Another week, another antigay religious leader caught behaving in a way unbefitting of a Christ follower. The latest offender is a 73-year-old priest from California who allegedly propositioned the church’s pool boy for sex then fired him after he turned down the unwanted advances.
Related: Pool Boy To Priest: Kindly Stop Sending Me Your Naughty Photos
Monsignor Lawrence McGovern is, er, was the pastor of Presentation Parish in Stockton. In a sexual harassment lawsuit filed late last week, the parish’s former pool boy, a married father of two, claims McGovern sent him nudie photos along with a text that read, “Oops. Sorry about that. The curse of the Internet. Shame on me. What is my penance?”
Related: Study Shows Homophobic Male College Students Attracted To Gay Imagery
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McGovern has been suspended from his duties pending an investigation, but he’s hardly the first, and most certainly won’t be the last, antigay man of the cloth caught with his finger on the “load more guys” button.
Scroll down for a brief history of other antigay religious leaders who have found themselves at the center of gay sex scandals in recent months and years…
Pastor Boyd Watson Holder Jr.
Pastor Boyd Watson Holder Jr. of Tennessee made headlines in May of last year when he allegedly stole over $60,000 from his church’s bank account to pay for subscriptions to gay dating websites like ManHunt and Farmers Only, a site that caters specifically to country folk lookin’ for love in rural areas. At the same time he was doing all that, he was preaching against homosexuality each Sunday from the pulpit. The jig abruptly ended, however, when he was caught “having relations” with another man in a church van in the middle of the day.
Reverend Peter Miqueli
Of course, $60,000 is nothing compared to the scratch Rev. Peter Miqueli allegedly spent on his secret “rent boy lover.” Last December, the New York preacher was accused of stealing a whopping $1 million–$1 million!–from his church’s coffers to pay for sex with another man, who he allegedly called “master” while engaging in S&M shenanigans that included drinking the guy’s pee. After the story broke, Miqueli stepped down from his position. A month later, in January of this year, the New York Post reported that he was still seeing his rent boy on the regular.
Pastor Jose Santiago
Before becoming the head of the House of Prayer Monte Santo in Puerto Rico, where he frequently warned his congregation about the evils of all things LGBTQ, pastor Jose Santiago was a gay adult film performer, appearing in a number of x-rated videos. He managed to keep his past life a secret… until February 2015, that is, when some of his old tapes reemerged online. When confronted about them, Santiago, who is now married to a woman, told reporters he used to be gay until God “touched” him, giving him “a woman who loves me and … my past” and assuring everyone that his well-documented homosexual phase “is over.”
Father Rory Coyle
The Catholic priest from Northern Ireland was outed earlier this year for allegedly keeping a secret Grindr account along with some rather scandalous photos of himself. An unnamed source contacted the local Catholic newspaper to say he had sexted with the holy man on several occasions, and that the priest had said he enjoyed participating in orgies and having romps at gay beaches. As a result, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Armagh said Coyle was taking “a temporary leave of absence” from his duties. That was four months ago and, as far as we know, he’s still on vacation.
Reverend Matthew Makela
And then there was Rev. Matthew Makela, the married father of five from Michigan who preached homophobia by day and cruised Grindr by night. Queerty was the first to break the story in May 2015. It went on to receive international attention. Makela, who once relished in telling gay teens they were destined to burn in hell for eternity, quickly resigned from his post and went into hiding. Officials told congregation members not to read our story, then deleted the church’s Facebook page. We haven’t seen or heard much from Makela since, but his personal Facebook profile says he’s still married to that poor woman.
Kangol
There are many more than this. Don’t forget the monstrous leader of the right-wing Catholic Legionaries of Christ, Marcial Maciel, who allegedly engaged in sex with seminarians, committed pedophilia and fathered children out of wedlock. Don’t forget anti-gay NY Cardinal Edward Egan, who was outed as gay, as was anti-gay Cardinal Keith O’Brien of Edinburgh. And don’t forget anti-gay Christian evangelist Ted Haggard, evangelical network TBN head Paul Crouch, Christian reverend Eddie Long, Christian leader George Rekers, Christian pastor Lonnie Latham, etc. If you step outside the church, the list of anti-gay Republicans later busted as gay could fill several Queerty columns.
steelofblue
Is the Pope aware about why Fr. Tim Heines leaving instead of the Diocese trying to hide it under the rug (ex-lover was going to blackmail him),
Or
The one replacing him with at St. Jo’s relationship with a young lady at Seton
And why are all the “Gay” Priest being sent to Bonham, TX. Past and Present. Is this their penance? Fr. Bradley has a past
This is the Dallas Diocese
Stilinski26
I mean I am glad they are humiliated bu if you are gonna talk about anti gay preachers you could have mentioned some Imams as well?
