NEW YORK
Houston Voice
By JAMES WITHERS | Aug 21, 8:22 PM
The Catholic Church leader who once blamed Hollywood and gays for the country’s supposed moral decay is accused of not practicing what he’s been preaching.
A series of articles in the New York Post and elsewhere have turned into a public relations nightmare for Monsignor Eugene Clark. The 79-year-old rector of St. Patrick’s Cathedral is accused of having an affair with his secretary, 46-year-old Laura DeFilippo.
Her husband, Philip DeFilippo, gave news outlets a video tape taken on July 21. It shows Clark and Laura DeFilippo entering into a motel on the East End of Long Island and leaving five hours later wearing different clothes. In court papers filed Aug. 8, Philip DeFilippo said the relationship between the monsignor and his wife is one of the reasons why he wants a divorce.
Clark and his secretary have both denied the charges; however, Clark resigned as rector of St. Patrick’s on Aug. 11, apparently as a result of the allegations. Many have also questioned Clark’s owning a house in Amagansett, one of the most expensive communities in the Hamptons and reportedly valued at $2 million.