MINNESOTA
St. Cloud Times
Written by
Karen Cyson
Times Writers Group
Earlier this week I took a quiz on Facebook: enter your age, education level, and on a long list of words, if you truly know the meaning of the word, check the box. Hit submit and an algorithm somewhere calculates how many words are in your vocabulary.
I was surprised that mine came in at 39,000, as in my daily routine I probably use fewer than 200: “Keep your hands to yourself.” “Yes, you do need a nap.” “Let’s go inside and wash our hands and have a snack.”
However, as I follow the local, national and international news on the sexual and financial scandals within the Roman Catholic Church, I notice there’s been a little vocabulary expansion in their excuses.
This week officials of the St. Paul/Minneapolis Archdiocese called a woman “imprudent and unsophisticated” for being a whistle-blower to law enforcement agencies after diocese officials failed to report a priest for possession of child pornography (online photos of adults and children having sex with children). The church’s moves — taking no action against the priest, hiding and possibly destroying the evidence — are apparently prudent and sophisticated.
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