner Brook, NL. GOOGLE MAPS Article content The story of the displaced dean and rector in western Newfoundland has come full circle with the reinstatement of Rev. Kay Short nearly 20 months after she was ousted. Article content Short was dismissed from her ministerial duties at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Corner Brook in January 2025. Article content Article content When the news was announced by former Diocese of Western Newfoundland bishop John Organ during his sermon at a regular Sunday service on Jan. 19, 2025, it did not sit well with many of the parishioners sitting in the pews. Article content Article content Organ said he had revoked Short’s licence to minister because she had not taken measures to reconcile conflicts between her and some parishioners and did not heed his requests for her to do so. Article content Short later stated publicly that, leading up to her dismissal, she had felt pressured to return to her ministry early after treatment for cancer and, even after doing so, felt Organ had been stifling her ministry. Article content Dean Catherine Short FACEBOOK Article content Parishioner protest Article content In response, many parishioners left the church, vowing to not return until Organ was no longer in his role as bishop and Short was reinstated. The church’s vestry resigned en masse. Article content Organ eventually resigned and retired from his position in October 2025, although he maintained throughout that his decision had been justified and never did restore Short’s licence, despite a recommendation to do so from the Metropolitan of the Anglican Church’s Ecclesiastical Province of Canada. Article content One of Organ’s last acts in office was to appoint a new dean for St. John the Evangelist, although that person left the job after just a few weeks. Article content Article content The Metropolitan also found that Organ had violated the Anglican church’s Provincial Misconduct Policy in relation to Short in three ways:…