24 September 1997
Pathetic attempt to get back at Mayo team
Did I miss part of the script or what?
For the life of me, I did not realise it was a crime for a man to leave the priesthood. So why was the affable Noel Forde, the former Breaffy curate, given such tough treatment by the tabloid newspapers during the week?
If he had not been chairman of the Mayo G.A.A. Board, the story of him departing the priesthood would not have merited as much as a paragraph buried inside these ruthless rags which, regrettably, are becoming very popular in this country.
This is the reason the story got such exposure: Some of people involved with these tabloids did not like how the Press were treated a number of weeks ago when the Mayo players walked out the back door before a planned Press conference.
This was their way of getting back on the Mayo team on the run-up to the All-Ireland senior football final next Sunday. In doing what they did, the tabloids once again exposed themselves as lacking morals, substance and credibility.
Their attempt to get back at Mayo was purely and utterly pathetic and was more a reflection of their own inadequacies than anything else.
It was a sad indictment on these newspaper editors that the story of Noel Forde and his partner, a lovely and gracious young woman, should be splashed all over the front pages with photographic coverage to boot.
Thankfully Ireland does not live in the dark ages anymore, and it is time the people who write for these tabloids realised that too.
In an era when we have seen the Church held up to ridicule for the misdemeanours committed by priests, brothers and sisters alike, there is scarcely something newsworthy about a curate who decides to leave because he has met the love of his life.
Noel, in fact, should be admired for doing the decent thing. I am sure his decision was a heartbreaking one made following long hours of agonising and self-examination.
He should be respected for that, and it should be remembered he never attempted to cover up his affair. He got on with his new life as swiftly as he could within the restrictions imposed on him by the Church authorities. His only failing was not making a public statement long before the boys from the gutter press came knocking on his door.
I wish him and his partner every happiness and success in the future. They are nice people and nice people will always get on in this world.
The publicity, of course, has brought the celibacy rules of the Church back into the spotlight. How long will it take the Church to recognise the fact that a priest should be allowed to take a partner in marriage if he so wishes?
I am only a voice in the wilderness, I fear.
