Woke up, met the Tenney’s for the complimentary toast and coffee. Left for the train station to Larne for a 1:00 meeting. Larne is northeast of Belfast near the coast. Saw the sea side, rolling green hills. Walked to the Bishop’s house with my recording equipment. Met Bishop Pat. He is warm, gracious, and and has a peaceful calm about him.. We talked about his book that I just read. He asked about me? Told him my story about how I got into radio, why I talk about sex on the air, and my catholic story about the hell the catholic church put Randy through when he was dying of cancer. He told me and through the interview. He said that 30% of priests are gay. The tragic part is that the gay priests preach each week in mass, anti sex, birth control, and no abortion. Then on the rest of the week they are living it up in gay bath houses and saunas. He said the church is full of hipocracy.

I even told him of my theory that confession is porno for priests, they make these absurd sex rules, then a good catholic must confess their sins, and this is the socially acceptable way that priests become aroused. Other catholics don’t agree, but Bishop Pat agreed. He thinks celibacy should be optional for priests. That priests have to supress their sexuality, its not good and comes out in other negative ways, like alcoholism, B. Pat developed chrones disease, autoimmune (attacking our own body) disease. He tried all his life to supress his sexuality.

His book “My Sexual Life, My Spiritual Life” says the church separates the body/sexuality as sinful but the spirit, is good and godly. He believes, and I do also, that they are all combined. Sexuality is a gift from god. I told him that I had orgasms that were a religious experience. He said that we can only understand God’s love for us if we’ve been loved and desired and we have loved another. amen  He said that at the moment of orgasm, people cry out “oh god”..this is an example of the spirituality and sexuality intertwined.

Being excommunicated, he is banned from every Catholic church. He built a chapel at his house. He does marriages, baptisms, and funerals there, of people that are refused by the Catholic church.

He now ministers to the people that no one cares for. He has a support group for 120 women that has children with priests. He visits the jails. Works with the poor. He came out as gay, by writing a column in the paper. Very brave!!

He has a long term partner. His belief is that we should stay in the church and speak out. He said with my catholic story, I should walk into the dioceses of San Antonio and challenge them. People get disgusted with the RC church and they quietly leave.

The last story in his book is about him going to heaven. The judgement is that “you did many bad things, Pat”, but then people stepped forward and said Pat helped them and changed their life.. a drug addict that he helped detox at home…. that I think is the meaning of life…we are here to help our fellow man, especially those worse off than us. I am now part of Pat’s rebels. It was touching and inspiring. What a meeting!! The interview was fabulous. Can’t wait to hear it again. I know it was be an inspiration for those in my very Catholic city, San Antonio.

Lady I met waiting for the train. We had lots of laughs.

People on the train. Don’t worry they agreed to the pic

Got back at 4:30. Met the Tenney’s for dinner. They found a nice up scale restaurant for dinner. Barking Dog. I had the most yummy fish.

Mike had seafood pie

Said Goodbye to the Tenney’s, they are leaving early in the morning, taking the ferry to Scotland. Told them to look for me some red headed men. Hehe, there sure weren’t any in Ireland. The northern Ireland men are really scruffy.

Got invited to the pub with others from the Hostel. We are joined by a group of “Stags”, a UK bachelor party. Seems in the UK there are bachelor/bachelorette parties called “Stags and Hens”. Each group goes off for a weekend, some times the same city..they do different things but sometimes get together later for a little “ nudge, wink, wink”. There are 10 stags, they are wild and very juvenile. The groom to be..wears a long pink wig, tu tu and jock strap pulled up to his shoulders…outlining his family jewels. They’ve been drinking since arrival. We walked to the pub. They continued to drink. I talked to this one scottish guy. I had my token drink and headed back. There is a DJ, but playing 80s and hip hop music. Hip Hop, I apologize to my DJ friends that play it, but you just can’t get away from that crap. hehe