The parish priest of a Louth village has “stood aside” with immediate effect pending an investigation by the Archdiocese of Armagh.
Parish priest of Clogherhead Fr Martin McVeigh, who made national headlines in 2012 when he inadvertently showed gay pornographic images to parents in Co Tyrone, is said to have “voluntarily stepped aside from all pastoral duties”.
The congregation of Saturday evening’s mass at St Michael’s Church, Clogherhead were said to be “shocked and confused” by a statement made by Bishop Michael Router, Auxiliary Bishop of Armagh during regular mass.
One massgoer said it was a short statement, and no reason was given why the priest was leaving his duties.
“I’m none the wiser what happened, but Fr Paul Byrne from Termonfeckin said mass and then introduced the Bishop who made a short statement,” said the parishioner, who did not want to be identified.
“He just said Fr McVeigh was standing down from all duties and we were to pray for all concerned, or words to that effect.”
In a statement from the Archdiocese of Armagh, the priest was not named but a spokesperson said: “In line with the safeguarding policy of the Archdiocese and the standards and guidance of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, a parish priest of the Archdiocese of Armagh has voluntarily stepped aside from all pastoral duties in order to facilitate the full investigation by the relevant authorities.”
It said Archbishop Eamon Martin has asked for prayers for all concerned “while stressing that during the period of the investigation the priest... continues to be entitled to the natural right of every person to the presumption of innocence pending the completion of all relevant state and Church processes.”
Fr. Martin McVeigh, who previously administered in both Termonfeckin and Drogheda, caused a storm in 2012 when a memory stick he had been using as part of a powerpoint presentation on First Communion flashed up 16 separate images.
There were 26 parents at the meeting and they expressed shock at the incident.
He was the parish priest in Pomeroy, Co Tyrone at the time.
He denied any knowledge of the images and deeply regretted his failure to check them in advance.
Fr McVeigh apologised for the hurt caused and said he was taking sabbatical leave.
A year later, he was appointed parish priest in Clogherhead, Co Louth, but hit the headlines again in 2018 after parents walked out of their child's communion mass in protest at comments made by the priest about the abortion referendum.
Dozens of parents left the church before the end of their child's communion mass, after Fr McVeigh addressed them about the vote, including details of how formed a child is in the womb at 12 weeks.