AN Anglican rector from London has been banned from working as a priest for two years after he was found guilty of sexually propositioning two gay servicemen.
Father David Gilmore, of St Anne’s Church, Soho, in the West End of London, has been removed from office and prohibited from exercising ministry as a priest for two years following a hearing of a church disciplinary tribunal, the Diocese of London said.
Fr David Gilmore wanted a romp with two gay guests in his rectory
The rector was accused of conduct “inappropriate for a clergyman” including making indecent sexual propositions to two men, named only as A and B, who were staying overnight at his rectory in December 2009.
The tribunal was told the rector had asked the men, who were in London for a conference of lesbian and gay members of the Armed Forces, to sleep with him in his bed.
Mr Gilmore was also found to have chosen to enter A’s bedroom naked when it was “unnecessary” for him to do so, and when he knew that sexual activity was taking place between the two men. Both men left before breakfast and made written complaints after the incidents, the tribunal was told.
The conduct of the rector was “unbecoming or inappropriate” to the office and work of a clerk in Holy Orders, the tribunal found.
A statement from the Diocese of London, said:
We can confirm that a provincial tribunal convened under the provisions of the Clergy Discipline Measure found Fr David Gilmore, Rector at St Anne’s Church, Soho, guilty of conduct unbecoming or inappropriate to the office and work of a clerk in Holy Orders. He has been removed from office with immediate effect and will be prohibited from exercising ministry as a priest for two years.
The statement added that the diocese would ensure that services at St Anne’s will continue as normal and was making arrangements for the spiritual care of the parish. It added:
The Diocese is providing David Gilmore with pastoral and spiritual support following his dismissal and has made arrangements to ensure he has accommodation and financial security in the short term.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
January 12th, 2011 at 5:04 pm
Wow, he had two in there at once, huh?
Oh rectory.
January 12th, 2011 at 5:16 pm
So much for comforts for the troops.
January 12th, 2011 at 6:21 pm
Desperate springs to mind. Now if only he had some appreciation of actual, real, human relationships, gay or straight – then he would have been a lot less dysfunctional.
What hypocrisy he must have expounded in the name of his crude primitivism.
January 12th, 2011 at 6:43 pm
He knew what he was signing up for when he got in bed with the church. So I can’t help wondering why he’d do it when what he really wanted was to get in bed with a couple of servicemen.
January 12th, 2011 at 8:06 pm
Perhaps he didn’t fully understand what “servicemen” actually do. On the other hand, it does give a whole new meaning to the term Divine Service, doesn’t it?
January 13th, 2011 at 12:01 am
Adding some semi-Latin to the lexicon
CarnoRector
A rector of the flesh
CorpusRector
A rector with body
AdHabliDormiRector
A naked rector in your room
Sempur Rectum Rector!
January 13th, 2011 at 4:16 am
All the asshole had to do is call an escort service and request they show up with a pizza box. He could have had his tool processed, and his exhaust polished, and the hotel security camera couldn’t have convicted him. The guys seem like criminals who subconsciously want to be caught. Maybe secretly want to out themselves.
Let me out myself. I have more respect for them after they admit that they are closet gay, and have been total hypocrits.
NeoWolfe
January 13th, 2011 at 4:56 am
They probably have some requirement that they be under the age of consent and he forgot to rape them. What is wrong with consenting sex between adults? They said no and he went to bed. Poor man was forced into the closet and was desperate to get laid.
January 13th, 2011 at 7:31 am
They were in London for a conference on Gay and Lesbian servicemen, Neo. What makes you think they weren’t out? The suppression of service personnel names these days is a common practise. I’m actually surprised that these two squaddies weren’t robust enough to tell him to eff off and leave it at that.
January 13th, 2011 at 9:31 am
Can’t help thinking the term ‘rector’ is almost appropriate.
However, I wasn’t aware that the Anglican church had such a problem with homosexuality. It’s just a shame that Fr Gilmore wasn’t a Catholic priest – I’m sure he’d have welcomed a nice new parish away from Soho.
January 14th, 2011 at 9:02 am
Woggler, I hear it’s the closet gays in the Anglican Church who are most opposed to equal status for women. Still, seems a lot of the closet gays are now heading Rome-ward. What could possibly go wrong there?
January 15th, 2011 at 1:28 am
Angie said:
“They were in London for a conference on Gay and Lesbian servicemen, Neo. What makes you think they weren’t out?”
I was speaking of the priest outing himself, not the servicemen. I am sorry if I failed to make that clear. Rereading my post, I said, “all THE asshole had to do,” which I thought would make it clear that that I was referring to the one priest, rather than the TWO servicemen. Afterall, the sexuality of the servicemen is irrelevent, and it would be for the priest as well, if he didn’t pretend to abhorre such behavior. I hope that clears it up.
NeoWolfe