Husband of the secretary to the rector of St. Pat’s accuses them of having an affair

A Westchester County man claims in court papers that the rector of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown has been having an affair with his wife, the rector’s longtime personal secretary.

The man, Philip DeFilippo, says that his wife, Laura DeFilippo, and the rector, Msgr. Eugene V. Clark, have taken many vacations together, spent many weekends at Monsignor Clark’s house on the South Fork of Long Island and exposed the couple’s teenage daughter to their romantic relationship.

The claim of a sexual relationship is contained in an application for a temporary order of protection filed in Westchester County Family Court, where Mr. DeFilippo sued for divorce last week. The protection order application claims that Ms. DeFilippo has threatened her husband and seeks to bar her from the family home. Mr. DeFilippo said that a judge granted the order on Monday.

Mr. DeFilippo, in his filings, says he has a videotape showing Monsignor Clark, 79, and Ms. DeFilippo, 46, at a Long Island motel.

Yesterday, lawyers for Monsignor Clark and Ms. DeFilippo issued brief statements denying Mr. DeFilippo’s account. Monsignor Clark’s lawyer, Laura A. Brevetti, said that he was "deeply upset and saddened that innocent events have been distorted and sensationalized." The allegations of sexual impropriety, she said, "have been contrived."