The latest stage in the John Paul Lyttle saga is that the Portsmouth diocese have listed him on their website as being on “sabbatical”.
Sabbatical means one thing in the dictionary and the rest of the world and another thing in the RCC.
In the world a sabbatical means a paid period of time off usually after serving in a place like a university for a set number of years.
In the RCC it can mean anything:
1. In hiding after making a woman pregnant.
2. Lying low after the church discovered you fathered a child.
3. A break in between parishes after some money has gone missing.
4. And more regularly these days, time off after being outed for being actively gay; waving you willie at young men on the Internet; discovered attending a gay sauna; found having sex on an altar with a seminarian, etc; etc.
Its very hard to know what sabbatical means in the RCC.
Our JOHN PAUL is on sabbatical after:
1. Inviting a young police man for dinner and 3 bottles of wine at his parish in Reading.
2. Asking the police man to stay over telling him the PP was away.
3. Telling the police man that he himself is ” always horny, wanks and watches gay porn”.
4. The young policeman, who was contemplating a vocation, was shocked and reported the incident to the diocese.
The diocese and its bishop, Egan, then sent him to live in another parish and said he was doing “research”.
The people copped on to where he was and then he left there.
Now we hear he is on sabbatical.
JP had had “issues” for years.
He was active in Belfast seminary.
He was active in Oscott.
He was dismissed by Bishop Hollis of Portsmouth.
He was taken back in by the new bishop and ordained in a hurry and in quasi secrecy compared to most ordinations.
He fell from the balcony of a priests house and nearly died.
What is going on here?
What has Egan been at?
What will the next chapter of the saga be?
Any Portsmouth priest willing to update us?
BISHOP PAT BUCKLEY 