Families attending St John the Evangelist Parish Church on Sunday were urged to pray for former parish priest, Father Stephen Baillie, after he was convicted of sexual assault last week.
Monsignor John Tormey told the congregation his former colleague had thrown his life away following "a moment of weakness". That moment included attempting to perform a sex act on a man who was so heavily intoxicated he was unable to consent.
Baillie – who was the parish priest at St Joseph's Church in Clarkston at the time of the offence – was convicted following a trial at Paisley Sheriff Court last week, reports the Daily Record. One parent and parishioner, who requested anonymity, said the congregation was full of families who had been making an additional effort to attend mass before first holy communions and confirmations are made in the coming months.
They told the Paisley Daily Express: "A lot of parents that I spoke to after mass were shocked and disgusted that the priest should ask for prayers to be given to a convicted sex offender. Monsignor Tormey should have said absolutely nothing about it...it's like he's come up to the pulpit to defend a sexual predator. I'm sorry, but sexually assaulting someone is not a 'mistake', it's a choice.
"His approach to this whole situation is tone deaf." In two masses, both recorded on the church's Facebook page, Monsignor Tormey urged his congregation to pray not only for the victim but also for the perpetrator of the abuse.
He said: "It's a hard thing for members of a family to hear, and we are that family, to hear that news that in a moment of weakness [Fr Stephen], whom you have loved and who has loved you, has fallen away and has lost his way.
"We pray for the victim of this crime that they will be healed, for them and their family, and that they will get over this terrible hurt that has been part of their lives. But I want to say to you also, to many of you who know Fr Stephen, you know that he has done a lot of good in this parish and that good cannot be undone. That good was there and God sees that too. What we do now is we pray for him.
"We believe that there is forgiveness, we believe there is a way for a person to come back with a contrite and truly humble heart, who realises that they're in the wrong place and that they've made bad choices. And God doesn't give up on anyone and he doesn't give up on Fr Stephen and we won't give up on him either. That's not condoning anything at all because we know of the hurt that has been caused."
Parishioners were subsequently called upon to offer prayers for victims of abuse and for those who "fall away from God" during the prayers of the faithful. However, the worried parent claimed the entire approach was lacking in sensitivity.
They went on to say: "The thing is, how does he know there isn't someone in that church who has been a victim of a sex crime before and he's saying stuff like that, as if it was all just a bad mistake?
"He referred to the woman who was being stoned due to adultery, that no doubt there were journalists in the crowd ready to cast the first stone. Adultery and sexually attacking someone is not the same thing, it's like he's living a different reality. I'm absolutely disgusted."
A spokesperson for the Paisley Diocese, which oversees St John the Evangelist Church, responded: "Monsignor Tormey's comments were made in the context of the very clear statement from the Diocese of Paisley, stressing its culture of care and commitment to creating and sustaining safe church environments, while offering shelter, support and compassion.
"During the mass, the congregation were asked to pray for 'all victims of abuse and assault, that they may receive healing and strength'. Mgr. Tormey clearly said, 'I do not condone this sin in any way' and made clear that he had offered mass for 'the victim and his family'.
"Separately, the comments were made as part of Mgr. Tormey's homily, which took place during the children's liturgy, when young children leave the church for age-appropriate teaching and were not referenced after the children returned."