THE parish of a controversial Catholic priest is expected to close under a major church re-organisation.
Father Matthew Despard was suspended last year after publishing allegations of homosexual bullying within the Church in the wake of the Cardinal O'Brien sex scandal.
His parish, St John Ogilvie, in Blantyre, is now one of about 40 parishes in Lanarkshire facing merger or being shut due to both dwindling numbers of priests and falling congregations.
A report by the Bishop of Motherwell Joseph Toal states the parish is likely to merge with St Joseph's, Blantyre, which has a much larger Catholic population within its vicinity.
It comes amid further evidence of divisions within the parish, with supporters of Fr Despard claiming they were told by his stand-in, Fr Willie Nolan, effectively the general manager of the Diocese, that they had "no permission" to pray for the priest.
The Herald also understands Fr Despard is facing further legal action relating to his accommodation, which is due to come before the Sheriff Court in the coming weeks.
Fr Despard, who has now been suspended for a year and has been ordered by the courts to vacate his church-owned property, published a book in the aftermath of the resignation of Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who was relieved of his duties after admitting decades of sexual encounters with other clergy.
In the book, Fr Despard claims he was approached inappropriately as a seminarian and said trainee priests who spurned the advances of others were bullied. He also complained of having his claims ignored. The book has since been withdrawn by Amazon in the UK, following legal threats by individual priests who claimed to have been defamed.
Like other Catholic dioceses, Motherwell is currently looking at its estate and has marked St John Ogilvie and St Joseph's for merger. As St Joseph's has a Catholic population of 4,500 and St John Ogilvie one of 1,500, it is likely the latter will shut.
Church officials denied speculation the affair would hasten any closure of the parish, although there are concerns over the possible impact of scores of Fr Despard's supporters moving to St Joseph's, where the clergy are hostile to the priest and his campaign.
Patrick Stirling, a supporter of Fr Despard, said he and about 20 others had gathered to pray for the priest after mass last Saturday night when an altercation with Fr Nolan occurred.
Mr Stirling said: "For the last two weeks we have been gathering after Saturday vigil, but last week Fr Nolan came in and told us we did not have his permission to pray for Fr Despard within the church.
"We left without any confrontation because we don't want to be labelled demonstrators but two within the wider group had a real go at Fr Nolan, who told them they would only have his permission to pray for Fr Despard if it was that he obeys Bishop Toal."
He added: "The sale of St John Ogilvie has always been on the cards. It's a good location and could bring the church in a decent amount of money. But the last year could hasten the merger. And there will be chaos if they move us to St Joseph's."
In his recent statement to parishes across the Motherwell Diocese, Bishop Toal said: "Not all our churches have such a healthy attendance at Sunday masses these days and that inevitably means a reduction in income. This impacts on the ability to care for all the buildings we have at present within the Diocese.
On the issue of prayers and Fr Despard, a spokesman for Bishop Toal said yesterday: "While nobody can be prevented from saying their own prayers in church, public prayers should only be arranged with the prior agreement of the priest in charge."
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