A Catholic priest who was stalked by one of his parishioners is taking indefinite leave from his church.Marianne Monteath of Invercargill has been seemingly obsessed with Father Hamesh Wyatt for almost a decade.
He was forced to take a restraining order against her in 2001 and more recently, she proposed marriage to him in a local newspaper last Christmas Eve.
The popular priest broke the news to his congregation last night that he was leaving, and his St Patrick's parishioners are reportedly devastated.
Monteath (also known as Marianne Bonn) was ordered to keep away from Wyatt for two years in 2001 after the priest, who was 33 at the time, was forced to take civil action under the Harassment Act.
Details of the order and evidence in support of it were suppressed.
But the Sunday Star-Times understands many members within the St Patrick's parish were aware that, after the restraining order lapsed, Monteath's apparent obsession with Wyatt, now 40, continued.
She attended church up to twice a day, and liked to linger afterwards in a bid to see the priest on his own.
Monteath, who is believed to be aged in her 40s, made her feelings public when she placed an ad in the Southland Times last December 24 asking Wyatt to marry her.
It was seen by several parishioners and, when Monteath turned up at the Christmas Eve Mass later that day and tried to be the last to leave, they made sure Wyatt wasn't left alone with her.
Wyatt took leave from the parish in February. It's believed the priest who had a huge workload was stressed and finding it difficult to cope with Monteath's attention.
The Catholic bishop of Dunedin, the Most Rev Colin Campbell, confirmed the advances were unwanted. He told the Star-Times: "There have been cases when priests have been subject to unwelcome attention from women and this is such a case."
Wyatt returned last night to break the news of his departure to the congregation, who are rallying in support of the popular priest who has worked tirelessly for the parish and as chaplain at Verdon College, the co-ed Catholic secondary school in Invercargill.
Southland-based Catholic journalist Pat Veltkamp Smith said she deplored the lack of church support for its priests and nuns.
"Many young priests have a very heavy workload. It's hard for the ordained to say `no' but we know they should care for themselves first."
Wyatt had a high profile in the city and appealed to many young people with his love of beer and rugby and, for the even younger, extensive knowledge of cartoon characters such as SpongeBob SquarePants whom he often included in his sermons during children's Mass.
Wyatt, who is from Gore, entered the seminary when he was 19 and graduated as a diocesan priest for Otago-Southland in 1993.
Wyatt declined to comment and Monteath could not be reached for comment.
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