UNITED STATES
AL.com
By Frances Coleman
on June 11, 2014
I have a philosophy about things posted on Facebook or other social media platforms, and it is this: When you hear that a public figure has said something especially shocking, the first thing you should do – even before gasping and certainly before responding — is read a transcript of what the public figure actually said.
So that’s what I did when I saw the report that Robert Carlson, archbishop of St. Louis, said he wasn’t sure whether he knew in 1984 that it was a crime for an adult to have sex with a minor.
Unfortunately, that is indeed what the archbishop said in a deposition he gave last month. In response to an attorney’s question on the subject, he said: “I’m not sure whether I knew it was a crime or not. I understand today it’s a crime.”
When the attorney asked, more specifically, whether he knew in 1984 that it was a crime for a priest to engage in sex with a child, the archbishop replied, under oath, “I’m not sure if I did or didn’t.”
Now, being surrounded as I am by lawyers – three in my immediate family and assorted cousins in the extended family – and having watched my share of “Law & Order” over the years, I understand some of the nuances of depositions. Especially, I understand that the person under oath, on the advice of his attorney, will try his best to avoid giving specific answers to specific questions about what he does and doesn’t remember.
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