Interview with Father Haynes Hubbard 5 year on

lj wrote:

Newintown wrote:

lj wrote:I know it is not very constructive, but I have to rant about "father" Hubbard. This man truly gives me the creeps. The way he talks down to everyone. Is that because of his "profession" or is he like Kate and Gerry: empty vessel that make a lot of noise.

I would not trust him with anything.

It does make you wonder why "he" was brought in to PDL all the way from Canada.   There must have been numerous fathers/priests nearer to Portugal who could have been brought in.   I remember reading somewhere that the McCanns have family somewhere in Canada, I think they had a holiday out there a few years ago after Madeleine disappeared.  It would be interesting to know if he has a connection to the family.

I do remember his arrival had been planned before this whole thing erupted. He is just one of those opportunist that won't let any disaster go to waste. He must have been in "heaven": a new post at the Mediterranean and daily his face on tv. He fitted in nicely with the other narcissists.  

tigger wrote:

lj wrote:

Newintown wrote:

lj wrote:I know it is not very constructive, but I have to rant about "father" Hubbard. This man truly gives me the creeps. The way he talks down to everyone. Is that because of his "profession" or is he like Kate and Gerry: empty vessel that make a lot of noise.

I would not trust him with anything.

It does make you wonder why "he" was brought in to PDL all the way from Canada.   There must have been numerous fathers/priests nearer to Portugal who could have been brought in.   I remember reading somewhere that the McCanns have family somewhere in Canada, I think they had a holiday out there a few years ago after Madeleine disappeared.  It would be interesting to know if he has a connection to the family.

I do remember his arrival had been planned before this whole thing erupted. He is just one of those opportunist that won't let any disaster go to waste. He must have been in "heaven": a new post at the Mediterranean and daily his face on tv. He fitted in nicely with the other narcissists.  

Yes, Lance told us in one of these two topics that it had been planned a long time or at least months before. However -imo someone might have had ' a word' - e.g. from Control Risks Group or a similar outfit.
I still find 'father' Hubbard a person of interest. Imo he's giving a performance - in the video he is clearly acting, also the defensive folded arms and the expensive looking watch turned to the inside of his wrist, all just a bit 'off'.

The deliberate fudging of the faiths by calling him 'father' and giving the impression that the two faiths are 'merged' is very manipulative. The pope wouldn't have liked this either. They had the opportunity to go to the Portuguese Roman Catholic Mass as often as they liked, yet it is stated that they went to 'Father' Hubbards' services every week.
What tickles me pink is the night some twenty or so parishioners and the Portuguese priest  came round to Kate to recite the rosary. I don't expect this was repeated, it's in the book but not told with any enthusiasm, I can't see Kate wasting her time with a bunch of devout locals, photo opportunities coming out of church are much more her thing imo.

statsman wrote:Some Anglo-Catholic Anglican priests like to be addressed as 'Father'.

It's not that common but it's not that uncommon either.

Why would the McCanns not find an English speaking Catholic priest?

Miraflores wrote:

Why would the McCanns not find an English speaking Catholic priest?

This to me is the bit which doesn't make sense. I have got some Catholic relatives and a Catholic priest, even one they don't like, is preferred over a non-Catholic every time. Even when they admit that the priest/minister of the other denomination is absolutely fine as a person, they just can't quite cut it as a priest.

Châtelaine wrote:It's of no importance, as I would want to underline, but ... he's the kind of man, that if he'd shake my hand I'd instinctively rub it dry on my pants ...

missbeetle wrote:Happy Easter, all! Long-time lurker driven nuts by this case...

Try watching minutes 2.00-2.30 and watch his Kate-like lip manoeuvre - as he talks about choosing to believe in hope for Madeleine.

missbeetle wrote:The first minute where he says "...literally in our own, not back yard, in our own presence"... then goes on to say "It wasn't our child, so it didn't affect us... Just gave us lots to talk about"...!

aquila wrote:

missbeetle wrote:The first minute where he says "...literally in our own, not back yard, in our own presence"... then goes on to say "It wasn't our child, so it didn't affect us... Just gave us lots to talk about"...!

are your teeth beginning to itch?

lj wrote:

Newintown wrote:

lj wrote:I know it is not very constructive, but I have to rant about "father" Hubbard. This man truly gives me the creeps. The way he  talks down to everyone. Is that because of his "profession" or is he like Kate and Gerry: empty vessel that make a lot of noise.

