Could Fr. Gordon MacRae Finally Go Free?

There is new evidence that the detective, whose investigative report led to the priest’s conviction, had submitted false reports in an earlier case, and likely in the MacRae case as well.

November 11, 2022 by Kathy Schiffer | Catholic World Report

“Those aware of the facts of this case find it hard to imagine that any court today would ignore the pervertion of justice it represents.”

— Dorothy Rabinowitz, The Wall Street Journal

Father Gordon J. MacRae, wrongly convicted of sexual misconduct, may finally be freed soon, after serving nearly thirty years in prison. Father MacRae, who tells his story on his blog Beyond These Stone Walls, has long been believed to be innocent of the alleged crimes for which he was convicted in 1994. He has many supporters, though — among them, the Wall Street Journal.

On October 9, the Wall Street Journal published an article titled “Justice Delayed for Father MacRae”, by famed civil rights attorney Harvey Silverglate. The article cited new evidence that New Hampshire Detective James McLaughlin, the detective whose investigative report led to the priest’s conviction, had submitted false reports in an earlier case and, Silverglate believed, likely in the MacRae case as well. According to Silverglate, the detective’s name was included in the original “Laurie List” — a catalog of law enforcement officers who had falsified evidence in order to secure a guilty verdict. McLaughlin was proven to have falsified records in an unrelated case, nine years before Fr. MacRae went to trial.

Silverglate reasoned that this newly uncovered evidence of Detective McLaughlin’s past misconduct raises serious concerns about the Fr. MacRae case. This revelation was important, according to the Wall Street Journal, because

… MacRae has not only vehemently argued that McLaughlin paid off his accusers to manufacture a case against him but that recordings by McLaughlin of the priest purporting to prove MacRae’s guilt were bogus. Indeed, when MacRae demanded that that these recordings be turned over for his trial, McLaughlin was suddenly unable to produce them, claiming that they were taped over and that transcripts of the recordings were not made due to an alleged ‘clerical error.’

Widespread Belief in Fr. MacRae’s Innocence

Silverglate’s new report is not the only public defense of the prisoner priest. His case has received attention from journalists and from voices within the Church.

In 2005, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Dorothy Rabinowitz, a member of the Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board, published an account of the travesty of justice by which Fr. MacRae was convicted. Her report was described by Father Richard John Neuhaus in First Things magazine as “a story of a Church and a justice system that seem indifferent to justice.”

In September 2008, Father Neuhaus published an editorial in First Things calling the case “A Kafkaesque Tale.”

Father Michael Orsi, writing for the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, insisted that “Bogus Charges Against Priests Abound.”

The late Cardinal Avery Dulles believed in Father MacRae’s innocence and encouraged him to write his story. Cardinal Dulles wrote in 2005,

Someday your story and that of your fellow sufferers will come to light and will be instrumental in a reform. Your writing, which is clear, eloquent, and spiritually sound, will be a monument to your trials.

The following year, Cardinal Dulles invited Father MacRae to contribute a chapter to the volume of Christian literature from believers who were unjustly imprisoned.

Cary Solomon, writer, producer, and director of the pro-life film “Unplanned” has said,

Fr. Gordon Macrae is beyond innocent. It is a travesty that he is in jail. If you listened and read the evidence, transcripts, videos, audio tapes you would be horrified. The people who did this need to get on their knees and beg forgiveness from God.

And William Donohue, Ph.D., president of the Catholic League for Religious Liberty and Civil Rights, said in an interview on NBC’s “Today” Show, “There is no segment of the American population with less civil liberties protection than the average American Catholic priest.”

Prejudice against the Church Led to Improper Verdict

Why was Father MacRae convicted if, as he asserts, he had not taken sexual liberties with a young man? The clergy abuse scandal was fresh in the news in 1994, when Father MacRae was accused of sexual assault; and there was a lot of anger toward the Catholic Church. The accuser was 27-year-old Thomas Grover — a man with a long history of violence, theft, and drug charges. The charges against Father MacRae were uncorroborated; in fact, many people, including Grover’s ex-wife and son, testified that Grover had told them the incident didn’t really occur.

Although Grover himself stood to benefit substantially from filing a complaint against the priest (he was eventually awarded $200,000 from the diocese), the court found Father MacRae guilty.

Offered a plea deal which would have brought only two or three years in jail, Father MacRae declined. He was innocent and refused to confess to any crime, even a misdemeanor offense. He was found guilty without evidence or corroborating testimony. New Hampshire Judge Arthur Brennan then imposed a harsh 33-1/2 to 67-year sentence in the New Hampshire State Penitentiary.

As Dorothy Rabinowitz wrote in the Wall Street Journal, “Father MacRae’s case is troubling to anyone concerned for the state of due process, justice, and liberty in America.” Catholics and others who value the integrity of the judicial system will be watching this month for signs that the case against Father MacRae might be revisited.

Please continue to keep him in your prayers.

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Kathy Schiffer is a Catholic blogger. In addition to her blog Seasons of Grace, her articles have appeared in the National Catholic Register, Aleteia, Zenit, the Michigan Catholic, Legatus Magazine, and other Catholic publications. She’s worked for Catholic and other Christian ministries since 1988, as radio producer, director of special events and media relations coordinator. Kathy and her husband, Deacon Jerry Schiffer, have three adult children.