It behoves me to make some sort of statement in the face of a toxic downpour in recent days from someone I do not know, have never met, have never wanted to meet; yet someone who has had the temerity to stalk me relentlessly for over a decade and a half, sending unsolicited correspondence that must run into hundreds of letters, emails (blocked), and social media messages (also blocked).
She joins anything she can find that bears my name, whether it be YouTube, Twitter, or anything else. She thinks I have a problem with her being a pagan. I do not. That is her choice. What I might have a problem with is her version of reality in the context of the history with David Farrant that she managed to insinuate herself into at the fringe of what was happening in the early part of this century. Farrant quickly grew tired of her and her days were numbered. Acrimony bubbled in their cauldron and she involved the police who took Farrant's computers away from his Muswell Hill bedsit. But nothing came of it. She continued living in Liversedge, or is it Batley, in the Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire.
This picture, courtesy of the Brighouse Echo, was taken on 20 April 2005, and shows (left to right) Barbara Green, Gareth Medway, David Farrant and Catherine Fearnley doing some witchcraft in the dead of night. It was apparently videoed and photographed for the local newspaper. Fearnley claims to have been initiated into witchcraft by Farrant, but considerable doubt rests on his credentials. Even so, he abandoned wicca (witchcraft) in 1982, announcing to the world he had outgrown it. Thereafter he described himself as a Luciferian. As the years passed, he admitted to believing in nothing.
Catherine Fearnley has always been a pest. Farrant certainly found her so, and, despite her doing a considerable amount of dirty work for him in the time they were together, he was not slow to brand her in this way. Before that happened, however, they came into contact with Illtyd Thomas in the year following the occult ceremony over a grave. This brings me sharply to my bone of contention, which is not the smears and defamatory asides that she gleans from internet trolls with nothing better to do, but rather the Thomas affair. It falls within my ecclesiastical remit to clear this up for interested persons. The remainder of her rants can be seen for what they are. It is nevertheless incumbent on me to set the record straight, loathe though I am to exhume such facts concerning a dead person.
I knew Illtyd Thomas and some of his acquaintances in the previous century, but I was never under his jurisdiction, nor did I want to be. Neither was I under the jurisdiction of any of my consecrators. I was, as were they, autocephalous, a condition not uncommon among Old Catholics generally. I found Thomas rather too liberal for my taste. He knew that I was on the traditional wing, and appeared to have no problem with that. On my last unannounced visit to his house, I noticed some extremely inappropriate material on display. He explained that it belonged to someone he was allowing to stay at his home. I had nonetheless seen enough, and would never visit or indeed see Illtyd Thomas again. I made my displeasure discreetly known to those I trusted within ecclesial circles. This led to my being contacted by the Ecclessiastical Law Society who, in turn, brought to my attention documents, press reports and correspondence, some of which was in Thomas' recognisable hand. Quite sickening.
I initiated an investigation of my own because I had lost all contact with Thomas and wasn't sure that he was still alive. I also alerted major denominations of my action. None disapproved, and when I came to excommunicate and anathematise Thomas, as I eventually did in accordance with the Catholic formula, not one church leader disapproved, including the Cardinal's office at Westminster.
When David Farrant died in April 2019, I made my peace with him spiritually, and harbour no grievances. He is forgiven. Unlike Fearnley, I knew Farrant personally, certainly up to the 1980s.
Fearnley believes herself to be a witch, but she does not behave as a modern witch is supposed to act. Whether she is a pagan or not does not interest me, but her actions would be frowned upon by others who call themselves witches. She claims to have cursed me, wanting me to believe that she has afflicted me with backache etc. She threatens, curses etc, whilst ignoring the Wiccan Rede:
"Bide the Witches' Law ye must,
In perfect Love and perfect Trust.
Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill;
’An' it harm none, do what ye will.’
What ye send forth cometh back to thee,
So e'er mind the Rule of Three.
Follow this with mind and heart,
And merry ye meet and merry ye part."
Click on this image to enlarge.
