THE dismay felt by the Catholic Church in Scotland over Bishop Roderick Wright is deepening, while speculation continues over whether Ms Kathleen Macphee and Ms Joanna Whibley are the only women with whom he had been involved while serving as a priest.
The former bishop's decision to sell his story to a Sunday tabloid newspaper was condemned as "deplorable" and "another betrayal of trust" by senior church figures.
In a joint statement, Cardinal Thomas Winning and Archbishop Keith O'Brien of St Andrew's made clear their disappointment with Dr Wright's latest decision. "We regard the sale of his story by Roderick Wright as deplorable. We are glad to note, however, that he appears to be well. It does show Roderick up in a very, very bad light", they said.
The amount paid to Dr Wright by the News of the World has been questioned in some quarters. According to the managing editor, Mr Stuart Kuttner, it is "in the five figure area" - and will be divided among Ms MacPhee's three children, Stephen (24), Donald (18), and Julie Anne (15). Reuter said the figure was closer to £300,000.
At St Columba's Cathedral in Oban, Dr Wright was compared with Judas when Father Sean MacAuley told former parishioners: "Like Christ was betrayed by someone in his group for 30 pieces of silver. Perhaps we feel similarly betrayed at this moment in time."
The News of the World - which tracked down Dr Wright and Ms Macphee to a house in the Kendal area of the Lake District - has secured the exclusive rights to the story of the bishop's resignation and his relationship with Ms Macphee. In a two page interview, Dr Wright explained how he had tried "to put Kathleen out of my mind but I couldn't do it. She was always there with me in my mind." Dr Wright questioned the way in which his resignation was handled by church authorities in Scotland, who, last Tuesday, suggested he could remain a priest if he ended his relationship with Ms Macphee, despite knowing he had fathered a child with Ms Whibley.
But a spokesman for the church in Scotland, Father Tom Connelly, said church authorities had been bound by confidentiality and it was "outrageous" to suggest they could have released the details of Dr Wright's resignation earlier.
The Home Office Minister, Ms Ann Widdecombe, has also condemned Dr Wright's decision to sell his story to a newspaper, saying she felt it was "not appropriate" for him to receive money. Ms Widdecombe recently left the Church of England to become a Roman Catholic.