AN UNHOLY row threatened to divide the Catholic church in Dundee last night after a suspended senior priest launched a stinging attack on his bishop. Monsignor Joseph Creegan was effectively sacked by Bishop Vincent Logan last month after allegations in a national Sunday newspaper that he had been having an affair with a Fife divorcee and had conducted an 18-year relationship with a married woman.
An official statement released by the Diocese of Dunkeld on January 27 said the bishop had acted after receiving “specific and irrefutable evidence” of Mgr Creegan’s misconduct.
The statement added the 66-year-old priest had accepted the decision of the bishop to suspend.
However, Mgr Creegan last night castigated his former colleague, accusing him of a “gross breach of natural justice” by issuing a statement that gave an “unbalanced picture” of the situation and which “gave credence to the lurid articles and fantasies.”
He said he had no knowledge of the evidence that prompted the bishop to act, had been given no opportunity to examine it and had made no admission of guilt as, “I was not in a position to confess to anything since I was not informed about the accusations.”
Furthermore, he said Bishop Logan’s statement that he “deeply regrets any hurt and upset which has been caused to people by Mgr Creegan’s conduct over the years” showed he accepted the evidence and come to an “extremely grave view” when such a stance was not merited.
The priest has denied his relationship with Fife woman Anne Ogden was anything but platonic despite them having a joint mortgage on a £300,000 property in Balmerino.
He had seemed to accept to Bishop Logan he had a long-term affair with a second married woman—allegations arising just days later—but his statement last night appeared to deny it.
He said, “I will not speak of those two individuals who used to be friends but have given in to jealousy, hatred and spite. In the midst of lies and treachery, I prefer to live with the truth.”
Mgr Creegan—who still stays in a riverside apartment owned by the Diocese of Dunkeld—was not available for clarification of his stance last night.
However, a written statement from him earlier said, “There is an implication, from the content of the bishop’s statement, that I have somehow held my hands up and accepted the accuracy of all that has appeared in print.
“The fact is that I accepted a decision of suspension and nothing more.
“I retired last year and suspension was of no material consequence.
“In the real world suspension is still a presumption of innocence, pending full and proper investigation. I am disappointed at the failure to observe such elementary procedures.
“My fundamental concern is that there has been a gross breach of natural justice as a consequence of which I have been judged and, in effect, condemned without proper notice and full and fair inquiry.
“As such I have been the victim of unfair comment, the effect of which has been detrimental to my character. I have given the bishop reasonable opportunity to acknowledge this and he has failed to do so.
“It is clear from his statement that the bishop plainly decided that all information with which he had been provided was accurate and true.
“He now belatedly offers me an opportunity to redress the balance, but he is a judge who has made his judgment before hearing all the evidence and has thus debarred himself.”
A spokesperson for the Diocese of Dunkeld said last night, “The Diocese of Dunkeld has no comment to make on this matter.”
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