LANARKSHIRE (SCOTLAND)
Motherwell.Times
Nov. 20, 2019
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.
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It was withdrawn after a church tribunal ruled the contents were defamatory.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.
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