A New Hampshire priest who set up a fund to help retired priests and those removed from ministry now says he was misunderstood. (See my original blog entry on this.)
Father Michael Griffin sent a letter around to all the priests in the diocese asking them to sympathize with the plight of needy priests, including those accused of abuse.
In a letter sent to clergy last week seeking donations, the Rev. Michael Griffin sympathized with accused priests as having had to “endure” the abuse scandal. “All I can say is, look at the Amish,” Griffin said in an interview, referring to the forgiveness a Pennsylvania Amish community extended to the man who recently killed several Amish schoolchildren. “They have given us a wonderful example of Christian forgiving.”
On behalf of the Organization of Concerned Priests, he asked each priest of the diocese to give $1,000. The letter is an excellent example of tone-deafness and the kind of clericalism and tribalism that we need to move beyond.
A clueless letter papering over evil
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