Bully Phonsie Cullinan bullied Father Richard Geoghegan out of the priesthood!
And to this day, Fr Richard feels deeply hurt at how he was ill-treated.
He loved being a priest and, to this day, misses being a priest.
Richard was ordained in 1993.
The people in every parish Richard served loved him. He was renowned for his gentleness, his compassion, and his availability to the people.
His own obvious humanity made him so easy to approach.
Phonsie obviously disapproved of Richard’s appearance on RTE. It was a programme about a trip to Vietnem and on the party night Richard dressed up as Shirley and sang one of her songs.
It’s hardly a mortal sin – especially when you see what many priests get up to. It was hardly sex on an altar !!!
Every time Phonsie met Richard, he brought up the incident by saying: “And you wore a dress.”
Finally, Richard said to him: “Wouldn’t it be a lot worse if you were hauling me in for sexually abusing children”?
Phonsie lost the plot.
Phonsie started sending for Richard at night time after dark.
Phonsie would be angry with Richard in the dark bishops house and then send Richard back out into the dark, very upset.
Attempted suicide:
Phonsie sent Richard to a small rural parish. The presbytery was completely isolated. Richard became very depressed and attempted suicide.
Phonsie kept throwing his suicide attempt at him.
Father Tim Hazelwood once overheard Phonsie bringing up the suicide attempt.
Richard likes to be called Richard. We all have a preference as to how we are addressed. I like to be called Pat.
In spite of Richard telling Phonsie he liked Richard, Phonsie kept calling him “Richie.” This was more bullying.
After the suicide attempt, Phonsie wanted to send Richard to a centre in the USA that deals with paedophile priests.
Richard refused, saying he was not a paedophile. Phonsie grunted back: “They do more than paedophilia there.“
Richard is quite clear that Phonsie never liked him from the beginning and was just waiting for his chance to hurt him.
Richard had no problems with the previous bishop Willie Lee who used to go and watch Richard perform in the Christmas pantos in his parish.
What a laugh it is that the bishops have recently made Phonsie their head of vocations – when he is throwing good priests out of the priesthood.
I have the full measure of Phonise, and I strongly suspect that he is a sadist who gets pleasure out of hurting others – especially those weaker than himself.
In God’s own time, Cullinan will get his comeuppance.
Mark my words!
BISHOP PAT BUCKLEY 