I would not trust him with anything.

It does make you wonder why "he" was brought in to PDL all the way from Canada.   There must have been numerous fathers/priests nearer to Portugal who could have been brought in.   I remember reading somewhere that the McCanns have family somewhere in Canada, I think they had a holiday out there a few years ago after Madeleine disappeared.  It would be interesting to know if he has a connection to the family.

I do remember his arrival had been planned before this whole thing erupted. He is just one of those opportunist that won't let any disaster go to waste. He must have been in "heaven": a new post at the Mediterranean and daily his face on tv. He fitted in nicely with the other narcissists.  

tigger wrote:

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Many thanks tigger, very interesting reading, there is a lot there to take in, I will read it again. The McCann's always seemed very attached to the church. Did KM ever say she felt closest to Maddie any where else apart from the church and the rocks on the beach?
___________
Hi Cheery and Tigger

reading back on this thread,  Gerry's calculated decision to involve the little church down the road is very telling.

There's even more on Hubbard in this topic and I urge you to listen to the radio interview as well as watch the videos. He speaks about the McCanns as if they are truly 'holy'
e.g. 'when I first came into their presence...' ehhh?
He also makes a lovely slip in the video - ... they have... two (break) three children.. Imo 'He knows, you know?'

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Monty Heck wrote:

lj wrote:

Newintown wrote:

lj wrote:I know it is not very constructive, but I have to rant about "father" Hubbard. This man truly gives me the creeps. The way he  talks down to everyone. Is that because of his "profession" or is he like Kate and Gerry: empty vessel that make a lot of noise.

I would not trust him with anything.

It does make you wonder why "he" was brought in to PDL all the way from Canada.   There must have been numerous fathers/priests nearer to Portugal who could have been brought in.   I remember reading somewhere that the McCanns have family somewhere in Canada, I think they had a holiday out there a few years ago after Madeleine disappeared.  It would be interesting to know if he has a connection to the family.

I do remember his arrival had been planned before this whole thing erupted. He is just one of those opportunist that won't let any disaster go to waste. He must have been in "heaven": a new post at the Mediterranean and daily his face on tv. He fitted in nicely with the other narcissists.  

lj, your comment in bold (mine) spot on, IMO.  HH seemed to divide his PDL flock into two camps; those who found him charismatic (in the religious as well as wordly sense) and those who cordially disliked him.  Some even boycotted his services but made a point of attending when any another cleric was officiating.  Whether liked and disliked in equal measure is not possible to say but the Hubbards' open devotion to the McCs did not go down well universally, by any means.

As to the use of 'Father', the PDL Anglican congregation do routinely use the term but combine 'Father' plus first name, so Father Haynes rather than Father Hubbard.  Other Anglican priests related to that congregation were addressed in the same way so nothing unusual in that.  
 
HH arrival in PDL was many months in the planning, as there was a lengthy period of negotiation before all was agreed to the satisfaction of all parties, then the chaplaincy house was given a thorough overhaul and update to accommodate a priest with a young family for the first time in a very long time, if not ever.  That the Hubbards arrived just after the disappearance was one of those mutually serendipitous occurrences.  HH was catapulted from obscurity onto the world stage as the priest forever associated with that situation which, as others have pointed out he seems to have relished.  For their part the McCs gained extremely useful friends who were PR gold, and so could craft their own lasting assocation with a (happily) photogenic religious backdrop.

Châtelaine wrote:Nina, you remind me now of Kate saying, that she went praying at the "small" [or little] chapel and find peace [non verbatim] ...

aquila wrote:

missbeetle wrote:The first minute where he says "...literally in our own, not back yard, in our own presence"... then goes on to say "It wasn't our child, so it didn't affect us... Just gave us lots to talk about"...!

are your teeth beginning to itch?

