Congregation Divided over Suspended Parish Priest
The Herald Scotland
[with video] A CONGREGATION has been divided over the treatment of a parish priest who was suspended over his claims that there is a culture of homosexual bullying in the Catholic Church. Parishioners turning up at John Ogilvie RC church in High Blantyre yesterday were given copies of a letter by Bishop Joseph Toal, who is in temporary charge of Motherwell diocese and suspended Father Matthew Despard last November. That action followed the allegations made by Father Despard in a self-published book. In the letter, the bishop said Father Despard had questioned his authority to act as he has done, and he urged supporters of the suspended priest "to prevail upon him to obey my instructions". Some of Father Despard's supporters yesterday described the Bishop's intervention as ill-considered and one parishioner accused other priests of wanting the clergyman to be "destroyed" in the wake of his allegations. Josephine Greenhorn, 55, who has worshipped at John Ogilvie for 14 years, said she felt Bishop Toal had "made things worse" by issuing the letter, and asked: "Is it part of the 'canonical process' to issue public attacks like this?" She said: "The extent of the division [within the congregation] is dreadful. The Christmas vigil is usually a blaze of colour but it was more like a funeral mass. "Everyone has been affected by this. Some of us know Father Despard's parents, who are parishioners within the diocese. They are ordinary Catholics. How must they feel? "There are views on both sides but I want this investigated speedily. If this was an ordinary judicial process within a court then Bishop Toal's letter would possibly have been a contempt of court. "Father Despard has obeyed Bishop Toal's instruction not to speak publicly about the matter, so why has the bishop seen fit to issue this letter now? Father Despard is not even allowed to respond. I believe some priests in the diocese want Fr Despard destroyed." She added that, while she did not believe Father Despard had "gone around everything in the right way", most people wanted the truth to be brought out fairly and not through a "witch-hunt". The bishop's letter was to be read out at every parish in the diocese at the weekend. In it, he mentions "further concern or anxiety for those named or referred to in this book, both clergy and laity", and said it was necessary to continue the canonical process initiated by the former Bishop of Motherwell, Joseph Devine, before he stepped down from that role. Bishop Toal spoke of the "distress and pain" felt particularly over the last year in respect of revelations about sexual misconduct and abusive behaviour by some Scottish clergy. He added: "Further allegations, and the subsequent extensive reporting, may well arise and we will continue to suffer with those whose pain is made known to us and to carry a heavy cross as Catholics in Scotland." It was wrong, he added, to "assume or [to] imply" all priests were suspect because of the failings of a few. Outside John Ogilvie RC Church yesterday, one parishioner said Father Despard "had brought disgrace upon the church" but a supporter said: "It's a disgrace what has happened. You're trying to bring up your kids to be honest and truthful but the church is just trying to brush things under the carpet, so you're not teaching your kids correctly." Helen Ann Hawkins, who has organised a petition to remove the priest's suspension, has written a response to the bishop, saying: "I see an injustice being carried out against Father Despard. "If Father Despard's requests had been acted on to permit himself and his accompanying lawyer to speak with the church authorities, then we would not be in the position we find ourselves in at present. This would alleviate the further pain and distress caused within the Church." The Catholic Church did not respond to a request for comment. Commenting & Moderation We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well and trust you then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here. Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.
|
.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.