Linda Kelly-Lawless
This is my story...
CHILDREN OF PRIESTS
THEIR STORIES
Michael 's story is from a era of Control of the Catholic Church.
His mother went from Ireland to England to give birth to him and his Priest father Joined them and tried to do the best thing by them all and leave the church. Life turned to the seedier side of London as he tried to live without the Church. In time the Church got the upper hand and Michael and his Mother's life was never the same.
Michael McGuirk
Fth Bernard McGuirk
Sonia Barnes with her Father,
the late Fth Mark Barnes
I had exceptionally brave n loving parents, my mother was a well educated brilliant, renowned geography teacher and my father was kind ,helpful ,hardworking and the only British priest out there. They put me in the best school, college from dance classes to swimming and lawn tennis lessons, I did it all …… But the Church would not allow me to have my dad’s name anywhere, hence denying me my identity and basic human rights, in one of the world’s most patriarchal, misogynistic,traditional, third world society (Amritsar ,Punjab,india ) hence setting me up for disaster. From facing normal challenges as a family, my parents and I faced all the problems, evils and abuse that stemmed from this situation and trust me there was a lot ,the whole town knows. My parents could not protect me from the church ,they made my parents life hell at every step of the way, just because they both loved me and did the best for me .The church on the other hand wanted me to disappear like the thousands of others they systematically erase by denying IDENTITY hence No Identity, no rights “only a life of lies “ . And I am forever grateful to Linda for her understanding and help with my DNA journey.
I’m Emmanuel Mabe, also known as “Kiki g”, and the son of a priest named Fr. Simon Khamis. I was aware from an early age that my father was a catholic priest. I would later learn that my mother, Joyce Akita, was on her way to becoming a sister when I was born. This was in present day South Sudan at the diocese of Yei. My dad and mom took good care of me during my early years. I would receive clothes and toys brought from Europe. Later I was taken to live with my uncle who adopted me at the age of eight. My father continued to support me through school while we lived in Nairobi Kenya, having fled my country because of the civil war. I continued to attend the Catholic church. After losing my adopted father due to illness, I reunited with my mother over ten years later and learned that she had been neglected by my father. I became angry after witnessing the dilapidated situation in which she lived. At this point my father was hesitant to support my college education and I decided to write to the bishop of the diocese for support. However, the bishop took the opportunity to suspend my father from his duties in the church without helping me. Now living in a refugee camp in Kenya, I sought help from aid organizations. Luckily, I found a scholarship to study in Canada where I’m now a citizen. I have been in Canada for almost two decades during which I have not seen my father. I have spoken with him over the phone on a few occasions but we are not close at all. I now feel neglected by both the church and my father. I don’t attend church anymore. I feel that the Catholic Church should be held responsible for the children of their clergy because of church doctrine that prevents a normal relationship between children and their parents.