BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald
By
Margery Eagan / Boston Herald
I’m no fan of the Catholic hierarchy. Still, I have to admit, I’ve been swept up in Sean-for-Pope frenzy.
“It’s easy to get giddy about our own cardinal,” said one of Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley’s toughest critics, Terry McKiernan. He’s co-founder with Anne Barrett Doyle of BishopAccountability.org, an encyclopedic website detailing all that bishops and cardinals have not done to fix the abuse crisis.
McKiernan’s admission made me feel less like a sappy hometown pushover.
Besides, of all the prelates entering today’s papal conclave, our own Cardinal Sean, as he calls himself on his not very sprightly blog, may be the least offensive of an offensive, ethically challenged crew, particularly regarding abuse.
And the church, many of us believe, has reached the point when it has to fix the abuse mess or its other agendas are doomed. From this perspective, O’Malley has a clear advantage. He’s cleaned up clergy sex abuse in Fall River, Palm Beach, Fla., and Boston. And he’s been thoroughly vetted. No deep dark secrets are likely to emerge later.
“He’s been forced to confront all of this,” McKiernan said. “A sort of accountability has been forced upon him.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.