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Sport Disrupting Priest Defrocked (Neil Horan)

ramonmercado

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Horan performed a jig outside the Old Bailey after being cleared of indecency

A Roman Catholic priest known for his disrupting stunts at international sporting events has been defrocked. Neil Horan, 57, from Nunhead, south London, will no longer be able to call himself Father after he was removed from the priesthood.

He was told of the decision at a meeting with the Archbishop of Southwark on Thursday.

He disrupted the men's marathon at the Athens Olympics and ran onto the track at the Silverstone Grand Prix in 2003.


Mr Horan, who was dressed in his now customary brown kilt, Irish green waistcoat and green beret said he was stunned by the news.

I now cannot preach, I cannot give out communion - I am little more than a pagan

Neil Horan

"I completely reject this decision," he said. "I appeal to the much higher court of heaven and the court of Jesus Christ.

"I now cannot preach, I cannot give out communion - I am little more than a pagan."

Earlier Mr Horan arrived at the Archbishop's House armed with press releases and a mini tape recorder.

Before going into the meeting he performed an Irish jig and preached the importance of the bible.

We will continue to have a concern for Neil's wellbeing

Monsignor Richard Moth, Vicar General of the Southwark diocese

After running on to the track at Silverstone he was jailed for two months.

He was cleared last October of charges of indecency against a seven-year-old girl in 1991.

Mr Horan has not worked in a church for the last 10 years, saying he was on sabbatical and citing health reasons including depression.

Monsignor Richard Moth, Vicar General of the Southwark diocese, said: "We will continue to have a concern for Neil's wellbeing."


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4193285.stm
 
Errr, wot??

"I now cannot preach, I cannot give out communion - I am little more than a pagan."

I assume he means anyone who does not do these things is a 'pagan' ??
 
A nerk! An eccentric, potentially dangerous, religious person with a personal set of beliefs ... but a nerk, nevertheless!
 
Save the last dance for me...

Dancing priest's jig interrupts St Paul's protest
http://www.independent.ie/national-news ... 40471.html
By Conor Sheils
Monday November 21 2011

Fr Neil Horan at the protest at St Paul's. Conor Shiels

DANCING priest Father Neil Horan felt the wrath of anti-capitalist protesters when he interrupted a packed demonstration with a traditional Irish jig.

The controversial cleric caused a stir when he started dancing a jig at the Occupy London Stock Exchange camp outside St Paul's cathedral on Saturday afternoon.

Activists -- who claim to believe in free speech -- saw red when the Co Kerry priest overshadowed their protest by performing a traditional Irish jig while holding a placard on the steps of the landmark cathedral.

Several protesters tried to interrupt the one-man demonstration, but they were quickly told to "go home" by Fr Horan's female bodyguard.

One onlooker said, "Representatives from the camp approached him a number of times but there was no stopping him -- he just kept on going and his female assistant made sure any troublemakers were kept at bay."

But the defrocked cleric hit back claiming that the controversial camp was a waste of time.

He said, "The solution is not setting up camps -- however well-meaning.

"That won't bring in the new world -- that will only happen through Christ."

But he went on to lash out at the role played by the Irish Catholic Church in helping the poor.

"I think it's fair to say that the established church in Ireland backed up the system and propped up the political leadership throughout history."

Fr Horan refused to rule out disrupting other protest camps, such as the one outside the Central Bank on Dublin's Dame Street.

The priest was jailed for dancing across the racetrack during the 2003 British Grand Prix.
 
24 MAR 2014 - 5:54AM
Demonstrator barred from London marathon
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014 ... n-marathon

A charity has revoked its London Marathon invite to a man who disrupted the marathon at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Source AAP UPDATED YESTERDAY 5:56 AM

The former Irish priest who dramatically disrupted the closing stages of the 2004 Athens Olympic marathon has been barred from running in next month's London Marathon.

Neil Horan, 66, had been accepted to run in the London event on behalf of the St John's Ambulance charity, having promised to atone for his most notorious act of sporting disruption.

That came when he ran out on to the course and grabbed hold of Vanderlei de Lima in Athens a decade ago in an act that almost certainly cost the Brazilian distance runner a gold medal.

However, his hopes of completing an "act of redemption" in London were dashed when charity chiefs withdrew their offer of a place in the line-up having discovered his history of interfering in major sporting events and "extremist religious views".

In a letter quoted by Ireland's Sunday Independent newspaper, Tegan Jones, head of fundraising for St John Ambulance, a voluntary first-aid charity, wrote: "As you are aware you have been offered a place in the Virgin Money London Marathon 2014 event with St John Ambulance.

"It has been brought to our attention that you have a history of disrupting major sporting events and hold extremist religious views which are not in line with St John Ambulance charity's values.

"Due to the above reasons we have no option but to retract this offer and to remove you from the London Marathon 2014 team with St John Ambulance."

Jones also promised to refund Horan's STG100 ($A183.47) registration fee, but instructed him to return any sponsorship money he had collected to the donors.

He added: "I trust that you understand and respect the difficult decision that we have made."

Horan, who in 2003 was nearly killed after running on the track during Formula One's British Grand Prix, told the Sunday Independent he was frustrated by the charity's decision to exclude him from the London Marathon.

"It's nearly 10 years now since I disrupted a sporting event and I've said many times that I will never do anything like that again. I'm extremely upset at this decision."
 
He's back!

dancingpriest.jpg
 
Why iis he wearing what he is wearing?
 
I wondered that as well, he must be cold, the poor sod. And what is this prophesy that he speaketh of?, sorry, thicky, he means the end of the world i presume, and no, i aint ringing the mobile number on his board :p
 
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