Paul Shanley is now officially laicized. He was informed this week of the decision made back in February. This one was a slam-dunk. Considering his crimes, no deliberation was necessary.
As of the end of this month, he no longer gets any benefits from the archdiocese of Boston. It sickens me to think he was getting benefits until now. I hope he takes this action to heart and seek reconciliation with the Church and God. I pray for his conversion and repentance.
So, let’s see. After twenty years or more of Shanley’s unrepentantly having had sex with teenagers, promoting depraved homosexual acts, promoting homosexual acts with children, starting up NAMBLA (the North American Man-Boy Love Association), running hotels at which homosexual and group homosexual sex was encouraged (while a priest), scorning Catholic sexual morality, most all with the knowledge of the Church leadership, that leadership of the Church has finally seen fit to laicize this monster. What is so truly frightening is that if this guy was allowed to go on being a priest, what sort of guys are our priests (or our bishops) now? And I think in addition to praying for the soul of Shanley (as we should), we should also pray for the hundreds of adults and youth he led into sexual depravity and mortal sin and degradation – all as a priest in the name of our Church. I still can’t believe that our Church leadership could have turned against our children in this way. I guess I have to.