SCOTLAND
Daily Record
JOHN FERGUSON
21 AUG 2017
A Catholic priest at the centre of gay mafia accusations is set to return to a Scottish parish.
Father Matthew Despard, 52, was forced to quit after being rapped by the church over explosive claims in his book Priesthood in Crisis.
He wrote that a “powerful gay mafia” was operating at the top of the Catholic hierarchy and was responsible for sexual bullying.
Despard was forced to stand down from his post at St John Ogilvie’s Parish in Blantyre, Lanarkshire.
But he could now return after a Vatican court “partly reversed” the decision of a Scottish church tribunal.
Bishop of Motherwell Joseph Toal said: “Fr Despard has requested he be allowed to return to public priestly ministry by being given a new pastoral assignment.”
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