1300-strong petition fights for suspended priest

SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Wednesday 8 January 2014

Gerry Braiden
Senior reporter

CAMPAIGNERS have handed over a 1300-name petition to the acting Bishop of Motherwell calling for the return of their suspended parish priest.

Father Matthew Despard has been suspended since November last year, when Bishop Joseph Toal, Acting Bishop of Motherwell, removed him after he published a book alleging a culture of homosexual bullying within the Catholic Church.

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