Archbishop orders priests out of parish

TWO PRIESTS and two Sisters have been expelled from their posts in a parish in the Archdiocese of Southwark.
Fr Robert Copsey and Fr Morty O’Shea were asked to leave St Mary Magdalene church, Brockley, South East London, last week. One diocesan priest will replace them after Easter.
Mystery hangs over the precise reason why they have been thrown out of the parish, with both the priests and the archdiocese remaining tight-lipped.
Fr Copsey, Fr O’Shea and the two Sisters belong to the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT).
SOLT is a community within the Church dedicated to employing teams to serve “in areas of deepest need”, with a spiritual focus on Jesus and Mary.
SOLT is said to be present in only two dioceses in Britain — Brockley and Hythe, both in the Archdiocese of Southwark.
The priests are alleged to have received a letter last week from the newly appointed Archbishop of Southwark, Kevin McDonald, informing them that SOLT should leave St Mary Magdalene Church after Easter 2004.
It is not known whether the priests will be asked to leave the archdiocese altogether, or simply to join the SOLT team in Hythe.
There is speculation that the archdiocese acted after a number of complaints about the SOLT priests’ instructions to children at St Mary Magdalene School.
Carmelita Winston, the headmistress of the school is said to have been incensed that the priests told the children to receive their First Communion on the tongue, rather than in the hand. But this week Mrs Winston refused to comment on the matter.
The current Church discipline on the Eucharist leaves the decision over receiving the sacrament on either the tongue or in the hand to the individual, regardless of age.
The SOLT priests, however, were said to be so distressed at finding a number of hosts discarded under the pews at the church that they instructed children receiving their First Communion to do so on the tongue.
The deacon of Brockley, William Dunphy, broke the news of the priests’ departure to the parish last Sunday. His appeal against the decision was greeted with a round of applause.
Deacon Dunphy said there will be a parish meeting today during which parishioners will discuss how best to respond to the expulsion of the priests.
The Archdiocese of Southwark announced the departure of the priests in a statement.
It read: “SOLT will be leaving the parish of St Mary Magdalene, Brockley, after Easter 2004. This change is taking place following discussions between Fr Copsey and the superior of the SOLT community in Rome.
“The diocese is greatly appreciative of the work done by SOLT priests.” But when asked why the SOLT team was being asked to leave, an spokesman for the archdiocese, refused to elaborate.
Fr O’Shea and Fr Copsey confirmed that SOLT had been asked to leave, but would not add anything further.
One female parishioner, who did not wish to be named, said she was appalled by the decision.
She said: “On the one hand, you hear about a shortage of priests across the country, and on the other hand you are kicking them out.
“These priests are rather traditional priests, but all they were trying to do was instill a bit of devotion.
“I am very hurt and very upset. Yesterday I really felt like I didn’t want to go [to church].” Eric Hester, a former headmaster of a Catholic school, was also supportive of the SOLT priests.
He said: “I have stayed in that parish and I find both priests to be very devout, pious and even tempered. It is a multi-ethnic parish and people have turned up to Mass in vast numbers.” Some critics of the SOLT priests have accused them of “belligerence” and adopting a “confrontational approach”.
Fr Copsey is a member of the Latin Mass Society, which calls for Latin services to be available to Catholics who feel attached to it.