Well there you go.  Yep---one priest is representative of every priest in the whole world.

However, I do note that modern day Americans have a problem with any authority--liberals in particular do not like authority--unless they are the ones exercising it.  

Have you considered that the priest does not need to justify his decision to you? Have you considered that this "beloved" minister was not on board with the priests pastoral vision for the parish?  Have you considered the broader picture?

Suppose you had a much "beloved" lay minister who was also very conservative.  Suppose a liberal pastor came on board and was getting resistance from the "beloved" lay minister of his pastoral vision. Would you expect the liberal pastor to "tolerate" that?