ST. LOUIS (MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By Bill McClellan bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com 314-340-81437
To • Archbishop Robert J. Carlson
From • Swifty McClellan, Public Relations Maven
Good morning, Your Eminence. How you doing? Don’t answer. I know how you’re doing. You’re still reeling from the release of that transcript of a deposition from Minnesota in which you claimed you couldn’t remember whether you used to know it was a crime for an adult to have sex with a child.
That didn’t play too well, did it? Especially because at the very time you supposedly weren’t sure about the legality of molesting kids, you were writing memos to your boss about the statute of limitations for such a crime. If you knew about a statute of limitations, you had to know it was a crime. Or am I missing something?
Again, don’t answer. I am not here to harangue you. I’m on your side. As far as I’m concerned, “Thou shalt not lie” is strictly Old Testament stuff.
You need some public relations help, Your Em. Nothing against the people you have on staff, but I read the statement from Gabe Jones, spokesman for the archdiocese: “While not being able to recall his knowledge of the law exactly as it was many decades ago, the archbishop did make clear that he knows child sex abuse is a crime today.”
You think the flock is going to rally around something like that?
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