I recall all too well…

A “free”  day – chance to finally get some articles posted :).

 Three new articles

 (1) 16 May 2009:  Pastor Newton Letter to Ed and response Note the brouhaha over Pastor Newton’s upset with the proclamation by Cornwall City council of May 17 as the official International Day Against Homophobia.Where oh where is Bishop Paul Andre Durocher?  Does he approve?  If not, why the silence?

 (2)  20 May 2009:  Thousands were raped in Irish reform schools  Note particularly the following:

The commission dismissed as implausible a central defense of the religious orders — that, in bygone days, people did not recognize the sexual abuse of a child as a criminal offense, but rather as a sin that required repentance.  

In their testimony, religious orders typically cited this opinion as the principal reason why sex-predator priests and brothers were sheltered within the system and moved to new posts where they could still maintain daily contact with children.

But the commission said its fact-finding — which included unearthing decades-old church files, chiefly stored in the Vatican, on scores of unreported abuse cases from Ireland’s industrial schools — demonstrated that officials understood exactly what was at stake: their own reputations.

Also note:

It cited numerous examples where school managers told police about child abusers who were not church officials — but never did this when one of their own had committed the crime.

And

“Contrary to the congregations’ claims that the recidivist nature of sexual offending was not understood, it is clear from the documented cases that they were aware of the propensity for abusers to re-abuse,” it said.

I haven’t read the report, but it certainly sounds like it hits all the nails squarely on the head.  Hats off to the victims who insisted this Irish Catholic travesty be properly investigated and documented.

 (3) 12 May 2009:  Former Catholic head of Milwaukee admits he’s gay This one is no surprise to Catholics who have been following events in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee over the past many years.  The man has been living a lie – the ultimate in Episcopal hypocrisy.  Scroll dwon to the third article to see the excerpts from Randy Engels’ The Rite of Sodomy . 

This is just a bird’s eye view of what’s been going on in Milwaukee during Weakland’s tenure.I recall all too well knowing back in 1994 that Weakland was sheltering clerical molesters.  In fact I recall being totally disgusted back in 1994 when I learned that Weakland had been invited as the keynote speaker for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops annual plenary.  That, as it so happens, is the plenary which was put forth as an alibi for the former Bishop of Alexandria-Cornwall, Eugene Larocque, presumably as proof that he could not possibly have been at a VIP meeting on Stanley Island on that particular Sunday morning. 

I covered that plenary – I don’t honestly recall if I was there on the Sunday morning – I doubt it – I would have been at Mass elsewhere.  I can say however that if indeed the Sunday of the plenary was the same week as the VIP meeting there was nothing to prevent Larocque from making the one hour drive down the road to Cornwall.  As was the norm the bishops freely came and went throughout the plenary – those who had demands on them back in their diocese or elsewhere left early or arrived late.  I have no idea whether Bishop Larocque was at the plenary or not on that particular Sunday.  I do know that saying that that weekend fell during the CCCB plenary is not proof positive that he was not at a VIP meeting on Stanley Island on the Sunday.

 Regardless, Laroque was there for part of the meeting.  That’s the one I believe he said he was at when he asked for advice from his fellow bishops as to whether or not to go for a pay-off.  And I think he said they advised against it?  I can’t help but wonder who he asked.  Was it some of the gang who decided that a liturgically-inclined ‘homosexual’ American archbishop who protects clerical molesters and excoriates victims would have something of import to share with Canadian bishops?

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 Supper time.  Must run…

 Enough for now,Sylvia
(cornwall@theinquiry.ca)