Countering reports in the NYT and AP, the Catholic priest in charge of the church trial of a pedophile priest in Milwaukee says the Vatican, and specifically the future Pope Benedict XVI, never called off the trial.
The Rev. Thomas Brundage, judicial vicar for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee from 1995-2003, says the Rev. Lawrence Murphy was scheduled to be deposed when he died in 1998. Brundage said he was “introduced to the story of Father Murphy” in 1996 and began interviewing victims that year, which raises its own questions. Why does it take two years to depose Murphy? Is justice delayed justice denied for victims?
One of Murphy’s victims told the AP that the Vatican’s defensive response to the allegations made him feel like he was 12 again, when no one would believed that he had been molested by a priest (Another Murphy victim, Steven Geier, is pictured at top left in a NYT photo.) Catholics around the world are having a painful Holy Week, reports the AP. Benedict paid tribute to his predecessor at a Mass and didn’t say anything about the scandal.
The U.S. bishops issued a statement in support of Benedict, saying pope has “strengthened the church’s response to victims and supported our efforts to deal with perpetrators.” Advocates of reform in the church ain’t buying it. Neither are most Americans. According to a USA Today/Gallup poll Benedict’s approval ratings have fallen from 63 percent in 2008 to 40 percent last week. His unfavorable ratings climbed from 15 percent in 2009 to 35 percent last weekend. Lawyers are still fighting an uphill battle to sue the Vatican in U.S. courts.
A ninth suspected member of a Christian militia accused of preparing for battle against the Antichrist and government will be arraigned today. The Hutarees (rhymes with Atari) wanted to kill a police officer and set off an uprising by ambushing the funeral. “It started out as a Christian thing,” said the leader’s ex-wife. “I think David started to take it a little too far.”
Fallout from the health-care vote continues to reverberate, especially for Catholic Dems in Indiana, and for nuns who supported the bill. United Methodists are struggling to incorporate gender-inclusive liturgical language.
The death toll is now at 38 in the Moscow subway bombing. Russian officials are blaming Muslim separatists for the attack. Animal rights activists want Israel to ban fur. Hasidic Jews, some of whom wear traditional fur hats, reject the move. The leader of Venezuela’s Catholic Church says President Chavez uses judges to prosecute political enemies.
