Phone-in Father gets cut off

HE HAS been on air for 30 years, offering help and advice – and not shying away from controversy – as he won fans across the Lothians.

Yet Catholic priest and part-time radio star Father Andy Monaghan is set to be silenced from this weekend as his late night show Open Line is axed.

The move by bosses at Forth 2 has already caused an unholy row, with fans mounting angry protests and one even threatening to go on hunger strike until the decision is reversed.

During his time on the show, which first aired in 1979, Father Monaghan has been credited with helping hundreds of people cope with difficult periods in their life.

He has also attracted the ire of traditional Catholics however, who were furious at advice on contraception and abortion featured on the show.

The "agony uncle", whose parish is St Mary's in Pathhead, presents Open Line every Saturday night between Midnight and 2am.

Since it was announced that the show was to end, fans have left messages of support on his website, with many saying they would no longer listen to Forth 2 in protest.

Long-time listener Dennis Tyronney, 59, of Lochend House, said Father Monaghan had helped him cope with some of the most difficult times in his life, including talking him down from attempts to kill himself.

"Andy is a brilliant man who has helped thousands of people, not just me, and I cannot understand why they are getting rid of his show," he said.

"It is on for two hours a week, so they cannot be saving any great amount of money by cancelling the programme.

"He has helped me through a lot of problems. I want to do something to help Andy now so I am planning to stage a hunger strike outside the Radio Forth offices."

Another fan, Moira Burden, 67, of Abbeyhill, said: "Father Monaghan has helped so many people, and he was the only person who was there for me after my mother died three years ago," she said.

"He saved my life, and I couldn't believe it when I heard the show was being stopped. I think it is an appalling decision. I've heard they are going to replace it with another modern music show, and there's no need for that at all. He provides a lifeline for people, and I am shocked that they are going to take that away."

Radio Forth regional programme director Duncan Campbell said the decision was taken as part of a shake-up of the station's programming.

He said: "To deliver AM audience and commercial engagement requires us to pedal even harder, and we are constantly looking at new and creative ways to delight and entertain our listeners."

Father Monaghan also presents a religious discussion show, called View From The Earth, on Sunday mornings, and it is understood that this programme will continue.

Father Monaghan could not be contacted for comment.

CONTROVERSIAL TIMES IN SHOW'S HISTORY

WHEN he started the show Father Monaghan, who insists on listeners calling him Andy, did not reveal he was a priest, but when it eventually came out it did not deter callers.

In 2000, traditional Catholic priests launched a campaign to have him taken off the air, accusing him of "evil work" and saying he was not fit to call himself a Catholic.

Father Monaghan said at the time that he was "saddened" by the campaign, and he was given the backing of senior figures in the Church, including the then spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, Monsignor Tom Connelly, and Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who is now leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland.

The show was criticised in 2003 after a woman called Dorothy phoned in claiming to be a pole dancer, a prostitute and the "kinkiest woman on earth" before asking the priest about his vow of celibacy and offering him sexual favours.

The Scottish Catholic Church today declined to comment on the cancellation of the show.