'I was deceived' says the Portuguese priest who comforted Gerry and Kate McCann
Last updated at 10:03 18 October 2007
The Portuguese priest who comforted Gerry and Kate McCann in the days after Madeleine vanished last night said he had been deceived, it has emerged.
According to reports, Father Jose Manuel Pacheco claimed he had done nothing wrong and was simply "supporting two lost souls."
But, bizarrely, he also appeared to say he had been the victim of some form of deception.
They became so close to Father Pacheco, he gave them the keys to the tiny building so they could go in to pray whenever they liked.
However, his friendship with the couple appeared to spectacularly backfire after police becameconvinced Kate had told him she had killed her daughter during confession.
But he has vowed to take whatever she had said to the grave, despite being quizzed by detectives.
Father Pacheco appeared to virtually vanish from the public eye in the weeks after Gerry and Kate were made arguidos - or official suspects.
The pair left Portugal without saying goodbye and handed the church keys to another clergyman.
Last week, police moved in to search the churchyard and there has been some suggestion that they may consider digging for Madeleine's body at the location.
Father Pacheco, runs two churches and teaches at three local schools, yesterday broke his silence.
According to the Daily Express, he admitted he had become too close to the couple, still official suspects in the disappearance of their daughter.
"I was deceived," he said.
"I was just doing my job supporting lost souls. I would do that with any family who were in their situation. I didn't do anything wrong.
Father Pacheco, 46, said he had felt compelled to help Kate and Gerry because of their "inconsolable grief".
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-488262/I-deceived-says-Portuguese-priest-comforted-Gerry-Kate-McCann.html#ixzz31dnzsimB
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Just a conglomoration of more internet myths.
Were you aware that Father Pacheco speaks no English ... and the Drs McCann spoke no Portuguese ... makes rather a nonsense of your statement ... it would have been impossible for him to hear a confession.
Taken from the PJ files
Translation of Father Pachecos Statement to the PJ 30th October 2007
Jose Manuel Conceicao Pacheco
The first time he had contact with the McCann's was on 5th May at about 19.00. This was a personal contact with them in the Ocean Club at their apartment, but not the apartment Madeleine disappeared from. They were accompanied by members of the holiday group.
This was an important meeting for the McCann's and which had not been possible to the fact that they were busy. He knows that on the fateful night the McCann's requested the presence of a priest, but he was only informed the following morning.
On the 5th, the theme they talked about was the disappearance and he gave all possible spiritual comfort and they prayed together. They also agreed that the couple would go to the church the following day to attend a mass.
He also prayed with the McCann's on the 6th and 8th May in their apartment.
He gave them the key to the church on the 7th or 8th May upon the suggestion of John Geraghty, a resident of the parish, so that they could calmly go to the church without any media pressure. Someone from the church gave the key to John Geraghty, who then passed it on to the McCann's, with Father Pacheco's permission.
He does not remember the date upon which the key was returned.Other contact with the McCann's took place at the end of mass when he would comfort them.
He would also meet with the McCann's after they returned from their trips and remembered they were animated when they returned from Morocco as they thought they would Madeleine there. He also comforted Kate when the news of a child buried in Arau broke, as she revealed great nervousness and anxiety, thinking that the child had died.
When questioned,
he said he never heard their confessions, perhaps because they only spoke English.
He never talked to them alone.
He states that they showed great suffering to the loss of their daughter.
He adds that a parish bulletin was published giving spiritual, moral and human support to the couple and to other missing children.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/FATHER_PACHECO.htmRight ... that's got one myth out of the way.
Now let's look at your second assertion ...
Praia da Luz priest denies reports in UK newspaper Updated: 13-Dec-2007
By: CECÍLIA PIRES
cecilia@portugalresident.com
PRAIA DA Luz church is receiving the image of Our Lady of Fátima on Monday, December 18, in a special visit to the region and this is the reason why ribbons and images of Madeleine McCann have been temporarily removed from its interior, according to father José Manuel Pacheco, the local catholic priest .
Praia da Luz’s community “has not forgotten the little British girl and special prayers are still being held every Friday,” father José Manuel Pacheco told The Resident.
The catholic priest was reacting to reports in the UK’s Daily Express in which he is said to have “ordered the removal of scores of green and yellow ribbons which were put up as a symbol of hope in the days after Madeleine vanished”. The British newspaper quotes a “close friend to the priest” as saying that the latter “can’t even hear the Madeleine case mentioned without becoming irate.” A statement that father José Manuel Pacheco describes as “barbarity” and a “lie”. “I do not know who that ‘friend’ might be, but I doubt such person is my friend”, he told The Resident.Father José Manuel Pacheco ensures that “priests have no power to order anything in our churches. We have an entity for that, which is the Conselho Pastoral, where the catholic community is represented”.
Church key
With regards to the key to Praia da Luz church that the McCanns were given after Madeleine went missing, so that the couple could pray in privacy, “that was a decision made by the Conselho Pastoral and I only knew about it three days later”.
Father José Manuel Pacheco said: “Madeleine McCann’s parents know that we support them and that is the most important thing. The family kept very close and good relations with the church and its representatives in Praia da Luz”.
http://www.algarveresident.com/23328-0/algarve/praia-da-luz-priest-denies-reports-in-uk-newspaper
