Furious Choir Mistress Blasts Whistle-Blowing Priest over Sex Scandal Claims Which Have Made Her Life 'Hell'
By Lauren Crooks
AN angry choir mistress yesterday revealed how a whistle-blowing priest’s controversial book has made her life hell. Laura Gaddis, 53, hit out over personal attacks made by Father Matthew Despard in a best-selling book that claimed gay bullies in the priesthood were damaging the Catholic Church. But the book also contains claims about sex scandals in a choir that have prompted Laura and other women to complain to the Church hierarchy. Despard, 48, claimed an unnamed woman led a church choir where several married members were having affairs. He alleged the choir mistress turned a blind eye and even attempted to cover up the scandal. In his book, Priesthood in Crisis, he refers to the woman as Mrs X but Laura claims other details make it clear that the claims are about her. It states that Mrs X leads Ogilvie Community Choir, who sing at St John Ogilvie’s in High Blantyre, Lanarkshire, where Despard is the parish priest. The book also identified Laura from her role on a local parent teacher association and printed excerpts of a letter she wrote to the diocese. In the first chapter of his book, Despard claims he had been told about an affair between a church member and a married man. He wrote: “I was told that Mrs X was aware of this relationship. “When I asked if Mrs X had attemped to do anything about the issue, my informant laughed dryly and said that Mrs X would have to sort out the whole choir since it was rife with illicit and immoral interactions. I was shocked. “It was absolutely necessary that any leader of a community choir should enforce some sort of moral discipline.” Mum-of-two Laura says her life has been turned upside down by the vicious claims made about her, including allegations that she also had an extra-marital fling. She is considering legal action and has also called for Despard to be removed from the priesthood. She said: “When I read what he had written about me, I got extremely upset. I was very shaken. “Everybody knew who Mrs X was. Although he didn’t use my name, he did use other personal details. “I want people to know that the stuff he wrote about me is a pack of lies. “I feel angry that he can get away with writing these things without me having any comeback at him. “He could have caused me serious damage with what he did. What would this have done to someone more vulnerable, who didn’t have as good a support network as me? “I don’t think he should be allowed to be a priest. To me, he has problems that need to be resolved. He needs help.” Laura admits it’s true that two choir members had been having an affair – but as soon as she found out about it, they were asked to leave. She added: “The idea that I condoned it is completely untrue. “No other women in the church have had an affair with anybody, though he implied that the choir was a den of iniquity. “The ladies have all taken extreme umbrage to this, and have written to the diocese.” Despard’s book also details an incident where he claims he saw Laura upset one of his altar girls. He wrote: “The girl had been smiling but within seconds her expression was downcast and distressed.” He then claims the child’s mother complained that Mrs X should not be allowed contact with children. Laura, president of the St John Ogilvie school parent association, denies the incident happened as described in the book, insisting the girl was a close friend’s daughter. And she says she later received a phone call from Despard in which he branded her “a danger to children”. She said: “My friend nearly fell over when she read that, she couldn’t believe it. It is not true at all. “I remember thinking to myself, ‘He has thought this out and thought this is the best way to get her.’ “I had to go and speak to the headteacher at school and explain what had been said. I had to speak to my boss and explain to parents. “I know that some of the parents believe him. That has been very difficult for me.” Laura complained soon after the telephone call, and was advised to stay away from Despard. She says it was the final straw after he had waged a vendetta against her for months. She said: “I did a lot of stuff for the church but one day he asked me to do something and I couldn’t do it. “He responded by telling me I had no commitment. And that was it, he completely changed his attitude. “I kept going to John Ogilvie’s for a while, but it was very difficult. He was rude and he would glare at me during mass. Eventually we started going to another church.” A friend added: “He made up more vicious rumours than he put in his book. He accused Laura of having an affair when she was out with a group of colleagues, and told her she should be ashamed of herself. “He also told others she was having problems in her marriage. “None of it was true.” Since the book was published in March, Laura has contacted a lawyer and also complained to Amazon, who have since removed the book from sale. It is believed two other priests who were named in the book have also now complained to the online giants. Father Despard’s book caused a storm of controversay when he claimed to lay bare a culture of sexual bullying in the Catholic Church in Scotland. He said gay sex has been rife in junior seminaries, where priests are trained, for decades. And he claims that when he alerted Church authorities to inappropriate sexual conduct, nothing was done. Despard, parish priest at St John Ogilvie church in High Blantyre, said: “My concern is that if we don’t face up to what is happening in reality, the church will suffer enormous damage.” The book was written in 2010 but he self-published it on Amazon’s Kindle store in March in the wake of the resignation of Cardinal Keith O’Brien. The leader of Scotland’s Catholics stood down after being accused of inappropriate sexual advances to trainee priests. Despard’s book became an online bestseller and charted at No125 out of 1.9million digital books available on Amazon. But it was later withdrawn by the internet giant as it “didn’t adhere to their guidelines.” Church sources say that Laura is not the only person who is threatening to sue over claims in the book. One said: “The church is aware of Laura’s distress but she is one of several who have spoken to lawyers about this book. “There are others who are at a more advanced stage.”
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