Amy Welborn on Msgr. Clark

Amy Welborn has a series of posts on the mess of Monsignor Clark

The Journal News also has coverage of the scandal here. The sorid details:

The rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral is embroiled in a Westchester divorce case, as an Eastchester man alleges that his wife had an affair with the 79-year-old Roman Catholic priest while working as his secretary.

Philip DeFilippo filed for divorce from his wife, Laura, in Westchester Family Court, and claimed in court papers that she was romantically involved with Monsignor Eugene Clark, a longtime family friend who married the couple two decades ago, when he was rector at the Church of the Annunciation in Yonkers. Both DeFilippos are 46, and they have two children.

DeFilippo alleges that a private investigator captured his wife and the priest on videotape entering and leaving a hotel on Long Island and that his wife frequently vacationed with Clark.

The allegations have stunned parishioners from some of the many stops of Clark's career.

"Not the Monsignor Clark that I know. I would never expect that from him. I would never expect for him to do something like that," said Diane Vezza, a longtime Annunciation parishioner who recalled Clark as a "spectacular" rector. "The priest I know is an upstanding man."

I expressed my view in Amy's comment boxes here(scroll down for "A Holy Fool"):

I'm so tired of the "liberal" and "conservative" labels that Catholics in America--at least throughout the blogosphere--employ so often. Can we put aside the national religion of politics and actually start being Catholic for a while? Even contextualized to Catholic Church issues, the ideology-pushing is naseating!

Msgr. Clark betrayed his vows. In doing so, he betrayed the Church. That includes us. He betrayed his vows in three ways.

The first, and obvious ways, appear to be the adultry he committed with Ms. DeFiilippo. I know he hasn't been proven guilty. However, the standard of evidence in a civil case, such as divorce, is a preponderance of evidence. The photos and video, the changing of clothes, the fake names in the hotel registry, the dinner out, and Ms. DeFiilippo lying to her husband about it (not to mention her daughter seeing her with Clark in a hot-tub!) looks like a preponderance to me.

The second way that he's betrayed his vows is that he caused scandal, as in the classical definition. He preached the truth of morality and condemned those that promote immorality while he himself led an immoral life. Yes, he did not teach heresy. However, a priest of his experience and understanding surely must know how the credibility of the preacher facilitates the acceptance of the preaching. He has made himself the poster-child for any that choose to dismiss morality. His hypocrisy has done far more harm than the ranting of many Foolable and heterodox preachers.

Third, his disgraceful behavior has encouraged the destruction of a marriage and subjected the priesthood to further derision and suspicion. He wasn't just a trusted spokesman for orthodox Catholics. He served the Archdiocese of NY as the Rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral! The shadow of his betrayal falls on many good priests that already struggle to secure the trust of justifiably suspicious NY Catholics. How will Catholics that struggle with their marriages feel about coming to their priest now? Might doubts come to their mind where once they did not? More likely now, I'm afraid.

I pray that Msgr. Clark repents of his sin and seeks forgiveness for it. I'm glad he has resigned and hope he gracefully leaves the stage. Likewise, I hope Ms. DeFiilippo repents and asks forgiveness. I doubt that her marriage can be salvaged, however.

I can't answer whether other people's reaction would have been different if Msgr. Clark were "liberal". I know that I'm disappointed in his fall, whatever theological stripe he happens to be. He betrayed the vows that so many of his brother priests make and keep. He betrayed the vows that so many of his Catholic brothers and sisters, married and single, make and keep. By doing so, he has harmed the sacraments and Truth that he had celebrated with the whole of his life!

May God bring some good out of this tragic waste. Right now, I'm not seeing any.

This is how I see it. I hope other developments in this sad story lead me to change my mind. I'm not holding my breath.