The Continuing Saga of Fr. Despard: Canon Law Perspective

Fr. Matthew Despard’s current plight continues to be of great interest to the world. A follow-up article here describes parishioners’ reactions to the suspension of Fr. Despard’s faculties: many walked out of the Mass being said by the acting bishop, and many signed a petition demanding that Fr. Despard be reinstated.

Dr. Ed Peters has an interesting look at the situation from the canonical point of view (of course!). He notes that:

A priest’s removal from ministry could be effected under Canon 1722, a norm that authorizes such action against persons under certain circumstances (who knows whether those circumstances were satisfied in this case), and there is canonical provision, even preference, that ecclesiastical penalties be imposed or declared in a judicial (instead of administrative) penal process per Canons 1314 and 1341-1342.

The question is: what canonical crime could have been committed (not was committed, but could have been committed) by publishing the kind of book described above? Remember—against the backdrop of Canon 212 and its protection of the qualified right of Catholics to publish their opinions on matters impacting the welfare of the Church—that a canonical crime is being alleged here, not just the canonical equivalent of a tort (Canons 128 and 1491); that is, the priest is being treated as suspected of having violated a canonical provision to which a sanction is attached. That’s a very serious matter.

Dr. Peters says that of the four penal canons that could be called into play in this sitatuion, the two most likely candidates are:

Canon 1369, for perhaps the priest’s book gravely injured good morals [nb: not morale], expressed insults, or excited hatred or contempt against religion or the Church.

Canon 1373, for perhaps the priest’s book excited animosity or hatred against ecclesiastical authority on account of its governance acts [or lack thereof?] or provoked the faithful to disobey ecclesiastical authority.

Dr. Peters does not mention the fact that the prelate who is taking this canonical action against Fr. Despard is an acting bishop. In my diocese, when we had an “acting bishop”, or Apostolic Administrator, some of us were under the impression that there were limits to what actions could be taken by such an administrator, according to Canon Law (you can begin reading some of the applicable canons here). There are some very specific limitation that don’t apply here, but I’m not sure whether or not canons fully address the general concept of not taking action that would have a lasting effect on the diocese and cause problems for the incoming bishop. In particular, I’m thinking of this canon (my emphases):

Can. 428 §1 While the see is vacant, no innovation is to be made.

§2 Those who have the interim governance of the diocese are forbidden to do anything which could in any way prejudice the rights of the diocese or of the Bishop…

 At any rate, the previous bishop of Fr. Despard’s diocese had stated that Fr. Despard would not be suspended, but the acting bishop has decided otherwise. Whether or not that action is within his rights as an acting bishop is probably a moot point, since he’s doing it regardless.

Still, here’s one other note from Dr. Peters, which I find quite an interesting thought:

I might mention, though, one other penal canon possibly relevant in this matter. Canon 1389 threatens with sanctions those who abuse office in the Church. Invoking, on frivolous grounds, a formal penal process against a priest might qualify as abuse of ecclesiastical office

Regardless of canon law, the double standard concerning the accusation of priestly crimes continues, as is noted by this blog post which tells us:

The Scottish homosexual crisis continues unabated as Fr. Matthew Despard is suspended, while admitted pervert priest Paul Milarvie is a priest in "good standing" and even in the local curia. 

Follow the link in the quote to learn more about Fr. Milarvie’s past shenanigans…and the fact that despite admissions of homosexual behavior, his faculties have never been suspended.

Personally, I’m glad that Fr. Despard wrote his book. He’s paying the price, and I seriously doubt he will find justice, but if he is telling the truth, and following his conscience in bringing the situation to light, then God will surely judge him favorably. That’s what counts.

Fr. Matthew Despard Is Suspended After All

[See an update here.]

Fr. Matthew Despard, author of Priesthood in Crisis, has apparently been suspended from priestly ministry. Here’s an excerpt from a story from one news agency in Scotland:

Parishioners at St John ­Ogilvie's Church in High Blantyre, Lanarkshire, reacted with fury and disbelief when they were told just before Mass last night that Father Matthew Despard had been removed from his ministry.

They were greeted by a weeping Father Despard outside the church shortly before the 4:30pm Mass began, and were ushered inside to hear a statement from Bihsop Joseph Toal, Acting Bishop of the Diocese of Motherwell.

Angry scenes broke out among the congregation when Bishop Toal informed them “a penal judicial process” had been instituted against Fr. Despard as a result of the publication of his book Crisis in The Priesthood [sic], with parishioners demanding answers over the priest’s suspension.

Read the rest at the link. My comments on the book are here. 

