the desperate and accusatory tone in this report probably related to money the church had recently borrowed from the archdiocese to make parish improvements. in 2002, as the child sex-abuse scandals began to shake the american catholic church, father nichols retired (for reasons unrelated to the abuse scandals) and was replaced by father ronald coyne, a popular but controversial priest, who preached a gospel of love and supported a more democratic church. known for rejecting church dogma on the existence of hell, father coyne brought to the parish a renewed sense of ownership and community. he inspired the parish community by installing new stained-glass windows, and was known to remind mass attendees, "you are gifted and you are the church." an older parishioner from st. albert's once described the new atmosphere at the church to a reporter from the magazine "boston":“we had a priest once who spent money to install new glass doors. he pointed at them during a sermon and said, 'i had those doors installed so i'll know who arrives for mass late and who leaves early.'"the parishioner told him that was when he decided this was no longer the church for him. when the reporter asked what brought him back, he responded, “father ron." according to the magazine "boston", another parishioner, weymouth resident eileen rowan, called father coyne “the most human side of the catholic church one could ever meet.” while his charismatic nature made him popular with parishioners, the financial burdens of the parish were still significant. father coyne acknowledged the sexual abuse cases while still requesting financial support from parishioners in this written message:"this is not an easy time to contribute to the church, but your generosity assures me that you trust the leadership of our parish. your investment financially and spiritually guarantees a healthy future."the main financial stress on the parish at that time was a $150,000 debt to the archdiocese, most of it from a recent loan that was used for church and rectory renovations. with both revived parish morale and increasing numbers of parishioners, the debt was paid off in two years.