RICHMOND (VA)
Richmond Times-Dispatch
March 7, 2019
By Bridget Balch
On Ash Wednesday, the first day of the 40-day Lenten season of penitence, Richmond Bishop Barry Knestout preached about the dangers of “virtue signaling,” urging people to avoid doing good for the “optics” rather than out of sincerity.
“Today there is temptation to make sure things look good, even if they’re less than perfect,” he said.
And in September, Knestout, leader of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, responded to the latest public revelations of the extent of the church’s clergy sex abuse crisis with a nine-page letter expressing sorrow for the pain church leadership had caused, a commitment to protecting children and a promise of transparency.
“Leadership is best practiced in a transparent way which includes accountability,” Knestout wrote.
While a number of Catholics interviewed leaving Ash Wednesday services said they felt that Knestout and the Catholic Church have responded well to the clergy sex abuse crisis and are now being transparent, noting last month’s release of a list naming 43 priests who were credibly accused of abuse, the Diocese of Richmond has not directly answered a number of questions from the Richmond Times-Dispatch and refused to release some details that the other Virginia diocese and the national Catholic Church have published.
Knestout also has declined to be interviewed by The Times-Dispatch at least four times since August.
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