I know I will be praying for Fr. Despard. I sense there is truth in what he has written, and he will pay dearly for revealing it. Of course, he knew that he would be a target when he published the book, but still…

I’ll be praying, too, for the restoration of order regarding the scandal of homosexuality among the clergy, which can scarcely be denied at this point, regardless of whether Fr. Despard’s book paints an accurate picture of the situation in Scotland.

See also: Randy Engel, Fr. Despard, et al: Exposing the Homosexualist Agenda 

Thoughts on "Priesthood In Crisis"

Having seen references to Fr. Matthew Despard in the news recently, I was prompted to read his controversial book, Priesthood in Crisis. Fr. Despard writes of his own personal experience and knowledge of the gay subculture within the Church in Scotland, and he is not afraid to name names, dates, places, and events. He notes in the preface that

Fr. Matthew Despard

This is a book that I do not want to write…I write it “more in sorrow than in anger”. I write it, to a degree, out of the pain of my own victim hood. But more than anything, I write it because it must be written.

Good-by, Good Men (by Michael S. Rose) documented and discussed the homosexual crisis in seminaries in the United States; Fr. Despard does the same regarding not only the seminaries in Scotland, but the Church hierarchy as well. Fr. Despard speaks almost exclusively from his own experience, citing instance after instance where he was pressured by homosexual priests to engage in inappropriate behavior, and was ostracized when he refused to comply.  Worse than “ostracized”, he was persecuted.

And his troubles aren’t going to cease with the recent attention given his book. It was published in 2010, but recently became available on Kindle (see this story for some background on the Scottish Church’s troubles, and some quotes from the book). Another  story states that friends of Fr. Despard say he “fears he could be stripped of his priesthood”. The story notes that diocesan officials deny that this is even being considered.

Near the end of the book, Fr. Despard makes some good general points about the loss of faith in both the laity and the clergy. He starts with the question, “Why are Catholics turning their backs on traditional doctrine and morality?” Indeed! And we can include Catholics at all levels of the hierarchy in that question! Fr. Despard examines the question further (all emphases mine):

 [W]hy do some Catholics reject the Church’s teachings? What has influenced their choice? Was it the media? Was it the pagan liberalism that is sweeping through the western world? Was it simple selfishness and self-involvement? Whatever the reason, it stems from a weakness of faith, a lack of understanding of the obligations of the faith, and a general loss of any sense of the faith.

And my honest belief as to why this is so is because many priests have lost a sense of their vocation, have lost that burning desire to follow the instructions from Jesus to heal the sick, to cast out demons and to preach the Word.

From my perspective, this is the crux of the situation: many priests have lost a sense of their vocation. I saw this first when I began to experience the extraordinary form of the Mass. In my view, the EF Mass lets the priest be a priest. Turning him to face the people is the first step in taking away the sense of his sacred duty and privilege before God in the Mass, I think. And it’s all downhill from there. Abuses of the Novus Ordo Mass resulted in the liturgy being damaged, and that damaged the priesthood.

Fr. Despard continues:

…It is easy, too, to assume that we [priests] are following our vocations honestly and fully but how determinedly do we catechize our people? How often, and with what deliberate purpose, do we ask them what it means to be Catholic?

….Sadly, when spirituality begins to wane, cynicism begins to prosper. And if they lack spirituality, priests cannot deliver the gospel to their flocks. In their lack of spirituality, they fall victim to their base desires and to the siren call of the world.

Fr. Despard believes “there is currently a major apostasy rife in the Church, an apostasy that conceals itself under the various guises of tolerance, pro-choice, equality and other forms of social and political correctness”. He comments further:

How terrible it is for the priests of our Church to stand by and permit the uninhibited growth of those twin modern perversions – liberalism and relativism – to flourish unchecked. How ignorant of our Christian faith and its tenets are our flocks allowed to become?

And then he asks this very pertinent question:

So why cannot our Church leaders see this? Why are they not mobilizing a Church fight-back, a re-education of its members, a challenge to the increasingly atheistic agenda that permeates our lives…?

I know there are some good priests and good bishops courageously teaching the Truth, but sometimes it seems that they constitute a very small minority. Countering our good shepherds, there are Church leaders who seem to not see the problem because they are part of it. When those Church leaders are in a position to choose which young men to admit to seminary, and which seminarians to ordain to the priesthood, and which priests to make bishops…well, there’s a problem – at least for us humans.

But with God, of course, all things are possible.

Pray. Fast. 

See also: Update on Fr. Matthew Despard and Scotland's Gay Mafia