NEW JERSEY
NorthJersey.com
Tuesday, February 7, 2006
By MARK CRAWFORD
THE WHOLE TRUTH is long overdue. The reemergence of defrocked priest and admitted child molester James Hanley raises a number of concerns. First and foremost, it seems clear this man is still dangerous and should be monitored.
But it's also a reminder that the mess created by the Catholic Church still lingers.
If it were not for the bishops' actions to conceal and return to ministry dangerous predators, men like Hanley would have been where they belong, behind bars.
And even now, some bishops also refuse to make public the names of those priests who are credibly accused of child abuse. They also refuse to create a database of these clerics so our communities may be informed. The bishops are acting no differently than Simon of Cyrene, the unwilling servant pressed into service to help bear Christ's cross.
The clergy abuse scandal is the cross they refuse to bear. This shouldn't surprise anyone. The church seems unable to come to terms with the legacy of shattered lives left by predator priests.