The diocese of Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the US bishops’ conference, who said that the Scandal is now “history” has been held in contempt of court for refusing to release records of a priest accused of abuse. You’d think these bishops would have learned their lesson long ago, but no. Despite all the happy talk of wanting to cooperate with victims, with leaving an era of secrecy and obstruction behind, it’s the same old game. And I mean “game.”
Mark E. Chopko, general counsel for the bishops’ conference, said that such contempt rulings were “a very common legal device,” and that the church had been sanctioned before in cases that involved sexual abuse by members of the clergy.
A legal device. Never mind truth or justice, it’s about what you can get away with. It’s not just the court that holds them in contempt.
Bishop Gregory came from the School of Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, the ultimate in unctuous equivocation. In spite of the late Cardinal’s (RIP) “Brother Joseph” jive, I always felt in need of a shoer when meeting or hearing him.
Let’s hope the seamless garment has a run in it. I was born, baptized and married in that parish. In 1971-72 Kownacki came with great fanfare… and a teen age girl, aka, ‘housekeeper’. She went to the girl’s parochial high school and I guess the parish footed the bill. Questions came up regarding Gina and the bishop at the time, now deceased, did nothing. I vaguely remember the girl as a CYO member. Kownacki left abruptly, citing fatigue and/or alcohol abuse, depending on whose story you chose to believe. In fairness to Gregory, this didn’t occur on his watch. However, based on the verbage of Dallas the facts must be exposed. To date, they aren’t. Kownacki has been banished and as to why the diocese continues to defend him is beyond the scope of my imagination.
I think the bishops wanted to call it “transparency”….
I’m afraid their definition of that word may be a little different, though.
And you know that Bishop Gregory’s name was being floated about as Cardinal Law’s successor. How does that make you feel now, as you read this?
About how I felt when the name was first being floated. I was never all that enthused about him.