365Gay.com
May 14, 2008
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon08/05/051408prie.htm
McKinney, Texas — Only weeks after he was appointed parish priest at St. Michael the Archangel Church in McKinney, Texas, the Rev. Arthur Mallinson has resigned in the wake of an email and blog campaign to oust him over his involvement with a now defunct Web site that supported gay priests.
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"[He] felt it was in the best interest of the parish, his family and the diocese," Annette Gonzales Taylor, spokesperson for the diocese told the Dallas Morning News.
Mallinson had severed for a number of years at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Lancaster, Texas.
When he was transferred to McKinney some parishioners began to probe into the background of their new priest, and were angered at what they found.
Seven years ago he was a contributor to the site, which was set up to support gay priests who were celibate.
Mallinson says he ended his association with the site in 2001 when people began posting pornographic material on it. The Web site has since closed. But the furor over Mallinson's involvement was spread through emails to other members of the parish and onto online blogs.
Taylor said the diocese received several complaints from parishioners who questioned whether Mallinson's past would drive people from the church. Taylor said that the bulk of the complaints, however, came from people outside the diocese.
Mallinson remains a priest in good standing Taylor said, and will be reassigned.
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