Eduardo Yanga was hauled before the courts this week and told by a judge he had a month to quit the mansion he had shared with Bishop Buckley in Larne for the last 14 years.
Twelve years ago — following a protracted courtroom battle over squatters’ rights — the Church agreed the controversial clergyman’s ‘estate’ could remain rent free in the former Parochial House until six months after his death.
The compromise was reached when Bishop Buckley claimed squatters’ rights after he was ousted from his post as parish priest of Larne by the Diocese of Down and Connor.
But on Monday in the Chancery Division of the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast, Mr Justice Huddleston, made it clear to Mr Yanga that any agreement his deceased husband had with the Catholic Church concerning the property didn’t automatically transfer to him.
And when Mr Yanga pleaded for an additional time to find alternative accommodation, the judge told him: “The reason I’m giving you a month is because it’s Christmas.”
After the case concluded, Mr Yanga, who is originally from the Philippines, spoke of his bitter disappointment at the ruling and he said he had been left with no alternative but to appeal it.He said: “It may sound odd, but the night Pat died, he warned me I would come into real conflict with the Catholic Church over our home. He was having his usual nightcap of brandy and Benedictine. Suddenly he raised his glass and said the time will come when my feet will be in his shoes and I should be prepared to do battle with the Church.
“I told Pat I didn’t have the courage to take on the Church in the same way he did. But he raised his glass again and said. ‘We will see, we will see’. Hours later, Pat died in his sleep. And so our last meaningful conversation was about me finding the courage to fight the Church over my right to remain in the house which had been our home.''
“And guess what? Here I am. I’m determined to appeal it,” he said.
Representing himself at a previous hearing, Mr Yanga asked Judge Huddleston that in the event of him appealing the case, would it be possible to have it heard before a court on the UK mainland, as he “didn’t believe it was possible for him to receive justice in this country”.
But the judge told him: “You’re being a bit premature, Mr Yanga.”
The dispute started in May immediately after Bishop Buckley’s death aged 72 when the Catholic diocese of Down and Connor serviced notice on Eduardo (46) to quit the large rambling villa at No. 6 Princes Gardens, which they had moved into after their marriage 14 years ago.
It was where Buckley went on to establish his own Independent Catholic Church in a converted stable at the rear of the property.
Buckley set up a small chapel where he officiated at numerous weddings and christenings for people who found themselves at odds with the mainstream Catholic Church.
In particular, he catered for members of the Travelling community and gay couples. They appeared more comfortable with Buckley’s less formal approach to religious matters. And in one stand-out case, Pat Buckley even agreed to marry a Belfast couple, using only their cats as witnesses.
Mr Yanga also said this week he was also bitterly disappointed by a recent decision by the Public Prosecution Service not to bring a case against his alleged attackers after he was assaulted in a bar near his home.
“I don’t think I’m being treated at all fairly by the authorities in Northern Ireland. Pictures showing my injuries appeared in the papers at the time. They show I was seriously injured. And funnily enough, the row erupted because some people took issue with my public statement that I intended to remain in the house which was home to Pat and I in Larne.''
“I honestly believe Pat is guiding me through the difficulties I’m currently facing with regards to the legalities surrounding my right to remain in the house and also the PPS decision not to prosecute my attackers,” said Mr Yanga.
He added: “I will be appealing both decisions. I’ve no other choice.”