DORCHESTER (MA)
Dorchester Reporter
Apr. 19, 2012
By Lauren O’Brien, DVM
As a lifetime parishioner of St. Brendan’s, and a friend of Father James Lane, I am outraged that a single individual can make an accusation against this wonderful man who died five years ago and tarnish his reputation 40 years after the fact. He is unable to speak back against the charges. And the Archdiocese is content to give the accuser money despite the lack of proof and the absurdity that the individual would have a supposed abuser perform his marriage and baptize his children.
Anyone who knew Father Lane knows that the accuser is absolutely, unquestionably mistaken. Father Lane was a good, honorable, trustworthy man who lived his life in Christ’s light. He cared about all of the people he met and watched over all of the families of this parish. I have lived in St. Brendan Parish for 32 years and spent 8 years at St. Brendan School as a student with Father Lane as the pastor. Father Lane was the patriarch of our St. Brendan Family. We looked up to Father Lane; he was a role model to us all, a truly good man.
Father Lane was special in that he truly cared about individuals and was always there to support people in the parish and their families during hard times. Although he was a sort of figurehead for the parish, he was also very approachable. He would not brush anyone off; he was always ready to listen, whether it was to an elderly parishioner’s pains or a young school child excited to tell of a big game that was won. Everyone was important to him. In his good-natured way he could joke with children or find the words to comfort a grieving relative. He was real and that made religion and Christ’s teachings that we were learning as children real, too. It was not just something that the teachers were saying…it was what Father Lane was living and what he preached each week at Mass.
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