THE Archbishop of Glasgow Philip Tartaglia is under pressure over claims a female volunteer in the Catholic Church was bullied after a clash with one of his close allies.

Marie Lindsay said she was “traumatised” after the Archdiocese of Glasgow, led by Tartaglia, used retired police officers to try to deliver a “behavioural contract” to limit her dealings with controversial priest Father Paul Milarvie.

The document, which Lindsay has refused to sign, attempted to restrict her free speech and influence where she could sit in church. Her lawyer has advised she is entitled to a non-harassment order over behaviour that has left her distressed and anxious.

Lindsay’s legal representative has also reported a concern about the Archdiocese, which covers a large part of the west of Scotland, to the Information Commissioner.

A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Glasgow said: “Since this matter is under consideration by our lawyers, the Archdiocese of Glasgow does not consider it appropriate to comment at this time.”

A pharmaceutical worker in her fifties, Lindsay is a lifelong parishioner of St Mary’s in Duntocher, a village in Dunbartonshire. In 2010, she was formally appointed as a catechist, a role that involves helping children with their spiritual development. She worked with Father Joe Mills, who had been parish priest for over a decade, until his retirement this year.

However, she has found herself embroiled in an extraordinary row with some of the most senior figures in the Catholic Church, a dispute that involves former detectives, Police Scotland and allegations of anonymous letters.

The beginnings of the dispute can be traced to last year when Lindsay made a complaint about a headteacher to West Dunbartonshire council. In an interview with the Sunday Herald, Lindsay said Tartaglia, one of the most senior figures in the Catholic Church north of the border, took a personal interest in the case and backed the headteacher.

As a result of the wrangle, she said Tartaglia wanted her out of the post. Mills, who was a parish priest for 50 years before his retirement this year, endorsed Lindsay's version of events.

Mills said of Tartaglia’s reaction to the complaint: “The Archbishop came straight to my presbytery, my chapel house, and said it was outrageous.”

He said that he, Tartaglia and the headteacher had a meeting, at which Mills said the Archbishop offered sympathy:

“As we left the school, the Archbishop said to me ‘you’ll have to get rid of her [Lindsay] and end her role as children’s catechist’.” However, Mills said he refused to let her go and the Archbishop softened his approach.

In February, Father Mills retired from the parish and was replaced by Milarvie, a friend of the Archbishop. Tartaglia installed Milarvie in a ceremony.

However, the appointment was not universally welcomed because of Milarvie’s controversial past. In 2012, the Sunday Herald revealed that Milarvie, as a parish priest in Kirkintilloch, was the subject of complaints by a man in relation to incidents at Milarvie’s home over two separate evenings in 2010.

According to a written judgment by the previous Archbishop of Glasgow, Mario Conti, the first occasion involved a homosexual incident, the nature of which is disputed, after both men had "a large amount to drink". Milarvie later apologised.

At a second dinner at Milarvie’s house, the same man alleged he was subjected to unwanted harassment by the priest and claimed Milarvie had attempted to constrain him.

In his verdict, Archbishop Conti found there had been "consensual" gay activity, rather than an unwelcome approach by Milarvie. However, he added that Milarvie's actions had been "voluntary and totally unworthy behaviour on the part of a priest". He was allowed to stay in post.

The Herald:

Picture: Father Milarvie

The 2012 article also noted the professional connections between Milarvie and Tartaglia, who at that point was the incoming Archbishop of Glasgow.

Tartaglia was rector of the Pontifical Scots College in Rome in 2004 and 2005, during which period Milarvie was vice-rector. When Tartaglia became Bishop of Paisley in 2005, he described Milarvie as a "superb colleague and friend" in his ordination speech.

Despite the judgement that Milarvie’s behaviour had been “totally unworthy” of a priest, Tartaglia announced in February that he would succeed Father Mills at St Mary’s. After the appointment, Lindsay said Milarvie displayed an “attitude” towards her: “He told me my services were no longer required.”

In June, Lindsay said tensions escalated when she was in the church hall helping prepare for the children’s liturgy:

“Two police officers appeared. And Father Milarvie was there. They walked the length of the hall to the table where my colleague and I were sitting. Father Milarvie did all the talking.”

According to Lindsay, Milarvie told her to collect her belongings, return her hall key and informed her she would have no more involvement in the Golden Jubilee preparations for Father Mills.

Lindsay said she and the police officers agreed to have a conversation outside of the church: “The parishioners could see me going in the police van. I was humiliated beyond belief. The policeman did the talking. He said, ‘I have to commend you for the way you have conducted yourself’.”

“He said, ‘we were asked by Father Milarvie because he was going to ask you to leave the premises and we are here on a preventative measure. We are here in case you objected to him leaving the hall'.”

