A priest in California was just suspended after allegedly sending unsolicited photos to the church’s pool boy then firing the poor guy after he turned down his unwanted advances.
Monsignor Lawrence McGovern is, er, was the pastor of Presentation Parish. In a sexual harassment complaint filed late last week, the parish’s former pool boy, a married father of two, claims McGovern sent him naughty photos along with a text that read, “Oops. Sorry about that. The curse of the Internet. Shame on me. What is my penance?”
When the pool boy asked the 73-year-old priest about the whole vow of celibacy thing, McGovern said: “Oh, that just means that you’re not married.” And when the pool boy said he really wasn’t interested in hooking up, McGovern fired him.
The lawsuit also claims McGovern used to lounge around in a speedo while the pool boy worked, making him “very uncomfortable.”
“It’s extremely disturbing that the person who is head of this parish would be sending photographs of his exposed genitals,” attorney Vince Finaldi, who represents the pool boy, said. “Someone’s who’s engaging in that type of conduct has very, very serious credibility issues and issues with judgement.”
For its part, the diocese office says it was totally unaware of any misconduct by McGovern until they received the lawsuit. Soon after, he was put on administrative leave “pending a full and complete investigation.”
Finaldi added that McGovern had absolutely “no business being in a parish and head of a school where numerous young children” walk around and called on the diocese to fire him immediately.
So far, McGovern has yet to comment on the matter.
