Elite Olympic gymnasts made it clear: It isn't enough to put away the doctor who molested them. Those who enabled the molester by ignoring/mishandling abuse reports need to be held accountable as well. Senators and the FBI director agreed. If only Bishop Michael Fisher could grasp this concept as well.
“...who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture, says the Lord...You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.” This First Reading from today’s Liturgy, Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, (Jer. 23) reminds us that God will take care of business. In this we can be sure.… Continue reading Woe to the shepherds
“Our founder, Jesus Christ, taught us ‘the Truth will set you free.’ Why are we hiding? Why are we lying about the truth?” He projected the harrowing reaction that overcame him when he finally realized, “It’s simply to protect predators like McCarrick, monsters like other predators around. We hide them and shelter them, and that’s the reason for the lie. And it’s so contrary to what we are about in the Church," he said. "If the bishops, the shepherds, are going to such an extent to lie about such horrible things, how do you expect them to care for the faithful, for their souls to be nourished, for salvation, if they lie about and hide and protect child rapists? We need to sometimes wake up and realize, they’re not just lying about McCarrick; they have been lying the last 30 to 40 years about what’s been going on.” (Click title to read more...)
No disrespect to the task force that said it did an “extensive examination” of the diocese, but the greatest threat to the Church is the toxic culture spawned by our leaders who created a system that ravaged lives and souls of innocent human beings. It is this very culture which enabled the clergy sexual abuse crisis to flourish in the first place. And guess what? That toxic culture is left UNTOUCHED in the proposed recommendations for diocesan renewal we were just handed. (Click title above to read more...)
Water down for public consumption a very serious, objectively heinous incident with diocesan priests, and you'll get rewarded by your bishop. Provide a contextual redefinition of gratuitous obscene banter with subordinates and voila! You get to be in charge of renewing a diocese mired in clergy sexual abuse. You can't make this up. But you can listen to this priest talk with the bishop about diocesan "renewal" on May 8 live online.
The “Diocese” didn’t betray us. People did. Until we recognize--by name and face--the true agents of betrayal, we won't be able to begin to restore trust in this diocese. Thanks to whistleblowers, we know names, faces and their horrendous professional misconduct that exacerbated the clergy sexual abuse crisis.
"... if you try to groom a child for sex, Malone will stick up for you, but if you try to stop that behavior, he’ll fire you and call you a traitor." That pretty much sums up what happened to a Diocese of Buffalo priest who acted on his moral conscience. Wait. It's actually worse than that.… Continue reading “An act of spite” keeps heroic whistleblower priest sidelined—one year later
We aren’t talking about being nice to a guy who made mistakes, bishops. We are talking about holding officials accountable for their gross dereliction of duty, concealing child rapists, wasting millions of donor dollars, and putting people at risk.Check out 44:44 on the timeline of this first media conference with “Bishop Mike, " as he… Continue reading Buffalo Bishops throw soft bombs at clergy sex abuse survivors and their advocates who call for accountability following AG report
(AUDIO read by author) This final post details concrete reform recommendations for laity to regain relevancy in their advisory roles in this diocese. Long-time Buffalo-area advisors working for their FIFTH or SIXTH bishop are not appropriate for this task, as demonstrated throughout this series. Included is a practical action guide for laity to get involved in the battle for the soul of our diocese.
(AUDIO read by author) If we do not have faith in the integrity of people within the system, how can we have faith in the system itself and what it produces? Transformation of diocesan culture begins with a personal gut-check of every individual who agrees to the enormous responsibility he or she assumes on behalf of innocent souls. Holding diocesan officials accountable is not optional. It is a responsibility we have to the innocent and most vulnerable.
