Scottish Catholic Observer

The Vatican has laicised a Scottish priest after investigating allegations of sexual abuse against him.

Although the Crown Prosecution Service has never brought any charges against Fr Thomas Mullen (above), Archbishop Leo Cushley told parishioners at Our Lady of Lourdes in Dunfermline, through a letter read out at the parish on Sunday, that Fr Mullen was no longer their priest.

“With the canonical process now completed, I regret to inform you that, in a trial which finished recently in Rome, Father Mullen was found guilty of certain canonical offences,” the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh says in the letter. “As a result he has been dismissed from the clerical state. This means he may no longer function as a priest.

“I know this is a harsh blow for many of you and I share your sense of shame and distress. I also feel for his family and friends who will recall with affection the good he accomplished.”

Archbishop Cushley says that that any sentiment of sorrow, ‘must be balanced against the gravity of the abuse of minors, something which cannot go unheeded, above all when found in someone who ought to be an unequalled example of goodness.’

Fr Mullen was arrested in 2011 after two alleged victims came forward and gave statements against him.

Archbishop Cushley addd: ‘I express the deepest regret of the Archdiocese for what has happened and would ask you to pray for all those whose lives have been affected by the actions of Thomas Mullen.’

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