A Roman Catholic priest in Scotland who alleged there was a culture of sexual bullying in seminaries stretching back decades has been found guilty by a Church tribunal of injuring the reputation of the Church and its clergy.
Father Matthew Despard, who was suspended from his parish at St John Ogilvie in High Blantyre, Lanarkshire, made the claims in a self-published book entitled 'Priesthood in Crisis'.
The e-book has been removed from sale on Amazon's Kindle service following legal threats by priests who said they had been defamed, but its description says that it is "a story of one priest's experience in the priesthood and his efforts to live out his vocation honourably despite his awareness of corruption in parts of the Church that he loves".
Fr Despard alleged that a "powerful gay Mafia" was at work. He said that as a trainee priest he was approached inappropriately and that other seminarians who spurned the advances of others were bullied.
However, he was the subject of formal complaints by those he had named. The Bishop of Motherwell, Rt Rev Joseph Toal, said that 21 of the 26 charges against Despard were proven.
"In the majority of cases, the tribunal ruled that Father Despard had injured the good reputation of a number of people, both lay and clergy."
His letter added: "The bishop regrets that a penal case had to be pursued against Father Despard, but felt it necessary in order to vindicate the reputation of those wrongly accused by him."
Despard was supported by many of his parishioners, with an online petition urging the Church to reconsider attracting 1,039 signatures. He will now be removed from his parish – which is facing closure because of declining numbers – and will spend three months in penance. He is also likely to lose his clergy house.
The book came out after Scotland's senior Catholic cleric, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, resigned as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh after three priests and a former priest accused him of misconduct. He renounced all the rights and privileges of a cardinal last month, although he retains the title.
