How terribly unfortunate…

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A page has been added for Father Joe Gorman, soon, apparently, to be Mr. Joe Gorman.

Yesterday we learned that Father Gorman has decided to leave the priesthood.  This, I am sure, will come as a terrible shock to the many Roman Catholics who seemed to worship the ground he walked on as a priest, and, who, after he was obliged by the archdiocese  to take time off for period of ‘reflection,’  fought hard to have him returned to Our Lady of Grace in Auroara as their pastor.  (Indeed, according to media reports when an official from the archdiocese first arrived to advise parishioners that Father Gorman that would be taking a wee break, chaos erupted in the church.)

We are still largely in the dark as to what exactly transpired here,  but do know that, according to the archdiocese, there were issues with Gorman regarding “irregularities relating to the financial administration of the parish and serious civil and ecclesiastical irregularities concerning the celebration of the sacrament of matrimony.”

We also know that Father opted to forego  the valid administration of the Sacraments (marriage) to suit his own whims.  At least two ‘marriages’ at which Gorman officiated were invalid.  Further to that, we know that Father Gorman falsified documents, apparently in an attempt to conceal the fact that it was he who officiated at the service in the Anglican church.  There is less known about the second of these two services – only that the “couple” were parishioners at Our Lady of Grace who decided, for whatever reason  to marry in an Anglican church, and further to have that marriage  performed by Father Gorman, and of course,  Gorman obviously agreed, but decided that it was necessary to cover his tracks as the officiant and therefore falsify the documents.  Some have speculated that this a situation involving a same-sex couple.  I have no idea.  It may well have been a situation similar to the first in which one of the parties had not received an annulment?  No matter, whatever the situation a defiant Father Gorman opted to proceed with the service and falsify documents.

In a flier announcing to parishioners that he is leaving the priesthood Father Gorman said in part:

“This journey we have been on, and I say ‘we’ because it affected all of us, has not been easy, but after a lot of prayer, thought and family support, I have decided to leave the priesthood. My heart and my mind are made up and I am happy with my decision. It is my decision and mine alone. Although I will miss seeing the parishioners of Our Lady of Grace on a daily basis, I feel truly at peace with myself and with God.”

How terribly unfortunate that Father Gorman did not discern his lack of vocation before his ordination a mere 7 short years ago.

An interesting aside regarding the trial and tribulations of the parishioners at Our Lady of Grace…..

This is not the first time there has been screaming and yelling in the Church in response to a visit by an archdiocesan official.   Back in 1990 Archbishop Aloysius Ambrozic showed up at the church to advise startled parishioners that their beloved parish priest, Father Paul MacCarthy, was being removed and sent for a “period of renewal,” and this in relation to some sort of vague mention  of  “misconduct” and subsequent denials that the allegations had anything to do with children.

Anyway, when the Archbishop arrived to break the news, as one parishioner would later say: “All Hell broke loose.”

The truth of the matter/”misconduct” was that Father MacCarthy had molested at least three young lads in the parish.  As I said in a write-up on the scandal, the nature of Father McCarthy’s “misconduct” was never revealed to parishioners.

And, for the record on the difficulties encountered by those poor OLG parishioners over the past years, serial and convicted child molester Father Barry Glendinning was recycled into Our Lady of Grace in the mid ’80s.  The Pastor of the day was Father Paul MacCarthy!

Enough for now,

Sylvia

This entry was posted in Accused or charged, Bishops, Canada, Circling the wagons, Clerical sexual predators, Scandal and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

3 Responses to How terribly unfortunate…

  1. Mary Adams says:

    We are very saddened to learn that Fr. Joe Gorman has decided to leave the priesthood. Fr. Joe made a great impact on our families lives and we are left with the impression of a very caring, descent human being who has made a significant difference to those parishioners who were fortunate enough to have been blessed with his presence. A “breath of fresh air”.

    The Catholic Church must open it’s eyes, ears and heart to the parishioners of today. My fear as a grandparent is that there won’t be a Catholic Church or a priest available for the next few generations to be a part of. Look at what is happening to our vocations?
    Will the Church still have the financial and emotional support of their parishioners to carry on in the future? We have lost too many good priests over the last twenty years and now sadly Fr. Joe’s name has been added to this list.

    While we respect Fr. Joe’s decision it is with a heavy heart that we accept it. God bless you Fr. Joe and please know that during your very short tenure as a Priest, you touched many lives and left your footprints in our hearts.

  2. PJ says:

    Mary…”Will the Church still have the financial and emotional support of their parishioners to carry on in the future? “…they continue to throw millions of dollars away in lawyer fees defending pervert collars. If they would face the truth and do what’s right, parishioners wouldn’t have to worry about these things.

  3. cm says:

    this church should be condemned after reading the terrible sins committed, I feel sick….as my family does we will never walk through their doors..now we have a bully in the church, what a disgrace the catholic church is….to hide & deceive…..and they call us sinners….

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