Weakland pro and con II

There were a couple more letters to the editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in response to those from Fr. Ed Eschweiler and Thomas Lindemann discussed in my earlier post.

Gregg Mulry responded to Mr. Lindemann that the Church needs to heal. Maureen Fitzsimmons-Vanden Heuvel, responding to Fr. Eschweiler, says stop honoring Weakland.

Mr. Mulry is among those who diagose any continuing pain as psychosomatic, saying Mr. Lindemann,

"may be a hurt and troubled man whose best effort right now cannot rise above casting stones and laying blame for the church's sins at the feet of one man."

If by "sins" one means mishandling numerous incidents of priests sexually abusing minors, as Lindemann appears to, why wouldn't that wouldn't be laid at the feet of the Archbishop?

Perhaps because, according to Mulry,

"What those who attack him miss is that this flawed human being is a joy to know."

Ms. Fitzsimmons-Vanden Heuvel's response to Fr. Eschweiler fits here also,

"I am sure all of us can recount the loved ones of criminals speaking in court about some good things they did in their lives. So what?"

Or how does Archbishop being "a joy to know" more than offset the way he reassigned priests who were child molesters? Mulry says

"...I cannot fathom how sending Weakland to jail or removing his likeness from the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist will accomplish anything spiritually for those who are still hurting."

Fitzsimmons-Vanden Heuvel explains,

"Many forget the timeline of the Weakland/Sklba coverup of the sex abuse scandal and the Paul Marcoux $450,000 payout plus attorneys fees. It happened before the gutting of the interior of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, where Rembert Weakland portrayed himself standing next to St. John the Evangelist with children. Who does that?"

Now that she mentions it, the Cathedral renovation itself is a kind of monument to Archbishop Weakland, but it seems to be one that people are resigned to, with a few items excepted.

"It's way past time to remove Weakland's name and edifice from our cathedral so we can finally put this ugly, immoral, criminal, faith-sapping chapter in the Milwaukee Catholic Archdiocese behind us. Healing will never happen while those who participated in the abuse are honored in any way."

Indications are that she's right. Indications also are that nothing will be done.