Josh447
You left out the head of them all, Rev Ted Haggard. For shame. He was the divide celebrity Fuck up of them all. I haven’t heard of any of these guys mentioned above.
Josh447
You left out the head of them all, Pastor Ted Haggard. For shame. He was the divine celebrity Fuck up of them all. I haven’t heard of any of these guys mentioned above. Here’s the scoop:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/01/29/lkl.ted.haggard/
abnerbha
There are hypocrites, but just because there are hypocrites, that doesn’t change fact homosexuality/lesbianism & drugs are bad for health. It’s right to be bigoted against homosexuality, lesbianism and transexuality just as it’s right to be bigoted against drug junkyism and cocaina smoking.
I’m a nonreligious person who sees something wrong with homosexual & lesbian conduct & I think that they must make it a crime to do sex changes. Even if orientation doesn’t change, it’s best for gays/lesbians to be celibate just as it’s best for a person with tobacco orientation not to smoke. If homosexuality is inborn as some scientists believe, then it would be a birth defect.
DannX68
“I’m a nonreligious person who sees something wrong with homosexual & lesbian conduct…”
And yet you are creeping on gay sites to get a look at that sweet, forbidden fruit.
MediaGuy
So many anti-priest articles on this site. Just remember, we all have parts of our lives that nobody should know about. All these men were trying to do is get a mouthful of dick. Something most of us do everyday. So, what’s the big deal. Mind your own business.
All of a sudden Queerty and it’s readers get to sit on their high horse and judge others? I don’t think so. Besides, if I remember this correctly, Mr. Clinton established that a blowjob isn’t sex. Stop with the anti-clergy articles. You’re embarrassing yourselves (and you don’t know it). Cringing right now.
Mykey
Until they stop demoralizing and dehumanizing LGBT people, we won’t stop relishing in their downfall!!
Xzamilio
@abnerbha: How is everything back in 1995? Are you enjoying the pound sign on your house phone? You might be shocked to see it in use in print followed by words that aren’t spaced out. Well, let me catch you up: Donald Trump is going against Bill Clinton’s wife to be president (I know right? A woman and a cheeto vying for presidency), a black man is in office, gay marriage is legal — and sodomay-hee — Celebrities are dropping like flies this year, and words like “lesbianism” and “transexuality” went the way of Ricki Lake and AOL.
#SorryBoutIt
Dumb ass troll.
Xzamilio
@Stilinski26: Well, name some.
abnerbha
I don’t care about gay/lesbian marriage & though information war has been lost, truth must still be said. I have thought about this & don’t think any1 can rebut conclusion that childhood sex abuse victims of gay/lesbian pedophiles have more risk of turning out gay/lesbian by copying the conduct they learned because think you know that conduct incl. sexual conduct can be learned. Think you know it is possible for people who are victims of same sex molestation (such as victims of gay pedophile priests) to copy this sexual conduct and do gay conduct in adulthood incl. turn out to be gay pedophiles.
abnerbha
1 would hope that feminists would oppose the mutilation that happened to Chastity Sun Bono as feminists have spoken against Female Genital Mutilation which happens in some nations. Transexuals are mutilations which no Dr. should take part in, yet most feminists are not condemning this female genital and breast mutilation as what happened to Chastity S. Bono where her healthy breasts were mutilated, dangerous hormone shots and her genitals mutilated. They must abolish this surgical mutilation.
abnerbha
If you don’t hear or read some1 talking religion when speaking against homosexuality/lesbianism, then ask them if they base it on religion & don’t assume you know their faith. There are atheists who are against gay/lesbian conduct, so it is possible to not believe in God & be against gay/lesbian agenda, though religious people are more likely to be against gay/lesbian agenda while atheists are more likely to be apologists for gay/lesbian agenda but not always case so don’t assume you know their faith if they didn’t say anything religious, as there are atheists who are against gay/lesbian conduct.
drelocks15
Good article. I hope there’s going to be a continuation.