Monty Heck wrote:

lj wrote:

Newintown wrote:

lj wrote:I know it is not very constructive, but I have to rant about "father" Hubbard. This man truly gives me the creeps. The way he  talks down to everyone. Is that because of his "profession" or is he like Kate and Gerry: empty vessel that make a lot of noise.

I would not trust him with anything.

It does make you wonder why "he" was brought in to PDL all the way from Canada.   There must have been numerous fathers/priests nearer to Portugal who could have been brought in.   I remember reading somewhere that the McCanns have family somewhere in Canada, I think they had a holiday out there a few years ago after Madeleine disappeared.  It would be interesting to know if he has a connection to the family.

I do remember his arrival had been planned before this whole thing erupted. He is just one of those opportunist that won't let any disaster go to waste. He must have been in "heaven": a new post at the Mediterranean and daily his face on tv. He fitted in nicely with the other narcissists.  

lj, your comment in bold (mine) spot on, IMO.  HH seemed to divide his PDL flock into two camps; those who found him charismatic (in the religious as well as wordly sense) and those who cordially disliked him.  Some even boycotted his services but made a point of attending when any another cleric was officiating.  Whether liked and disliked in equal measure is not possible to say but the Hubbards' open devotion to the McCs did not go down well universally, by any means.

As to the use of 'Father', the PDL Anglican congregation do routinely use the term but combine 'Father' plus first name, so Father Haynes rather than Father Hubbard.  Other Anglican priests related to that congregation were addressed in the same way so nothing unusual in that.  
 
HH arrival in PDL was many months in the planning, as there was a lengthy period of negotiation before all was agreed to the satisfaction of all parties, then the chaplaincy house was given a thorough overhaul and update to accommodate a priest with a young family for the first time in a very long time, if not ever.  That the Hubbards arrived just after the disappearance was one of those mutually serendipitous occurrences.  HH was catapulted from obscurity onto the world stage as the priest forever associated with that situation which, as others have pointed out he seems to have relished.  For their part the McCs gained extremely useful friends who were PR gold, and so could craft their own lasting assocation with a (happily) photogenic religious backdrop.

Dee Coy wrote:The more I learn the more I realise that this thing - the whole stinking affair - is massive. Even relatively small elements such as this, the priest who replaced the traumatized Father Pacheco, are orchestrated by forces that should be unconnected to the case.

This will never be solved. The only mystery is how Brooks managed to levy sufficient pressure to force a review of a case it was in nobody's interest to reopen. Did she have an inkling of the enormity of the whole affair? I don't believe her motives were just newspaper sales.

Portia wrote:Unctious person, very much so

candyfloss wrote:Interesting article here on the Hubbards from mccannfiles..............


Missing Madeleine CBC News

Vanished on holiday

NANCY DURHAM
May 2, 2008

One year ago, Kate and Gerry McCann's holiday on Portugal's Algarve coast turned into a nightmare. On the second-last night of their vacation, the McCanns, from Leicestershire, England, put their three children to bed: Madeleine, nearly four, and two-year-old twins Sean and Emilie. Then they walked 50 metres to dine at a tapas bar, which is part of the Ocean Club complex in Praia de Luz where they were staying with friends. The couples took turns checking on each other's children every 30 minutes or so. At around 10 p.m., Kate McCann discovered Madeleine missing from her bed.



Father Haynes Hubbard


In the year since the 3-year-old girl disappeared on May 3, 2007, a Canadian couple has been playing a crucial role of support in the lives of Kate and Gerry McCann.

The Hubbards – Haynes, an Anglican priest who was about to take up a new post as senior chaplain for the Algarve Anglican Church, and Susan, a midwife – arrived in Praia de Luz three days after Madeleine's disappearance. The town was in chaos as police combed the area looking for the missing British girl, reporters jostled for interviews and helicopters circled in the sky. This was no longer the peaceful tourist town the couple remembered from a previous visit when Haynes temporarily filled the role of Anglican chaplain in the former fishing village. Now he was arriving to take on the job full time.

