Father Matthew Despard: Anger as priest is left out of an official directory listing for John Ogilvie Church

SCOTLAND
Daily Record

Jan 24, 2015 By Leona Greenan

A suspended Blantyre priest has been left out of an official directory listing for his parish – sparking anger among his supporters.

Father Matthew Despard hasn’t been named in John Ogilvie Church’s entry in this year’s Western Catholic Calendar, yet his stand-in Father William Nolan has been named as the administrator.

The priest was suspended back in 2013 after publication of his book called Crisis in the Priesthood, which accused the Catholic Church in Scotland of covering up sexual bullying.

Father Despard’s supporters, many of whom meet following Saturday vigil mass on Saturday evenings to pray for his reinstatement and for “a speedy outcome” for the priest, were disappointed to learn he was not named in the calendar.

Parishioner Ann Reid said: “I’m not happy. In my book Father Despard is still the parish priest. To leave him out speaks volumes.”

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