A TEENAGE skate-boarder who goaded a priest into a foul-mouthed tirade has apologised for the verbal clash that led to the Catholic clergyman's suspension.The 16-year-old also revealed his school was furious over the posting of parts of the incident on the Internet.
"Tom" confirmed he was among the youths who verbally jousted with Monsignor Geoff Baron outside St Patrick's Cathedral.
He said he deeply regretted the incident that led to Monsignor Baron's shocking outburst.
But he felt the Monsignor's actions were indefensible.
"I do feel sorry for him really, because I know what we did was wrong. But I think his reaction was wrong too," Tom said.
Monsignor Baron fled to Sydney last week following revelations of the incident a year ago, in which he swore at the youths.
Tom uses his YouTube and MySpace sites to post videos of his group's skateboarding exploits.
Monsignor Baron's niece Steph Baron this week posted an Internet comment defending the priest.
She also claimed the group had been taunting him for years, despite being asked to leave.
Ms Baron said her uncle had even "called the cops a few times," but had been unsuccessful in removing the group from the cathedral grounds.
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