'Father Flash' in hiding as cousin reveals pregnancy

By David Lister, Scotland Correspondent

January 24, 2006

HE WAS known as “Father Flash”, as famous for his fast cars, expensive clothes and holidays as much as for any spiritual advice dispensed on the Hebridean island of Barra. But yesterday Father Roddy MacNeil, a close friend of Frances Shand Kydd, the late mother of Diana, Princess of Wales, faced being formally defrocked after his cousin told a newspaper that she was pregnant with his child after a tempestuous affair. Hilda Robertson, 41, whose mother is Father MacNeil’s aunt, was apparently so besotted with the priest that she tried to take her own life after suspecting that he was seeing other women. She is believed to have been airlifted to hospital last October after taking an overdose. News of their alleged affair, said to have been leaked in an anonymous letter to the local bishop, was still being digested by the Roman Catholic Church last night. But Father Paul Conroy, general secretary of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, said that moves were likely to be taken to strip Father MacNeil, 46, of his priesthood. Father MacNeil and his cousin are said to have embarked on their affair when she sought comfort after the death of her brother last year. She separated from her husband, moving out of the family home in Larkhall, South Lanarkshire, and seeking refuge on Barra, where Father MacNeil has been the parish priest for several years. Islanders asked questions after Mrs Robertson appeared to move into the priest’s home but he said that she was “family” and that he was helping her through a difficult time. Days before Christmas the Right Rev Ian Murray, Bishop of Argyll and the Isles, announced that Father MacNeil had been suspended from his post and was taking time out “to reflect on the future of his priestly vocation”. No reason was given. The tiny island, home to 1,300 people, was still in shock last night as parishioners faced up to the reality that Father MacNeil was unlikely to be returning. Councillor Donald Manford said: “There will be many people here who will be hurt and upset by what has happened. Roddy was very popular on Barra but we must now all move on.” Neither Mrs Robertson nor Father MacNeil could be reached for comment yesterday. Mrs Robertson, who is expecting the child in June, is staying with relatives in Glasgow. It was reported that Father MacNeil may have gone abroad. Mrs Robertson’s brother, Ewen MacLeod, said: “We’ll stand by her, no matter what. At the end of the day Hilda is my sister, and I’ll be there to support her through all this.” http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006327,00.html