A group stylizing itself as Our Lady’s Friends, while in reality they should be labeled Fr. Walter Cuenin’s friends, has set up a web site, complete with petition, a mission statement, press releases, and links to sympathetic groups, the entirety of which is: Voice of the Faithful, Council of Parishes, National Catholic Reporter, and Church in the 21st Century. You can tell a lot about a person/group by who they associate with.
What really got me laughing was the tag line at the top of every page. It says:
Working for:
Rev. Walter Cuenin’s reinstatement and exoneration
A vibrant Our Lady’s Parish
Financial accountability in the Boston Archdiocese [emphasis added]
I’m fairly certain there’s no irony intended. They claim “financial accountability” as one of their goals even as they defend a priest who has admitted to receiving funds from his parish that he was not entitled to. Obviously they mean financial accountability for others.
And doesn’t exoneration mean that they want the archdiocese to say that Cuenin did nothing wrong? Why aren’t they asking Cuenin himself to stand up in public and say he did nothing wrong? After all, if he didn’t really break the rules, why did he resign and promise to make restitution?
I also note that they are organizing letter-writing campaigns to local newspapers in order to keep Cuenin’s case in front of the public. This despite Cuenin’s pleas to let it go and move on. They’re only making it worse.
