Posted on 08/18/2005 2:08:54 PM PDT by NYer
Monsignor Eugene Clark has kept a low profile since the scandal broke last week, but now says nothing improper happened in that hotel room.
You'll recall that Clark, the former rector at St. Patrick's Cathedral, is accused of having a long-running affair with his secretary, Laura DiFilippo.
In July, the two of them spent five hours together at the White Sands Motel in Amagansett, caught on video by a private eye hired by Laura's husband. But a source tells CBS 2's Tony Aiello that Clark insists nothing improper went on, saying they merely stopped to rest after a long lunch before the drive back to Manhattan.
The source says they wanted to catch some rays at the motel's private beach, but were told they had to register to use it, so they did just that.
Clark disputes a report he registered using a phony name.
He says DeFilippo worked on her tan and napped outside, while he worked on some papers. Clark claims he spent only a few minutes inside the room with his secretary.
He also denies press reports that he took DeFilippo to the West Indies resort island of St. Barts. Clark says he vacations there every year, but never went there with DeFilippo. He says she went there on her own, after hearing him rave about it.
Our source also tells Aiello that Clark is bothered by questions in the press about his million-dollar home in Amagansett. He says the home has been in his family for many years, and he shares it with other members of the family.
Inside scoop from CBS.
When I first read that he had a house in the Hamptons, the only rational conclusion to be drawn was that this was a family property. What priest could afford to purchase a home in Arranganset.
In general, as much as I hope that Msgr. Clark did not do what he is accused of, these responses seem very weak.
The responses seem fine to me - the guy is 79 years old, has had prostate surgery, and I doubt that it would even be possible for him to have a fling. It is certainly possible that his secretary preferred being with him to being with her husband, however, because the latter sounds like a fruitcake. He is apparently a former private eye himself, and he called the Msgr and his soon-to-be-ex-wife and threatened to publish the pix unless the wife gave him the house, sole custody, and alimony. They told him to go ahead and publish.
This woman has been his secretary for 25 years, so I doubt that he even thought about the possible implications of being seen with her. Although he should have, of course - he's very high profile, and he has many enemies. Oddly enough, when I met him, many years ago (he was probably in his 60s then) he was one of the few priests I thought still behaved properly around women, and I remember thinking so at the time. That is, he was friendly and pleasant, but always correct.
BTW, almost all of the initial claims have been debunked. They did not change clothes, for one thing, there was no false name, the hotel is quite a respectable place and does not "charge by the hour," etc.
As an aside:
If you know that everywhere you work has ears (is bugged perhaps), a hotel is a great place to get some work done or talk about things you don't want anyone to "listen in" on.
Thanks. It does indeed sound like nothing was going on here.
He definitely used some poor judgment and his reasons for it aren't very convincing. It is a disappointing situation all around, though I have to admit when I first heard about it on the news, I was relieved that the other party was an adult woman, not a teenage boy again :-(
Lili Von Shtupp
Exactly!
I was curious when the Msgr. would speak out in his own defense. I was suspicious about the first stories on it because it smacked of dirt created around an acrimonious divorce.
Sounds like grounds for a charge of extortion.
I am a bit skeptical. He should have used better judgement imho.
Seminary 101 - NEVER put yourself in a compromising situation.
Yep. Avoid the appearance of evil, esp. with the way things are today as far as media and fighting divorce couples.
Now what about the story about her being found sitting on his lap by her child/children? Is this BS too?
I'm not being sarcastic. I desperately want to believe that there's nothing to this but as other posters have pointed out, he couldn't have done a better job of appearing to be involved with her if he'd tried.
A priest must not only avoid scandal but also the appearance of it. The demands of the priesthood are immense if it is to be lived out the way it should be lived out and unfortunately, this precludes cruising around with your secretary and stopping off at beaches and motels. Especially when she's having marital problems.
If he were to be given the benefit of huge doubts, it would still beg the question why he didn't heed the biblical admonition to avoid "the appearance of evil".
I agree that this seems extremely careless - except that she had been his secretary for 25 years, and I imagine he probably didn't even think he was in the running for being suspected of anything anymore.
As for the story by the teenager, I know someone whose brother was involved in a bitter divorce - and one of his teenage daughters accused him of molesting her. While the judge didn't believe the girl enough to insist that charges be filed against the man, Mom got the divorce and everything she demanded, daughter years later retracted the story, and the guy's life was nearly ruined. Never underestimate what can happen in a divorce.
I don't know why - since I'm usually the first to mistrust the clergy - but I don't think he's guilty of anything other than being careless of appearances. You'd think he'd be more careful. But then, maybe being almost 80 makes you think you're above (or beneath!) suspicion.
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