She added: “How could a parish priest, who is pastorally responsible for my pastoral care, treat me like that? I felt totally and utterly humiliated.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson confirmed that police were called to St Mary’s church, but said no criminality was involved and no further action was taken.

Lindsay said a further clash took place with Milarvie in August when, after Mass, she said he “publicly and falsely accused me of sending him anonymous letters”.

She said Milarvie asked if she would “swear on the Bible” that she had not written the letters, after which she said he fetched them. Lindsay said two of the documents had nothing to do with her, but the third had been a note she had personally handed to Tartaglia.

She said Milarvie read out the note in front of her and other parishioners: “It is utterly shocking that a personal note, personally handed to the Archbishop, finds its way back to the parish priest. Where is the confidentiality in that?”

However, it was a third incident that left Lindsay tearful and afraid, as well as furious with her church leaders.

In September, Lindsay said she was at home when she answered the door to two males who said they were representatives of the Archdiocese of Glasgow. The men, Brian Murphy and Campbell Farquharson, are retired police officers and are listed as directors of the Elite Bureau of Investigation Ltd.

“I was terrified. This overwhelming fear hit me. What on earth were these two men doing at my door?” she said.

She declined to cooperate but got Murphy’s contact details and handed them to her lawyer, David Kerr, who is a partner in Harper Macleod LLP.

Kerr contacted vicar general Monsignor Paul Conroy – a senior figure in the Archdiocese – after which the lawyer received the “behavioural contract”. The contract stated that the document had been “facilitated” by Murphy and Farquharson, who were “representing” the Archdiocese. It added that such a step was “deemed necessary” in view of “challenges made directly to Father Paul Milarvie” by Lindsay.

The document, if signed, would commit Lindsay to accepting that Milarvie would run the parish in line with his “strategic vision”.

She would be obliged not to seek “direct confrontation on any basis” with Milarvie, and she would have to raise “any issues” with him about the running of the parish by letter.

The contract added that she would not “in any way” publicly undermine his work and it placed conditions on where she could sit during mass.

Lindsay said the Archdiocese approach in sending two former police officers to her house was an attempt to bully her: “Have they not heard of Royal Mail? Have they not heard of couriers? Why was it not sent via post?”

“Who would send two males to a female? Why not send a lady and a man? Of course it was to threaten and intimidate me.”

The Herald:

Picture of Marie Lindsay by Mark F Gibson (Gibson Digital)

In a six-page letter to Tartaglia, Kerr wrote of his client’s concerns about the incidents involving Milarvie. On the episode involving the police coming to the church hall, he wrote: “There was plainly no reason for Father Milarvie to call the police. Had Father Milarvie asked Mrs Lindsay to leave (whatever his private reasons for that request may be) she would have done so.”

He added: “This incident appears to have been deliberately orchestrated by Father Milarvie in an attempt to cause as much distress and reputational damage to our client as possible.”

On the letter allegations, Kerr wrote: “She was publicly and falsely accused of writing anonymous letters to Father Milarvie. This public confrontation has added to the stress, anxiety and emotional upset our client was already suffering.”

Kerr wrote that Monsignor Conroy had confirmed instructing the two men who arrived at Lindsay’s door, adding: “Mr Murphy confirmed that he was instructed by the Archdiocese to deliver a document to our client …”

On the contract, which Kerr described as a “rather petty, self-serving draft”, he wrote: “The terms of the document are in some ways extraordinary. It is replete with implicit criticism of Mrs Lindsay but does not mention a single act by which she is said to have done wrong.”

He added that the document and method of delivery were an “unpleasant and sinister” attempt to “intimidate” Lindsay. Kerr added: “From an outside perspective the conduct of the Archdiocese in sending two former high-ranking police officers to the home of any parishioner for this purpose (or at all) is beyond comprehension, let alone to the home of an unaccompanied female.”

He argued his client is entitled to a claim of damages from the Archdiocese and said she would also be entitled to a non-harassment order.

The report to the Information Commissioner about the Archdiocese relates to the disclosure of Lindsay’s correspondence to Tartaglia and the circumstances by which the two ex-police officers got her name and address.

As a “possible resolution”, Kerr suggested apologies be given by Father Milarvie and the Archdiocese and for her to be reinstated as a catechist.

In a one-paragraph response to Kerr, Tartaglia wrote that he was “unaware” of a “lot” of the background to the situation, but added that he would not “enlarge on this”.

Father Mills, who described Lindsay an “extremely competent and committed” catechist, said of his Church’s alleged treatment of his former colleague: “She was bullied.” He added that the police involvement was “absolutely disgraceful”.

Murphy referred questions to the Archdiocese of Glasgow.