UNITED STATES
Waiting for Godot to Leave
Kevin O’Brien
Here’s what happens these days.
A popular (or even not so popular) figure in the Church is publicly criticized. Supporters have a knee-jerk reaction and circle the wagons. Meanwhile, documents exist that would allow supporters, critics, or any interested party to evaluate for themselves what the person in question has actually done.
(For instance: Archbishop Carlson claims that he is being quoted out of context when he states under oath that he doesn’t remember if he knew that child molestation was a crime, and that he “offered his testimony as clearly and thoughtfully as possible”. P. 108 and 109 here reveal the context. Those with patience can read the entire deposition and judge for themselves how forthright the archbishop is being. Likewise, there are source documents on the Bishop Finn scandal that make things quite clear in that case as well.)
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