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https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/vatican-...party-at-british-cathedral-as-bishop-resigns/
Bishop Robert Byrne
The Vatican has launched an extraordinary investigation into a "sex party" held on the property of a British cathedral during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Catholic leaders are looking into the sex party as part of a wider inquiry into the circumstances around the resignation of Robert Byrne, who stepped down as bishop of Hexham and Newcastle in December.
The Archbishop of Liverpool, leading the investigation, said the Pope’s advisers have asked him to put together “an in-depth report into the events leading up to Bishop Byrne’s resignation”, according to the Sunday Times.
“A number of complaints were made by individuals within the diocese after information came to light about a sex party taking place in the priests’ living quarters attached to Newcastle cathedral,” a source told the paper. There is no suggestion Bishop Byrne took part in or was present at the sex party.
Another source told the paper that before the bishop resigned “the cathedral had become a laughing stock."
Newcastle Cathedral
He became bishop in 2019, replacing the popular Father Dermott Donnelly, the older brother of Declan Donnelly, of Ant and Dec fame and was hugely popular, with Father Michael McCoy.
The Sunday Times reported that during lockdown, when churches were largely closed, McCoy asked several people if they would like to come to “a party” at the cathedral.
McCoy later committed suicide in April 2021 after learning that Northumbria Police were investigating an allegation of historic child sexual abuse against him.
Father Michael McCoy
/
Another investigation, led by the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA), has been launched into the relationship between convicted sex offender Fr. Tim Gardner and the diocese.
Gardner, who was given a suspended prison sentence for making and possessing child sexual abuse images, was allegedly offered to stay at church-owned accommodation in the Newcastle diocese after being found guilty.
Bishop Robert Byrne
The Vatican has launched an extraordinary investigation into a "sex party" held on the property of a British cathedral during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Catholic leaders are looking into the sex party as part of a wider inquiry into the circumstances around the resignation of Robert Byrne, who stepped down as bishop of Hexham and Newcastle in December.
The Archbishop of Liverpool, leading the investigation, said the Pope’s advisers have asked him to put together “an in-depth report into the events leading up to Bishop Byrne’s resignation”, according to the Sunday Times.
“A number of complaints were made by individuals within the diocese after information came to light about a sex party taking place in the priests’ living quarters attached to Newcastle cathedral,” a source told the paper. There is no suggestion Bishop Byrne took part in or was present at the sex party.
Another source told the paper that before the bishop resigned “the cathedral had become a laughing stock."
Newcastle Cathedral
He became bishop in 2019, replacing the popular Father Dermott Donnelly, the older brother of Declan Donnelly, of Ant and Dec fame and was hugely popular, with Father Michael McCoy.
The Sunday Times reported that during lockdown, when churches were largely closed, McCoy asked several people if they would like to come to “a party” at the cathedral.
McCoy later committed suicide in April 2021 after learning that Northumbria Police were investigating an allegation of historic child sexual abuse against him.
Father Michael McCoy
/
Another investigation, led by the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA), has been launched into the relationship between convicted sex offender Fr. Tim Gardner and the diocese.
Gardner, who was given a suspended prison sentence for making and possessing child sexual abuse images, was allegedly offered to stay at church-owned accommodation in the Newcastle diocese after being found guilty.