God brought us here

The Hubbards appear to have had enough of reporters. Yet they agree to open their door to another inquisitive stranger for one reason only: because there's a chance that giving another interview just might help find the little girl they've never met.

The Hubbards now believe Madeleine's disappearance is the reason they were "called" to Portugal. Susan remembers the moment it hit her.

"It wasn't until months later, when I saw really why God had brought us here, that I was awestruck that he confirmed we were to be here before we even set foot in our town of Praia de Luz," she says. "For me, he confirmed it on the plane … the fact that there was a child missing here gave us our first mission before we even set foot in the place."

Hold on to your baby

Their arrival was unnerving. When their plane landed in Lisbon, Susan was warned.

"This old woman grabbed me, and I was holding on to our five-month-old son, Caspian, and she grabbed my arm and spoke to me in Portuguese: 'Hold on to your baby; there's been an English child taken.'"

At first, Susan double-locked the doors and windows to keep their three children safe. Caspian has an older sister, Gabriela, 9, and brother, Sebastian, now 10. Soon, the family relaxed, and Haynes, too, saw this was the place they were meant to be.

"It was pretty clear that He was using us, of the same age [as the McCanns] and with small children and Susan speaking Portuguese … and being able to relate to them in a tiny way, to lead them in prayer and just to walk with them," he said.

Haynes Hubbard loves travel, so when it was time to move on from his Dunnville, Ont., parish, he and Susan saw the job opening in Praia de Luz as an opportunity. Haynes says he felt a little guilty "in terms of my ministry, wanting to travel," but a friend encouraged him to see it as a gift, pointing out that he could be useful abroad.

Rural Ontario roots

It's hard to imagine a couple better suited to extend the hand of friendship to Kate and Gerry McCann, who are also devout Christians. Although the McCanns are Roman Catholic, in this seaside town, the lines between Catholic and Protestant are blurred. Both faiths share the pretty, white and mustard yellow-trimmed church, Our Lady of Light, which sits just above the shimmering beach in the town centre.

The McCanns were soon attending Haynes Hubbard's weekly services, and Susan Hubbard reached out to Kate McCann. In keeping with her rural Ontario upbringing, she made her approach in that very Canadian way of offering food.

"It's something my mother would always do, being a part of the church community in Canada," Susan said.

More gifts of food followed, and notes, and soon a warm friendship between Susan Hubbard and Kate McCann began.

Susan wants it known that their friendship is not one-sided. She describes how throughout the McCanns' own desperate ordeal, Kate inquired about the Hubbards' children.

"That's how she is," Susan said. "In the middle of her grief, she still is such a caring, loving friend."

In fact, Susan says, it was the McCanns who helped the Hubbards settle in to their new parish. Susan has visited the McCanns since their return to England last September, and the two women keep in close touch through text messages and e-mail.



The Hubbards have faithfully stood by the McCanns throughout their ordeal, and they continue to do so. They hold weekly vigils for Madeleine in Our Lady of Light. A photograph of the little girl's smiling face is on the wall by the altar. Beside it, the words "pray for me" are written.

Sightings of Madeleine have been reported across Europe and as far away as Australia, each one turning out to be a disappointment. At summer's end last year, and with no clue to Madeleine's disappearance, the Portuguese police named her parents as suspects, which in Portugal allows police to question witnesses more thoroughly.

No charges have been laid against the McCanns, but British tabloid newspapers turned on the couple, printing dozens of false stories filled with rumour and innuendo suggesting they were responsible for their daughter's disappearance. The McCanns sued, and in March, the Express newspaper group paid more than $1 million in damages to the couple and printed front-page apologies. The McCanns are using the funds to support their campaign to find Madeleine as well as to launch a program in Europe similar to the North American Amber Alert system used to find missing children.

The Hubbards, like the McCanns, believe Madeleine may well be alive, and they pray for her safe return. The Hubbards' faith in God is unwavering, though Susan Hubbard wonders "why our prayers haven't been answered."

"I don't understand that," she says. "I've seen the letters come into their home and their hands. How could so many people be praying for the exact same thing and it not happen? It's hard."

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