TWENTY-SEVEN years ago, Fr. Gordon J. MacRae was sentenced in New Hampshire to 67 years in prison for what he has always maintained is a completely false charge of sexual assault. He could have spent two years in jail under a plea bargain, which was offered him more than once, but he refused to plead guilty, firmly maintaining his innocence.

At his website, Beyond These Stone Walls, Fr. MacRae reflects from his prison cell on this week’s feast of St. Michael the Archangel:

Our troubles and struggles in this world are not always simple anxieties over material discomforts, painful relationships, or the tragedies that occur in our lives. They are also manifestations of spiritual battle, and should be seen and resisted as such. People of deep faith recognize the spiritual battles within themselves and their environments, and rely on faith and spiritual allies to defend against them.

Fr. MacRae is one of hundreds of Catholic priests, both dead and alive, who have been falsely accused or convicted of sexual crimes, turning their lives into a daily nightmare. According to the FBI agent supervisor who reviewed Fr. MacRae’s case, “In my three years of investigation of this case, I have found no evidence that MacRae committed these crimes, or any crimes.” The Wall Street Journal concluded he was wrongfully convicted: “Those aware of the facts of this case find it hard to believe that any court today would ignore the perversion of justice it represents.” Fr. MacRae’s accuser, who had a record of violence, theft and drug use, discovered his alleged abuse through “repressed memories.” Huge financial incentives exist for fraud given that many clearly false charges of abuse have been awarded handsome pay-outs and his accuser received $200,000 from the diocese.

The fact that a very small number priests committed truly heinous crimes against the young does not lessen the grave injustice of cases such as that of Fr. MacRae nor the vicious campaign of defamation of the Catholic Church, instigated by very powerful forces, as an asylum of perverts.

A believer in the modernist revolution and the wretched “New Mass,” Fr. MacRae is limited in his understanding of events in the Church and the world. His example, his courage and his fortitude are still inspiring. He describes a dream he had a few years ago on Oct. 2, a day also traditionally reserved to honor angels:

I said, “I only see the prison lights.” “Look beyond the prison lights,” said the mysterious man. Then in the dream my vision suddenly changed. I was able to see far, far away into the vast darkness, and there in the center of my field of view I saw a constellation, a triangle of three stars. Within the triangle, the stars were joined by streams of glowing light. “It looks like neon,” I said in the dream. Then the companion said, “Michael dwells within the light.”

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