DETROIT (LifeSiteNews) — Renowned conservative canon law professor Edward Peters announced Friday that he had been fired from Sacred Heart Seminary by Archbishop Edward Weisenburger.
He has thus joined the ranks of two other prominent conservative professors fired by the archbishop this week, Ralph Martin and Eduardo Echeverria.
In his July 25 X post announcement, Peters, who had been critical of Pope Francis’ doctrinal ambiguity, stated that his contract had been terminated, he had retained counsel, and he offered prayers for “those affected by this news.” The move comes within days of Weisenburger having fired professors Ralph Martin and Eduardo Echeverria.
My Sacred Heart Major Seminary teaching contract was terminated by Abp. Weisenburger this week. I have retained counsel. Except to offer my prayers for those affected by this news and to ask for theirs in return, I have no further comment at this time. Prof. Edward Peters
— Edward Peters (@canonlaw) July 25, 2025
Peters, one of the most well-known American lay canon lawyers, had been working at Sacred Heart Seminary since 2005, when he was appointed to the Edmund Cardinal Szoka Chair. On several occasions, he called out the Francis pontificate’s ambiguous teachings, such as Amoris Laetitia, which seems to permit reception of the Eucharist by unrepentant adulterers.
LifeSiteNews reached out to the Archdiocese of Detroit for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Earlier this week, Ralph Martin responded to a question from LifeSiteNews about his own dismissal from the seminary.
RELATED: Detroit archbishop fires renowned conservative professors from Sacred Heart Seminary
“It’s true I was fired yesterday morning from my position at the seminary by Archbishop Weisenburger,” Martin said in a statement provided to LifeSiteNews. “When I asked him for what reason he said he didn’t think it would be helpful to give any specifics but mentioned something about having concerns about my theological perspectives.”
Like Peters, both Martin and Echevarria had criticized Pope Francis’ ambiguity over the years, a fact that has fueled suspicions that Detroit’s new archbishop wants to banish conservative, orthodox teaching rooted in the magisterium of the Church from the training of future priests.
In an X post, Eric Sammons, the editor-in-chief of Crisis Magazine, slammed the archbishop’s firing of the three professors.
“I’ll be blunt: you can be sure that any reports that the Sacred Heart Seminary professors were fired for any reason other than not conforming to the new bishop’s warped ideology are bullsh*t,” he wrote. “All three are highly respected in their fields, and all three are faithful Catholics.”
I’ll be blunt: you can be sure that any reports that the Sacred Heart Seminary professors were fired for any reason other than not conforming to the new bishop’s warped ideology are bullsh*t. All three are highly respected in their fields, and all three are faithful Catholics.
— Eric Sammons (@EricRSammons) July 25, 2025
Archbishop Weisenburger was appointed bishop of Detroit by Pope Francis in February 2025. In June, the archbishop eliminated nearly all public celebrations of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) and prohibited ad orientem in the Novus Ordo.
READ: Detroit archbishop shuts down most Latin Masses, bans ad orientem worship
While as bishop of Tucson, Arizona, he supported COVID-era restrictions and vaccine mandates, forbidding priests from issuing religious exemptions. He has also been outspoken in support of “LGBT Catholics,” insinuating that God created same-sex attraction in people and that such attraction is healthy and normal.
