Msgr. Eugene Clark, the 79 year-old rector at St. Patrick’s Cathedral accused of having an adulterous affair with his “longtime personal secretary,” a married woman, stepped down today. Newsday reports that the Roman Catholic priest once blamed the Catholic sex-abuse scandal on “the campaign of liberal America against celibacy.” Now we know the monsignor himself was a deep-cover, highly-placed operative in the War On Celibacy. Indeed, if the aggrieved husband is right, Msrg. Clark fired a few shots in this war himself.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, as my Caholic mom likes to say. It’s a sad day for practicing Catholics, St. Pat’s, and, of course, for that every-dwindling band Catholic priests who can keep appearances-and their black trousers-up. Still, we did get two great new euphemisms out of this scandal: I’m going to keep referring to my boyfriend as my “longtime personal secretary,” if only to keep the number of posts on this blog that touch on homosexuality to a minimum. That’s one.
The other? The cuckolded husband of Msgr. Clark claims that his wife told him she was “sorting books,” when she was, he alleges (and he has video), actually holed up in a hotel room with the Msgr. Eugene “Do as I Say, Not as I Do” Clark. I intend to spend some time “sorting books” with my “longtime personal secretary” this evening.
Right after I shower with my son, of course.
-posted by Dan.
The Dish 