As a commenter pointed out in a previous entry, Dallas diocese spokesman Bronson Havard proves that it’s all about him. Rod Dreher recalls it in the Dallas Morning News blog (scroll down to Jan 6, 11:23 AM).
Havard complains that some anonymous San Diegan can spread lies and calumny about him saying that Fr. Weinberger’s “busy work” (Masses, confessions, re-building a dying parish, etc.) is the same sort of thing that pedophiles did. If he didn’t actually say that Father is a pedophile, he came close to it, while dismissing the actual work of the Church as “busy work.” Ironically enough, it is the calumny against Fr. Weinberger that Havard is dismissing.
As for the so-called “hearsay” of the anonymous San Diegan, that gentleman has come forward; His name is John Giery. And he has sworn an affidavit with Fr. Weinberger’s lawyers.
Look, the issue here is not whether a bishop can re-assign a priest from one parish to another. It is how a bishop and his representative treat a priest who has had an effective and loving ministry, compared to how they coddle priests accused of sexual abuse.
