The Catholic priest who shocked his flock with his confession he got a parishioner pregnant says his son was born Saturday, he’s hopeful a wedding will follow and he thinks the Vatican should consider a married priesthood.
“When that little baby was born at 5:22 a.m., it was the happiest moment of my life, along with my ordination,” Father Daniel “Dean” McFalls, 58, from Modesto, Calif., told the Daily News Monday.
“Nothing on earth equals the joy I feel when I see his little face,” he said. “When you hold a baby, you know that child contains the whole universe. You see the eyes of God looking back at you saying, ‘Where do you stand?'”
McFalls said the baby was named after him with the middle name Gabriel.
He said it was heartbreaking to step down from his position at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Stockton last week when he revealed his steamy secret.
“It’s sad I had to choose between caring for this child and all the people I care for at our church. It’s sad I was put in that position,” he told The News.
“I know I’m not worthy to be speaking publicly about this because I’m a sinner, but I hope this might help the Catholic Church to look more deeply at the possibility of finding some way to open the door to a married priesthood,” he said.
He declined to identify the mother of his newborn son but said she’s someone with a big family in California and Mexico who was a highly “discreet” congregant at St. Mary’s.
“She’s a person who’s been a very, very close companion, someone I care about deeply. I believe we’ll be getting married, but there are three people involved here, not just me, and I put that in God’s hands,” he said.
The popular preacher first garnered headlines and national attention last week when he stepped down from his 152-year-old church with an open letter to his community.
“A child will soon be born, and I am the baby’s father,” he wrote. “I assume full responsibility for my actions and will do all that I can so that my child receives the care and love that he deserves.”
The priest said his vow of celibacy was something he fought for years to maintain.
“I was gonna battle it until the day I die, but something came about, which is called life,” he said.
McFalls told The News he was an unlikely priest to begin with, joining the Catholic church at age 25 and becoming a priest at age 40.
He said he accepts the consequences for his actions, understands he will soon be out of a job and already is looking for alternative employment.
“There is no doubt in my mind I was called to be a priest. It’s the most beautiful vocation in the world, and yet, my conviction is that there are many men out there called by God to be priests in the Roman Catholic Church and also called to be married men,” he said.
“Priests who are not married can be excellent counselors, but I think it could bring a certain depth to the ministry,” he added. “You are doing the thing for which you were made.”
ndillon@nydailynews.com
