Late yesterday (Feb. 25), news broke of yet another Catholic priest in the Diocese of Providence (R.I.) being named as an accused sex abuser of minors. This is the second priest removed in as many months in Rhode Island.
Yet, a couple of things make this matter even more stunning. Monsignor John Allard was a high-ranking clergyman in Rhode Island, named a monsignor (or "chaplain to His Holiness") almost two decades ago. He spearheaded many youth outreach efforts in the state as well, settling in as the de facto spiritual figurehead in Woonsocket, a historic haven of French-Canadian Catholicism.
What else? He admitted his guilt.
For almost a decade, George Weigel, most recently the author of Evangelical Catholicism, declared that the Church in the U.S. "has cleaned house." True, the rate of allegations being discovered or newly made has dropped hugely in recent years. But consider also how the allegations that were revealed a decade ago against scores of priests had collected after many decades of Bishops sitting atop them and doing nothing.
These new allegations against two of R.I.'s local clergy each date back 25 and 30 years. And that's exactly the point: they're NOT new. Therefore, the Bishops haven't cleaned house yet.
These incidents are quite a lot for some people around this state to bite off all at once. I'm especially referring to the laypeople who looked up to Monsignor Allard as their point of contact to the divine. Usually, parishioners are stunned, while many get combatively defensive when their pastor is accused. It's as though claims against their spiritual sage is a direct assault on their own personal moral integrity, as now some are feeling the shame of looking up to such filth as a moral compass.
The easiest things to do are deny or minimize the situation. As outrageous as it is, a good number of Allard parishioners (present and former) have taken to the internet to do so. Even when he ADMITTED IT!
In general, the following are some of the bromides that "faithful Catholics" use when their favorite priest gets accused. These are NOT specific to the Allard matter itself, and are hypothetical:
"These allegations are old. It happened so long ago. Why does it matter now, since then he's done so much good."
Your grandmother's funeral that he presided over so graciously was probably so long ago, too. The infant baptisms and weddings he performed were ages ago. Suffering from sex abuse -- especially by a PRIEST -- has no comparison to other afflictions in life. So many of today's Catholics have a huge victim mentality as it is, seeing themselve as "persecuted," while having been mainstreamed into society for generations.
"You can't just presume he's guilty like that!"
Nor can you presume that, just because he's your family favorite, the accusers are liars. The record reflects a high rate of accused being found guilty, or admitting to some degree of guilt at some later point.
"Most priests are INNOCENT. This kind of publicity over one accusation makes them all look bad."
Of course most priests are not so depraved. But just consider how much the accused have moved around over the years. How many rectories they've lived in, and how many other priests they've lived with. These "innocent" priests want to save face, for themselves and the Church, and say and do very little about it. In certain respects, they are just as guilty. How many American Catholic priests have vigorously spoken out against this? Sure, some would be censured, but it's easy enough for a bishop-enabler to do so to one priest detractor, because so few others band together with him to expose this crap.
"You heathens are denigrating Christ's One, True Church! You are against us no matter what because of your secularism.
Their secularism wouldn't be so strident were it not for your hypocrisy. Another way you put it is to accuse your detractors of "casting the first stone." Christ decreed that millstones be wrapped around the necks of these perverts, as they're tossed into the ocean. How's that for throwing stones? Don't throw them, WRAP them! Otherwise, it's the Catholic Church and their pharasiac proctors who cast the initial stones, simply by always assuming the moral high ground by virtue of their Church affiliation alone. How can these Catholics EVER preach sexual morality to ANYONE, while simultaneously waving their fists in the air in favor of the lowest of deviants?
"You're not a true Catholic!"
Right now, I'd be tempted to wear that as a badge of honor.
"You know, some of us are very influential. We own businesses, hold executive positions, are fairly successful dentists, lawyers, and so on. When you accuse the priest of our lovely, prominent parish which we fund, we'll find ways to shut you up!"
Go right ahead. Just ask the attorneys among you about "anti-S.L.A.P.P." statutes, and how they can be used against you in court. That, and your businesses and lines of work can be named publicly on blogs like this one (along with your public priest deviant defences). These livlihoods will suffer for sure. No matter how "aggressive" an attorney you find yourselves, any defamation action on your behalf will fail.
"You have NO Right to say ANY of what you're saying about priests and the Church!!!"
If that's so, then you have no right to even practice your faith. You see, it's all covered under the First Amendment. Both freedom of religion (preventing government intrusion upon it) AND free speech (preventing established Church suppression of it) MUST coexist. There's simply no way to argue against Obama's impositions on the Catholic Church through the Affordable Care Act, citing Freedom of Religion, then turn around and harange people over exercising speech rights. Maybe this is why the liberals have no problem targeting Catholic institutions in particular.
As far as Allard, something remarkable happened. HE ADMITTED IT. This sets an enormous precedent in the local church. Further clerics who are accused are now under pressure to do the same, when in fact guilty. Yet, there are still the most brilliant among the holy pew rollers who flout the truth and post snide commentaries as this one:
Allard was known to be kind of liberal in clerical circles, so not judging was likely his teaching, never the Church's. Satan is at the head of this, alright. Drawing so many out of the Church, leaving so many like this behind in the pews to pose as "faithful." Yes, there is more: read the news release from the Bishop, the investigation into Allard is ongoing.
So stay tuned.
