The thread on Fr. Wiest and the Buddha altar went up on CI months ago. I think a background on just about anyone could be conducted fairly easily with the proper authorities, and then the information released to the public. This should only take a few days, why is this taking so long? Either Wiest is a priest, or he is not. This question should already be answered by now.
To answer your question, it was difficult to do a background check because Wiest (although he wanted to work alone with altar boys and by CA state law was required to have a background check) repeatedly refused to show his drivers’ license and also repeatedly refused to show his ordination papers.
For unknown reasons, the school board has continually assisted his stonewalling. When Father Perez directed Father Starbuck to follow up with the school board on the background check, all hell broke lose. The venom of three of the four school board members was directed at Father Starbuck for carrying out the request of Father Perez.
It does not make any sense at all unless something evil is involved.
Eventually a background check was done (this was mentioned by Father Starbuck in his recent response to the school board’s latest attack on him). As Father Starbuck pointed out, the investigation revealed that no such person as Father Michael Wiest has ever existed.
However a photo of the person who calls himself Father Michael Wiest was published in a newspaper (available here on Cath Info) presenting himself as a layman who owned an antique store. The news item showed his photo, a photo of an antique Buddha, an antique Chinese table and an antique Chinese screen. These were similar to, but not the exact Buddah, antique Chinese table and antique Chinese screen in the photo of his Buddhist altar.
It is clear that it is an altar for pagan worship due to the items that typically are on such an altar, the white candles, the fresh flower and the antique mirror for communicating with the dead. These items put to be the lie that his Buddha was a ”family heirloom” or “museum piece”.
You say
Either Wiest is a priest, or he is not.
The possibilities include:
1. He is not a priest, which explains all the problems above. But this option fails to explain how well he knows his way around the altar.
2. He is a priest, but he was ordained under another name which he wants to keep hidden.
Under this option is the possibility that he is Bishop Fulham who supposedly died in November 18, 2017 or November 19, 2017. He looks like Fulham (photos of Fulham are on CathInfo) and this explains why he knows he way so well around the altar. At the time he “died” Fulham was dealing with scandal of being known to have married a nun and fathered children with her. He had also been criticized for harboring known pederast Father Marshall Roberts.
For more info on pederast Marshall Robers and the SSJ see this link:
https://www.theinquiry.ca/wordpress/rc-scandal/other-countries/u-s-a/background-article-on-the-society-of-st-john/Father Marshall Roberts, a founder of the suppressed and scandal-ridden Society of St. John (formerly under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Scranton, Pa.) is currently the chaplain of St. Michael the Archangel Roman Catholic Church in Jacksonville, Fla.
St. Michael the Archangel Roman Catholic Church was an independent chapel owned operated by “Bishop” Fulham.
Also of the interest is a group called “Friends of St. Michael the Archangel Chapel” which did not cash out their large amount of funds until December 2020. This is odd because that’s almost three years after the purported “death” of “Bishop” Fulham, who owned the chapel.
Working from the news item on Mr. Wiest’s antique store, if you do a reverse phone look-up of the Mr, Wiest’s phone number which is given in the news article, you will find that Mr. Wiest came into a large amount of money at some time prior to January of 2021, when he bought properties in Hawaii, Arizona, Illinois and Michigan.
January 2021 is also when Mr. Wiest first arrived at OLHC. When he had been at the chapel only 3 weeks, he began spreading lies about Father Starbuck and was telling chapel members “We need to get rid of Father Starbuck.” That’s when some of us asked WTF???
Again, none of this makes any sense unless something evil is involved.