MARYLAND
The Baltimore Sun
[letter to parishioners\
By Mary Gail Hare and Alison Knezevich, The Baltimore Sun
6:38 p.m. EST, January 23, 2012
The Archdiocese of Baltimore has launched its own investigation into a Towson priest arrested this month on charges of indecent exposure at an adult store.
Mark Stewart Bullock, 47, is scheduled for a March 6 court appearance in District Court in Harford County on misdemeanor charges that carry a maximum fine of $1,000 and three years in prison. Church officials have removed “all his faculties to function as a priest,” said Sean Caine, archdiocese spokesman.
“The archdiocese is doing its own investigation and will be speaking to anyone who might help us understand what is happening in his life,” Caine said. “We need to understand what circumstances led to this incident. In the meantime, he is not allowed to present himself as a priest.”
Those who attend the Immaculate Conception parish in Towson called Bullock — who had entered the priesthood when he was middle-aged — a thoughtful preacher with a beautiful singing voice. He had been serving as associate pastor.
Known as “Father Stew,” Bullock was ordained in 2006 with six others, the largest group of candidates in the past decade. He was 41, the oldest of the group, and had run a floral business before entering the seminary. His first assignment as an associate pastor was at St. John the Evangelist parish in Severna Park. He came to the Towson parish in July 2010.
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