UNITED STATES
Seasons of Grace
March 15, 2015 by Kathy Schiffer
Father Gordon J. MacRae may finally be freed soon, after serving more than twenty years in prison. Father MacRae, whose story is told on the blog These Stone Walls, has long been believed to be innocent of the alleged crimes for which he was convicted in 1994. This week, though, he will be back in court–where his case will be reviewed with fresh eyes.
The clergy abuse scandal was fresh in the news, and there was a lot of anger toward the Church when Father MacRae was accused of sexual assault in 1994. His accuser was 27-year-old Thomas Grover–a man with a long history of volence, theft, and drug charges. Although the charges against Fr. MacRae were uncorroborated, and although Grover himself stood to benefit substantially from filing a complaint against the priest, the court found Father MacRae guilty.
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