A church in Stockport has withdrawn its newsletter after it listed a prayer of thanksgiving for a Catholic priest jailed for indecent assault. The Diocese of Shrewsbury has blamed a 'clerical oversight' for the inclusion of Father Vincent Whelan's name in the parish bulletin.
The newsletter of Our Lady and the Apostles church in Edgeley informed parishioners that prayers of 'thanksgiving' were to be offered for Father Whelan, who was jailed in 2018 for subjecting a teenage girl to a campaign of indecent assault. The listing, under a column headed 'mass intention', read 'Fr Vincent Wheelan (sic), Thanksgiving' for Saturday morning.
Parishioner disgust
One parishioner, who declined to be named, told the Manchester Evening News they were 'disgusted' when they read Father Whelan's name and at first thought he would be leading prayers at the church this Saturday morning (September 26). The church later confirmed that, although his surname was misspelled, the listing related to Father Whelan, but clarified that he was not leading prayer or attending mass on Saturday.
“I was just disgusted when I saw his name. It should never have been added to the newsletter. If people want to pray for that man it should be in another parish, not here where because he caused such harm,” said one parishioner.
2018 conviction
Vincent Whelan, then 71, was jailed in 2018 after Manchester Crown Court heard he used his position at St Peter’s Catholic Church in Wythenshawe to sexually exploit a girl under 16 in the 1980s. The parish priest, who lived in Wirral at the time of sentencing, was 41 when he began grooming the 'vulnerable' teenager after befriending her family. He plied the girl with alcohol and complimented her appearance before sexually abusing her.
Whelan was jailed for nine months after a jury found him guilty of three counts of indecent assault. He was also subject to the sex offender's notification requirement for ten years and is prohibited by a restraining order from contacting his victim.
Diocese response
A spokesperson for the Diocese of Shrewsbury said: “Father Vincent Whelan is subject to a strict safeguarding plan following his conviction of indecent assault in 2018 and subsequent custodial sentence. He exercises no public ministry in the Diocese whatsoever.
“The inclusion of his name on a parish newsletter reflects only the private prayer intentions of one member of the parish. It does not indicate the involvement of Father Whelan in the Mass of September 26. Nor does it imply thanksgiving by the parish for his ministry. It is a clerical oversight which has been corrected by the withdrawal of the newsletters as hard copies and online.”
The court heard Whelan began 'subtly' grooming the teenager before his actions became more sinister. On one occasion, he 'ambushed' the girl and forced himself upon her before kissing her on the lips. The victim said Whelan's inappropriate behaviour continued regularly for a year, and he convinced her not to tell anyone by claiming he would lose his job.
Whelan's actions came to light three decades later when the victim reported him to police in 2017. Judge Patrick Field QC condemned his behaviour as an 'unacceptable abuse of trust'. Defence barrister Trevor Parry-Jones told the court Whelan had fallen 'deeply' in love with the teenager, adding: “How was it that this man fell from such a high position? His evidence is that he fell in love with this girl. He was a very silly man and allowed his emotions to get the better of him.”
Following sentence, CPS barrister Justin Hayhoe said: “Vincent Whelan, who was a man held in high regard within the church and local community, as a priest and school governor, used his position to exploit and sexually abuse a vulnerable young girl. He was well aware of her age when he subtly groomed her over a period of time, making himself an integral part of her life, before his seemingly innocent actions became more sinister.”
