Contrary to popular belief, Catholic priests don’t spend all their time railing against the LGBT community: Sometimes they get in over their head with kinky scenes and have to call 911.
In late November, Father Tom Donovan of St. Aloysius in Springfield, IL, called emergency workers to help him get out of handcuffs he had gotten himself stuck in:
The Illinois Times reports:
“I’m going to need help getting out before this becomes a medical emergency,” Father Tom Donovan told a dispatcher who sounds a bit incredulous during the Nov. 28 call.
“You’re stuck in a pair of handcuffs?” the dispatcher asks.
“[I was] playing with them and I need help getting out,” Donovan responds.
Donovan told the dispatcher that he was alone in the rectory. It’s not clear exactly how he ended up in handcuffs or why he feared a medical emergency. His voice sounds garbled or muffled on the tape, and sources say that police discovered some sort of gag on the priest when they arrived.
Donovan was eventually freed from his self-induced captivity and was granted a leave of absence by Bishop Thomas Paprocki. If Paprocki’s name rings a bell, that’s because he just testified against Illinois’ proposed marriage-equality bill yesterday, saying it would undermine the “natural family” structure.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Right.
Below, check out Donovan’s hilarious 911 call
h/t: Joe. My. God.
rextrek
“The Power of Christ Compels you…” LOL
darkmoonman
At lesat it’s a break from the norm for RCC priest: “RCC Priest Assaults Altarboy: Pope Benny Says It’s Okay”
D P
@rextrek: – That’s TOO funny! Love it!
Rockery
So embarrassing. I would take up drugs or something
jmi2
sounds like the dispatcher was having all he could do to not laugh. i think he realized where the call was calling from (helloooo, caller ID!) and then when the ‘person’ acknowledged he was at the church, it must have been really tough for the dispatcher to not guffaw!!!!!
priceless, absolutely priceless…
jmi2
@Rockery: i think if you listen to the man’s voice ‘or something’ was a definite choice…
PABWECG
Not that I don’t think this is hilarious, because it is, but…
“Contrary to popular belief, Catholic priests don’t spend all their time railing against the LGBT community…”
I hope people know that for MOST Catholic priests in this country, THIS statement is true.
natriley
This is a disgusting homophoic action by the police. The public safety was not involved and there should have been no public disclosure. By mocking the man, they abandon any pretense of professionalism.
toren123
Often toyed (pun intended!) with the idea of bondage and discipline, wondering how I would react psychologically. Always concluded, “No, not a good idea!” I’m too afraid of the guys walking off and leaving me there!
Jerry12
He is kinda good looking. Why did he have to do a “Do it yourself” bit, and get all tangled up? I am sure some members of his parish would have been happy to help him out of his dillema.
Ann Mason
@natriley: I agree completely. It’s too easy for schadenfreude to take charge of our thinking when we hear about something like this, and then we fail to consider how personal embarrassments become public.
It doesn’t sound as if the police had a legitimate reason to share that information with the media. Although there is some benefit to being reminded that high-profile homophobes have skeletons in their closets, this dubious news report might discourage some people from dialing 911 when they need help with delicate situations. It’s unfortunate the police didn’t think of that.
At the same time, let’s consider another side of the issue: If the police had made an effort to be discreet and the story was made public anyway, would we suspect the authorities of protecting the Catholic Church at the expense of the LGBT population? I’ll bet some of us would have questions.
Dominickj
If anything the priest is homophobic, not the 911 crew, and how did he get a gag stuck in his mouth?
From the article: “His voice sounds garbled or muffled on the tape, and sources say that police discovered some sort of gag on the priest when they arrived.”
Shadeaux
Freaky ass!
Joetx
@PABWECG: From my experience, the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of Catholic priests either remain silent as their leadership rails against the LGBT community or are willing accomplices.
This is coming from a cradle Catholic, too.
unclemike
@natriley: @Ann Mason: 911 calls are available to the public all the time (usually for evidence-gathering for trials or similar); the police may have had nothing to do with the disclosure. A news reporter may have heard on a police scanner or from a witness about an ambulance showing up at the church and asked police for the call. The police have to release it.
Since there’s been no hint of a male partner (yet) I don’t see how this could be homophobic, either.
natriley
@unclemike: I stand corrected, it was kinky not gay, but in general people who laugh at other people’s embarrassment are morally wrong, and judging by the comments here, I suspect there are many whose desire to laugh is stronger than their sense of kindness. In NYC, this would never be in the paper, it’s one reason why we like big cities.
Geoff B
If it had been Paprocki in the handcuffs it would have been schadenfraudelicious. And no, I wouldn’t feel the least bit bad about laughing at him.
Mykey
Why are all the comments assuming he’s gay? Even straights get kinky…
Aaron
@natriley: Actually, if a Catholic priest who just took the stand to comment on the immorality of same sex marriage called 911 to free himself of handcuffs and a gag two days later – it WOULD be news in NYC. The news is not that a priest was doing some kinky self-stimulation, the news is that the same priest tried to get all high and mighty about “God’s plan” for sex and marriage just a few days earlier.
gppm1103
I hope he didn’t use real cuffs…they hurt too much. Next time father use padded ones:-)
AmericanWolf
For all those saying the police should not have reported this you need to understand that for the past 150 years it has been “common practice” for police departments across the country to keep (and allow the community and press to view) a daily “blotter” which contains short (one to two paragraphs) summaries of ALL incidents that the police responded during the past 24 hour period. This is has traditionally been done because there is an acknowledged need for the public to be aware of criminal activity in their communities and what the police as “their” public servants are doing with their time on the job . To be fair, it wasn’t until the internet age that these blotters slowly became much more accessible to everyone (via Police websites). Now, police do have the ability to withhold posting names in cases such as rape, when children are involved or when a next of kin has not been notified about a death. But other than these types of cases names are routinely published. This falls under the heading if you don’t want people to know about your private business don’t engage in it publicly by calling the police when you get in a bind (bad pun intended), call the fire Department of a friend.
2eo
@Joetx: Indeed, when they want to constantly go on about homosexuality, single parents and how women are slaves but won’t do anything about the tens of thousands of child rapes carried out every single year by cathloics the wold over.
It isn’t schadenfreude, it’s a good laugh at pathetic hypocrisy from pathetic people.
Dennis Velco
Nice.
Thanks for this article and your reporting. What you do is appreciated.
I posted it to my LGBT Group on LinkedIn with over 17,000 global members to spur members to read your article and to make comment. I also scooped it at Scoop.It on my LGBT Times news mashup.
Link to group >> http://www.linkedin.com/groups/LGBT-Gay-GLBT-Professional-Network-63687/about
All LGBT+ and community allies…. please come join me and 17,000+ of your soon to be great connections on LinkedIn. The member base represents 80% of the world’s countries.
It’s core value is – Visibility can lead to awareness which can lead to equality. Come stand with us and increase our visibility on the globe’s largest professional networking site. Be a professional who just happens to be LGBT – or a welcomed community ally
Billp
God works in mysterious ways…
or
Ahh, another “Mysterious of the Church!”