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
Technorati Tags:Catholic, Manchester, priest, sex abuse
There is no problem helping these priests. The issue is treating them as victims rather than perpetrators of crimes whom we should nevertheless help and forgive. The tone of the letter trivializes what they have done. More seriously, it suggests a sick mentality among priests who have not (yet?) been caught abusing boys.