The Inquisitr
23 January 2012
Father Mark Stewart Bullock has been removed from duty at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Boston after he was caught in a porn shop with his pants and underwear completely off as he exposed his genitalia to shoppers.
When police arrived they filed an official report in which they he was sitting on a couch “his pants completely off” and “was not wearing any underwear and [was] exposing his penis.”
Bullock was arrested immediately following the incident. In a letter to the churches followers Rev. Joseph Barr said Bullock had been removed from his post and that the church removed his ”faculties to function as a priest and initiated an investigation to learn more about the incident.”
The priest will not undergo psychological evaluation and is no longer allowed to celebrate Mass publicly or to present himself to anyone as a priest.
“He will no longer reside at the parish rectory and is not permitted to attend or participate in any parish or school functions.”
“I realize this information may be shocking and painful for you to hear, which I sincerely regret,” Barr wrote. “However, in the interest of transparency and out of an abundance of care for this parish and our community, I wanted to share this news with you directly and ask for your prayers for Fr. Bullock and for our parish.”
The particular porn shop where Father Mark Stewart Bullock has been drawing more traffic then normal in recent times and has drawn the ire of local citizens who have been reporting suspicious activity to police.
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Father Stewart Bullock arrested, removed from ministry
The Catholic Review online (Archdiocese of Baltimore)
By Matt Palmer
mpalmer@CatholicReview.org
Father Joseph Barr, pastor of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Towson, confirmed in a Jan. 22 letter to parishioners that associate pastor Father Mark Stewart Bullock has been removed from ministry and will no longer reside at the parish rectory after being arrested Jan. 16 in Harford County.
According to public case information from the District Court of Maryland, 47-year-old Father Bullock was charged with indecent exposure stemming from a Jan. 16 incident.
Ordained by Cardinal William H. Keeler June 24, 2006 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland, Father Bullock is a formal floral designer and was a lifelong parishioner of St. Clare in Essex.
Before being assigned to Immaculate Conception, Father Bullock served at St. John the Evangelist in Severna Park.
“I realize that this information may be shocking and painful for you to hear, which I sincerely regret,” Father Barr wrote in his letter to parishioners. “However, in the interest of transparency and out of an abundance of care for this parish and our community, I wanted to share this news with you directly and ask for your prayers for Father Bullock and for our parish.”
In his letter, Father Barr said “it is important to note that no adults or children from the parish, or our parish school, were involved.”
He wrote that “upon learning of the incident, Cardinal-designate (Edwin F.) O’Brien immediately removed Father Bullock’s faculties to function as a priest and initiated an investigation to learn more about the incident.”
Father Barr continued in his letter: “The Archdiocese has instructed Father Bullock to undergo a psychological evaluation. His removal from ministry is indefinite and means that he is not permitted to celebrate Mass publicly or present himself in any way as a priest.”
Father Bullock is not permitted to attend or participate in any parish or school functions.
Father Barr’s letter also encouraged parents to decide how to best inform their children of the incident. Anyone who has any knowledge or information that may be relevant to this matter is asked to contact Monsignor Jim Hannon, associate director of clergy personnel, at 410-547-5302.
Jennifer Williams contributed to this story.
Jan 23, 2012
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Towson priest charged with indecent exposure
Man found half-naked in Abingdon adult bookstore, officials say
The Baltimore Sun
4:17 p.m. EST, January 22, 2012
By Tricia Bishop, The Baltimore Sun
A Towson priest has been removed from duty at the Church of the Immaculate Conception after being arrested last week on indecent exposure charges.
According to a police report of the incident, Mark Stewart Bullock, 47, was at Bush River Books & Movies, an Abingdon adult store on the 3900 block of Pulaski Highway, the night of Jan. 16, when two deputies, investigating complaints of indecent exposure, discovered him nude from the waist down in a movie theater inside the shop.
Bullock was sitting on a couch with “his pants completely off,” stated the report, which went on to state that “Bullock was not wearing any underwear and [was] exposing his penis.” He was sitting in a public area where store customers could see him, sheriff’s deputies said.
