Effectively Laicized Glaswegian Priest Continues to Languish in Limbo While Partly Exonerated in Rome

Edit: after perusing an article in Renew America about Father John Corapi, which I thought might be more recent while I was looking up more recent news about the based Scots Hermits for a reader,  who were excommunicated on Christmas, I looked up this article from November 20th last year. People are still holding out for this priest.  I can’t find his book anymore, either. After receiving a terse email from a diocesan priest that Despard is being bad, and immature, I hadn’t heard anything more about this.

The other Sunday, I saw a really effeminate priest deliver a homily in a David Sederis style with all the sassy mannerisms at the nearby Cathedral. This priest will no doubt find himself promoted to bishop, while faithful ones like Despard who don’t go along with the aberrosexual thing, tend to get the boot.

Supporters of a Roman Catholic priest suspended after making gay bullying claims have staged a protest outside their bishop’s residence in Bellshill. More than 60 demonstrators, many holding placards, demanded the reinstatement of Fr Matthew Despard who is from Motherwell. 

 The protest was held exactly six years after the priest was suspended from his parish position in Blantyre. Ad Fr Despard, 54, was disciplined after writing and publishing ‘Priesthood in Crisis’ . The book made claims of sexual bullying within the church. It was withdrawn after a church tribunal ruled the contents were defamatory.

 Fr Despard was suspended in 2013. He formally quit his role at St John Ogilvie Church three years ago. He was asked to resign by Bishop of Motherwell Joseph Toal who said his book had caused “considerable scandal”. The priest’s backers are angry that, despite a church court in Rome “partly reversing” the Scottish tribunal’s decision, he has not been reinstated and appointed to one of the parishes within the diocese.

 Anne Simpson, chairperson of a support group, said: “Given the shortage of clergy in this day and age, we can’t afford to be without priests of the calibre of Fr Despard. “He is dedicated to his priestly vocation. “He has been treated unjustly. “ Whatever he has supposedly done wrong he has been punished severely for it.”

 After a ten-minute silent protest outside Bishop Toal’s home at St Gerard’s Church, the demonstrators handed over a letter demanding Fr Despard’s immediate reinstatement to a parish within Motherwell Diocese.

 The church did not respond to a request for comment. However, Bishop Toal has said previously that Fr Despard must “fulfil certain requirements” before he can be reinstated. [A spokesman informed us the same thing, and said that Fr Despard has a bad attitude. Lol]

https://www.motherwelltimes.co.uk/business/priest-protest-staged-outside-bishop-of-motherwell-s-residence-1-5049159

AMDG

It’s Sort of O.K. to Promote GLBT-P in Motherwell Diocese — God Help You If You Oppose It

Edit: we checked the Motherwell Diocesan webpage and found Father Mathew Despard still listed as a  priest, but has no Parish. Well, as he appealed to Rome, the canonical decision was partly reversed, but was kicked back to Bishop Joseph Toal who has, we are informed by the Chancellor, will not reinstate Father Despard unless he does what Toal wants him to do. Apparently, the conditions set for reinstatement to his benefice is too high, and Father will continue in what is effectively the loss of his clerical state.

While the Catholic Church has been suspending clergy for sounding the alarm, or trying to make amends for the damage being done as Father Mark Morris, who held a rosary in reparation for a GLBT-P event, it has been turning a blind eye or mildly rebuking others like Motherwell’s own Father Paul Morton, whom the Bishop has reinstated after 2015 .  It’s fortunate for Father Paul that all he did was criticize the obscurantism of his priestly colleague, instead of rebuking GLBT-P depravity, for he would surely be facing suspension a divinis now.

One wonders if Cardinal O’Brien would have kept silent about GLBT-P, that he would also have retained his place of honor in today’s modern Church. Some will recall that there was a firestorm of anger from former clergy boyfriends and victims of the Archbishop when he defended traditional marriage.

Life Site Rememebers Father Mathew Despard in its recent story:

Also in 2013, Father Matthew Despard of the Motherwell diocese self-published a book called Priesthood in Crisis in which he alleged the existence of a “gay mafia” among Scottish clergy. He claimed they had bullied him, among others. Condemning the book as defamatory, Bishop Toal rebuked Despard and eventually removed him from his parish ministry.

