I see the hand of Rod Dreher in this one: “Yes, Virginia—bishops did disparage background checks.”
This editorial in the Dallas Morning News picks up on a remark by Bishop Grahmann at the US bishops confab last week in which he asked: “Do we all have to do this background check for someone who just wants to come in for six weeks?” He was referring to a new mandatory procedure of background checks for foreign priests coming to work in the US. Once again, the bishop shows he doesn’t get it.
Bishop Grahmann, by the way, has let several foreign priests serve in his diocese, despite histories of sex abuse in their old dioceses and their old countries. Mostly he couldn’t be bothered to check their backgrounds. As I’ve said before, if he had shown discretion and good judgment in the past, the rule might not be so stringent, but since he didn’t, he must be held to the stricter standard.
His plaintive question reminds me of a teenager who broke his curfew one too many times and now petulantly asks of his parents, “Do I have to call in every time I’m out with my friends?”
Yes, you do. You broke our trust. Now it has to be earned again.