The deputies instructed Bullock to get dressed and charged him with indecent exposure, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum fine of $1,000 and three years in prison, police said.
Bullock could not be reached Sunday. A court date is set for March 6.
In a letter to parishioners, Rev. Joseph Barr said the Baltimore Archdiocese removed Bullock’s “faculties to function as a priest and initiated an investigation to learn more about the incident” as soon as officials were made aware of the arrest.
Bullock has been ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation, and he is no longer allowed to celebrate Mass publicly or to present himself as a priest, the letter said. The removal from the ministry is indefinite, it added.
“He will no longer reside at the parish rectory and is not permitted to attend or participate in any parish or school functions,” Barr noted in the letter.
“I realize this information may be shocking and painful for you to hear, which I sincerely regret,” Barr wrote. “However, in the interest of transparency and out of an abundance of care for this parish and our community, I wanted to share this news with you directly and ask for your prayers for Fr. Bullock and for our parish.”
Barr could not be reached Sunday, nor could a spokesman for the Baltimore Archdiocese.
The arrest appears to be Bullock’s first, according to online court records. He lists the church’s address, on the 200 block of Ware Ave., as home.
Monica Worrell, a spokeswoman for the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, said deputies routinely look in on adult bookstores to ensure they are complying with the law. This particular shop was drawing more traffic than normal, according to community members, who had voiced concerns at a council meeting, leading the sheriff’s office to investigate.
“Throughout the course of doing that, we found violations of law,” Worrell said. Several arrests were made, she said.
In a porn shop, – naked as a jail bird from the wist down?????!!!!!
Would I be right in guessing that was delighting in a porn flick of some sort?
It gets sadder by the day!…this was on January 16th…he probably celebrated mass for the faithful the day before…I wonder how they feel ???…
jg
Sylvia: SNAP! (Not the organization… my mind!) AT LEAST he has been immediately and publicly removed and had his faculties removed. I note that he was an ‘associate pastor’ (as compared to we ‘parish curates’ of days long gone) which usually indicates that he is fresh out of the Seminary. How in the name of all that’s good and holy did he make it through a minimum of five years formation and religious training, all in the full knowledge of the danger of letting predators (or other sexual deviants) into the priesthood, and THIS not be found out??? How the hell did he get ordained? THAT for me is the greater shock and dismay!
Clearly there is still work to be done within the institutions of the Church to get one simple message through everybody’s head: NO MAN should be permitted to become a cleric or religious if there is ANY DOUBT AT ALL that he lacks the sexual maturity needed to fully live a celibate life. He cannot be trusted with ordination. The benefit of the doubt must (IN EVERY OCCASION AND EVERYWHERE) never be given to the candidate. Why is it so hard for everyone to get with the program?
This may be too brusque a policy for some as it feeds into the attitude that the Church is homophobic. But, when the cost of failure is measured in lives broken and the dissipation of faith, the risk is far too high.
Fr. Tim
He was 47 years 0ld Father, and a late vocation, ordained 2006. He is referred to as “Stew.” Here is a bit of a bio and picture online:
“Our Associate Pastor, Fr. Stew Bullock is a native son of St. Clare’s parish in Essex, where he grew up with the dream of serving God and his people though a priestly vocation. After spending 15 years in the retail florist industry operating his own business, that dream finally came true when he was ordained a priest for our Archdiocese in June, 2006. He has been at St. John’s ever since and loves being a parish priest. He is the parish Director of Liturgy and oversees all liturgical ministries and any details relating to our worship.”
Elsewhere I found that he was assigned to Immaculate Conception July 2010 after spending 4 years at St. John the Evangelist in Severna Park, Maryland
The devil made him do it… not giving good press to the Church for sure…a sad day indeed.
The church sure has done some amazing damage over the years. I wonder what this guy’s excuse will be.
The church, the military, the RCMP. They’re all the same. They’re all corrupt. They’ve lost their meaning. They’re only interested in self preservation.
There will be a day of reckoning, hopefully sooner than later.