A MOTHER who had an affair with a married vicar has spoken for the first time of her betrayal by the Church.

Maureen Sievas told how FatherTom Bodkin seduced her and talked of marriage and moving abroad for a new life together.

She said that when she suggested he didn't really need her because he had a lovely wife and child, he begged her not leave him.

But once the Church was alerted to their affair Father Tom, as he was known by the congregation of St Andrew's Church in Bishopstone, near Seaford, started making excuses for not meeting.

The year-long affair ended as abruptly as it started.

But for mother-of-two Mrs Sievas, 47, the humiliation and trauma was only just beginning.

She said she was put on trial by the Church and made to give intimate details of the vicar's body and their love-making.

Mrs Sievas had initially turned to the Church for help, seeking support when her marriage to husband Steven was in trouble. Now she feels she is an outcast while Father Tom is being protected.

She had not been to church for years, but after meeting Father Tom, 53, while carol singing around Christmas 1997, she was so impressed she became a regular at St Andrew's.

She said: "There were problems in my marriage with my husband away more than he was at home. I suspected he was having an affair.

"I liked Tom and felt very comfortable with him."

A month after they first met, Father Tom said he must call round to see her.

There followed a "flirtatious" phone call to arrange a time and Mrs Sievas said she sensed there was something more to the visits.

This was confirmed when Father Tom arrived at her home. They discussed their miserable marriages and the priest said he and his wife were only together for the sake of their ten-year-old daughter.

Mrs Sievas said: "Towards the end of that meeting he took my hand and said 'I would like to get to know you better'. Then he kissed me on the lips.

"He wasn't backward in coming forward."

Once their secret affair started in earnest, Father Tom wore casual clothes or disguised his dog collar.

The couple met whenever they could, often at Mrs Sievas's home or sometimes at the cinema or pubs.

Then Mrs Sievas's husband left suddenly and she has not heard from him since.

Mrs Sievas said knew around that time that her affair with Father Tom was not just a fling.

She said: "He was always very gentle and caring and I never felt used."

The couple settled into a routine of spending every Monday night together and sometimes an evening or morning later in the week.

The guilt and stress of a secret relationship was troubling her, but she said it didn't seem to affect the priest.

Last autumn, the pressure was mounting. Mrs Sievas was visited by two churchwardens who said there had been a complaint about an "inappropriate relationship".

She said: "Tom was terrified. He asked me to deny it and I said I would, but the wardens wanted it in writing so I typed a letter denying everything.

"Tom was frightened because he knew he was being followed by two parishioners - a retired man and his wife. They were spying on us."

Then Father Tom was struck down by appendicitis, so the lovers were restricted to phone calls.

They finally met again on December 16 in Alfriston, but it was to be the last time.

By January, with Father Tom away on a family holiday, the pressure on Mrs Sievas was becoming intolerable.

Cast as the villain of the piece, she turned to friends who told her to go to the Church before the Press heard the rumours.

She said: "I got a visit from the Bishop and the Archdeacon. I felt I was on trial.

"They questioned me for two hours.

"They asked me terrible intimate questions. The Bishop asked if Tom had any distinguishing features."

She was shocked and humiliated but told them he had a scar on his genitals from an accident with his trouser zip.

They also quizzed her about how many times they had sex.

Shortly afterwards Father Tom was suspended and then resigned.

Mrs Sievas was in the congregation when his departure was announced by the Bishop of Lewes, the Rt Rev Wallace Benn.

She said her lover had now slipped away from the scene, but she was still living with the humiliation.

Mrs Sievas said: "I don't know what the future holds. I still hope he will phone me."

Canon Will Pratt said: "Considering the seriousness of the allegations presented to the Bishop and the Archdeacon, they were going to want to inquire deeply into this and hear real evidence.

"They have tried to handle it very carefully and sensitively."

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