Gaye Davis
THE row over a woman’s allegations that the Catholic church paid for an abortion when she fell pregnant during a love affair with a priest escalated this week when it emerged no sanction has yet been taken against the priest.
Bishop Mansuet dela Biyase, head of the Eshowe diocese, confirmed he was telephoned by the woman, who complained the priest was avoiding her.
In her testimony at the parliamentary hearings on the Termination of Pregnancy Bill this week, the woman said when she spoke to Biyase he had indicated it would be understandable if she sought an abortion.
“That is a lie,” Biyase said. “She wanted me to talk to the priest. I said I am not going to talk about this, this is a case of two adults who have had a love affair and it is not my business.
“She phoned more than once and I always avoided her … I told her to go to the man concerned and to her parents – I said according to our custom the matter is always dealt with by the boy and his parents.”
Asked whether any sanction had been taken against the priest for breaking his vow of celibacy, the bishop said: “That is the church’s business, not the paper’s business.
“On the part of the priest, this will be dealt with in the course of time. Certainly the church will deal with this matter. It will be a matter of conscience between the church and the priest himself and not for public consumption.
“There will be a talk between him and the authorities of the church but I am not prepared to comment any further about it.”
Bishop Reginald Cawcutt, auxiliary bishop of Cape Town, has meanwhile denied the cash cheque he gave the woman was to pay hospital and doctors’ fees for her abortion, but for psychological counselling.
He said the priest had received counselling and been transferred from Cape Town where he was working. However, the Mail & Guardian has established that the priest was due to return to KwaZulu-Natal in any event, as his three-year contract was up.
Cawcutt said when the woman approached him “it was definitely after the abortion”. She was in distress. “I knew her as unbalanced and felt this would send her over the top.”
He gave her a cheque to meet a psychologist’s bill she produced when he asked what he could do to help, and referred her to the church’s own psychologist. The church continued paying for counselling sessions until “a few weeks ago”, he said.
Cawcutt said the issue would “no doubt” come up when the board of bishops met again in a few weeks.