AMDG

Scottish Priest is Being Dismissed from Clerical State Because of Book Critical of Sodomites in the Catholic Church

Update: just for the sake of people who've raised questions about the title we'd like to clarify.  Without consulting the canon law, and not having any real accreditation in it, we understand that it's necessary for a suspended priest to submit himself for laicization of his own free will.  We know of cases where clergy have refused to submit to it, but they are effectively inactive.  In any case, he's been thrown out of his parish into the street and can't act as a priest.   So, as far as we know, he hasn't been laicized yet, but regardless, whether he submits himself for it or not, he's not going to get a parish in this diocese, or legitimately offer Mass probably anywhere in the Church unless it's in private that he does so.  At this point, we're just wondering if Father has been offered a stipend, or the opportunity to live in a monastery someplace, as sometimes happens.  Naturally, we hope this courageous priest finds another diocese with a sympathetic bishop, or joins the Society of Saint Pius X. We hope he finds some way to continue through this.

Does the Saint Benedict Center still need a priest?


Edit: in tomorrow's news, Bishop rewrites bible so as not to offend victim classes. Who cares if some people were offended. Are the claims true or not? Does anyone have a copy of this book?  Never mind, here it is...

Father Matthew Despard had already been suspended in 2013 because of his book. After unsuccessfully appealing it, he must now leave his parish. The book was removed again from the market after complaints.

Blantyre (kath.net/CWN/jg) Father Matthew Despard, priest of the parish of St. John Ogilvie in Blantyre (Scotland) must leave his parish on instructions from the competent bishop. Despard was suspended in 2013 after publishing a book on the great influence of aberrosexuals in the Church of Scotland.

Joseph Toal, the bishop of the Motherwell diocese, has justified Despard's suspension by insisting that his book damaged the reputation of a whole range of persons, both laymen and clerics. Despard has challenged the suspension, albeit unsuccessfully. While his proceedings were ongoing, he remained in the parish. After all the possibilities of appeal had been exhausted, Bishop Toal has now instructed him to leave the parish.

In his book "Priesthood in Crisis," Despard claimed that a powerful gay mafia exerted great influence in the Catholic Church in Scotland. The book appeared shortly after the resignation of Keith Cardinal O'Brien, the Archbishop of Edinburgh. O'Brien had been forced to resign because of allegedly sexually molesting priestly candidates. Despard's book had  been withdrawn from the market after some of the persons named in the book had threatened with complaints.

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Scottish Priest Being Bullied for Writing Book About Gomorrist Bullying

Edit: Father Mathew Despard has been suspended for only putting in writing what so many of us already know.  The book, available on Amazon, is in part about homosexual bullying in the Catholic Church.  Father was outside the parish church before a Mass in which the Bishop announced his decision to bully the priest.  The People of God expressed their opinion of this injustice by walking out of the church.

The book has been removed from Amazon in the UK.

Of course, we've been talking about homosexual bullying for a while now here on this blog.

The furious congregation of a church has walked out in protest after the suspension of their parish priest.

Only a handful of parishioners remained yesterday to take mass at St John Ogilvie's Church in High Blantyre with Archdiocese of Motherwell acting Bishop Joseph Toal after Father Matthew Despard was removed from his ministry the night before.

Before they went into church, people signed a petition calling for the reinstatement of Father Despard, suspended for writing a controversial memoir that claimed there is a culture of homosexual bullying in the Catholic Church.

When Bishop Toal, accompanied by Father William Nolan, tried to take mass, Geraldine Penches said she wanted to make a statement, and received a roar of applause from the congregation in a packed church.

Her short statement referred to Father Despard as "a very honest man" and said: "This is more scandal to rock the Catholic Church which has to be hushed up.

"Because Father tells the truth he is removed from his priestly duties. We the people are the church, not the bishops. When people said on Saturday night they wouldn't return, the Bishop said we'll close the church. I don't think Pope Francis would be very pleased with that."

Imgage and story...

Order book on Amazon.com...

Also read 

[Scottish News] “The Catholic Church here in Scotland, and I am ashamed to admit this, has justified itself to Catholic papers by telling lie after lie, denying charges that are true, and claiming they have been defamed when the facts reported in the press are quite simply true.”

The priest’s shocking revelations will be another blow to the Church hierarchy, already reeling from the claims that Cardinal O’Brien tried to seduce a number of trainee priests.

The 74-year-old quit as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh after the accusations by former and serving priests emerged.

Fr Despard says in his book that he was the victim of inappropriate approaches during his time as a seminarian.