It’s hard to decide which side to take on this one, so let’s take a whack in both directions. Yesterday’s Boston Herald comes up out of the blue with a complaint that Cardinal Bernard Law’s former secretary is now in Rome serving his old boss again on the Archdiocese of Boston’s dime.
This was announced back on April 1, so why is this coming up now? Makes you wonder how dropped the dime to the Herald. There’s more to this than the paper reported. But let’s look at the complaint.
After Law left in 2002, Msgr. Paul McInerny took over at Boston Catholic Television, but by all accounts he was ill-suited for the position, not having the TV charism or fundraising schmooze. So he was relieved of the job earlier this year and granted a sabbatical in Rome, which is obviously a cover for his desire to be re-united with his old boss for whom he was secretary from 1991 until 2001. He’s supposed to be studying canon law, but in fact he’s serving on the cardinal’s staff at the basilica.
Dom:
After Law left in 2002, Msgr. Paul McInerny took over at Boston Catholic Television, but by all accounts he was ill-suited for the position, not having the TV charism or fundraising schmooze.
Correction.
Father McInerny took over BCTV after the sudden death of Father Frank McFarland in late summer, 2001. The resignation of the Cardinal and the taking over BCTV by Father McInerny are completely unrelated. Father McInerny jumped at the chance. At that time—remember, this was before, well before, the scandal hit the press—the Cardinal had two secretaries, who not only accompanied him wherever he went but served as MCs at every Mass he celebrated. It was not a fun job. With all due respect to the Cardinal, he was and probably still is a stickler on anything liturgical and God help the MCs if, say, a deacon held the Book of Gospels up in a manner not precisely to the Cardinal’s liking.
The Herald:
Law was promoted to the basilica after his resignation in the wake of revelations he had shuffled priests who were known child molesters from parish to parish.
Correction. Law was sent to live in a monastery in Baltimore after his resignation, where he lived for two years.
Dom:
On the other hand, I do have it on good authority that McInerny was offered a plum assignment at a wealthy and very solvent suburban parish coming out BCTV and refused. That smacks of an unhealthy attachment to Law.
Unless Father McInerny has drastically changed in the years I’ve known him—at least 12—I find this tough to swallow. I’m certainly not the only person to know that for years all the guy wanted was (A) out of the secretary stint and (B) his own parish. Father John Connolly, Father Fred Murphy, Father Bill Roche, and any number of parishioners and parish employees will tell you that. No secret there.
As you say, Dom, why would Marie Szaniszlo and the Herald bring it up now? The announcement was made on April 1.
Makes no sense to me.
I accept the correction on the first part about the timing. In fact, the Herald story says it was 2001.
But I’ll stand by the point about the parish. This was from a very good source. However he felt about going to a parish then, he didn’t want it now but preferred to stay in Rome.
Okay, but the Herald got the whole “promotion” thing wrong, timing and otherwise.
My point is from a very good source too. Me.
Still your source could be right about the offer.
It’s certainly true that Father McInerny appeared excited about going to Rome. He must have left right after Easter.
All that aside though, it occurred to me that this article doesn’t seem to be so much a whack at Cardinal Law but rather a whack at the Archbishop. Here’s the telling quote:
O’Malley is closing roughly one-quarter of the archdiocese’s parishes because of a shortage of priests and a financial crisis caused by plummeting donations in the scandal’s wake.