CHICAGO (IL)
Hyde Park Herald
By ERIN MEYER
A Catholic priest living in Hyde Park will probably not be defrocked, even if paternity tests determine that he is the father of an 8-month-old living in Canada, Fr. Thomas Phillips, provincial superior of a regional Carmelite order, told the Herald Monday.
“This certainly is not a fait accompli,” said Phillips, from his office in Milwaukee where he oversees the Midwest regional Carmelite order. “The media has only heard one side of the story.”
Phillips was referring to a Nov. 3 press conference staged in front of the Edith Stein House, 5345 S. University Ave., in which a religious watchdog group charged Fr. Elijah (Jason) Martin with fathering the child and shirking his financial responsibilities.
Martin lives in the Stein House but has refused to talk to the press. The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) held the event before several TV news cameras.
“I am sad it has gotten to this point,” said the mother, who in an interview with the Herald last week, asked to remain anonymous to protect the child. “But the church won’t act unless they are shamed publicly into doing so.”