Vivificat is following the story of a priest in the Altoona-Johnstown, PA, diocese who sued his diocese because he says he was molested as a child by a now-deceased priest and was subsequently removed from his parish and stripped of his faculties. The priest says he’s being punished for reporting abuse, but the diocese says he can’t very well serve the bishop and diocese he’s suing.
The blogger Teofilus examines the canon law and concludes that the diocese is technically right, even if the diocese is wrong on the larger issues. They key is that the priest sued in civil court rather than pursuing the canonical channels first. I’m the first to admit there’s some wackiness in those central Pennsylvania dioceses, but in this case, Teofilus concludes it’s not the bishop who’s wacky.
