"I'm just calling for the truth," Connell told The Associated Press. "I think it's a moral obligation. Revealing the truth to facilitate healing is a moral obligation. I'm just doing what I think priests are supposed to do."The whole article at The Washington Post
Connell, who goes by Father Jim, said he's speaking out now because former Bishop Richard Sklba was scheduled to give a deposition about the church's handling of abusive priests. Listecki wanted the deposition sealed, prompting SNAP to hold a Dec. 17 press conference calling on the archbishop to stop being secretive.
When Connell heard about it, "I asked if I could stand there with them and they said yes."
Connell didn't notify his superiors beforehand, nor did he need to, the archdiocese said.
"We may not agree with his methods but we certainly can't disagree with what he's trying to accomplish," archdiocese spokesman Jerry Topczewski said. "Clearly he feels this is where God wants him at this moment, to be a vocal, visible presence toward healing and reconciliation. We stand with Father Connell toward that end goal."
Topczewski said the archbishop was not immediately available to comment. Connell's activism is all the more remarkable because of his high position in the archdiocese. As vice-chancellor, he is an executive aide to the archbishop and is expected to help carry out the archbishop's policies. As an archdiocesan priest, he is expected to defer to the archbishop.
It's so rare that a diocesan priest or administrator publicly disagrees with a bishop on any key issue - let alone a topic as sensitive as the clergy sex-abuse crisis - that word of Connell's stand spread through the Catholic blogosphere.
Blog commenters wondered whether Connell would be silenced or punished. Connell said the archbishop had a single cordial conversation with him to understand his motivations but added that no superiors have ever threatened or chastised him. A few colleagues have questioned the wisdom of his public stand, he said, but parishioners have supported his calls for the truth.
Here's the thing, what does Fr. Connell want to happen here? SNAP is not about bringing about justice or filing criminal charges. They are about siphoning money out of the archdiocese and her parishes to pay to victims(oh yeah, and it just so happens themselves as well). Like I said before, a great gesture for Connell would be to sign over his pension to the SNAP lawyers as a sign that all priests should do the same thing. We're all upset about the abuse. We want that crap straightened out so it never happens again, and if it would happen that the hammer gets brought down from the archbishop. That's NOT what this is about. It's about trial lawyers taking the archdiocese for everything it's worth. We've already seen that one of the first things SNAP went after when bankruptcy was declared was that parishes were exempt. They want to raid parish funds and parish property to be sold off. THAT does not solve the problem. Can you imagine an abuse victim that not only had to endure that travesty, but then some years later loses their family parish in a big pay off to other victims(and it just so happens some trial lawyers too)?
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