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	Catholic Men Who Remind US of Injustice By Harry F. Themal News Journal October 29, 2007 http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071029/OPINION03/710290324/1104/OPINION Last week's celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Ministry of Caring was a tribute to a humble Capuchin friar and priest, who proved how the vision of a single individual can change an entire community. No one has done more than Brother Ronald to enlist thousands of Delawareans with their volunteer time and donations to bring to men, women and children in our community the shelter, food, health care, job training and other help they often desperately need. Brother Ronald would rather light candles than curse the darkness; his glow has warmed the world, to paraphrase the motto of the Christopher Society and what Adlai Stevenson once said about Eleanor Roosevelt. It's worth calling attention to his contributions and good deeds because they are far more typical of the Catholic religious than the stomach-turning abuses that have been so much in the news in recent years. For every predator priest who has been sued, fined or jailed, there are hundreds of clergy who have served their parishes, community and God with unselfishness. So today this non-Catholic columnist wants to mention some of those men like Brother Ronald who have reminded us of injustices and set out to try to correct them. Priests with a social conscience have always led in the Diocese of Wilmington. Msgr. Thomas J. Reese, who died in 1988, was unafraid to take unpopular but principled stands. "Father Tom" once called his own church racist because it had so few black priests and nuns. He was director of Catholic Social Services; marched with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama; picketed segregated movie theaters; and spoke out frequently against the Vietnam War. Another Father Tom, the Rev. Thomas A. Lawless, who died in 1966, for many years was rector of Salesianum School, which admitted black students years before Chancellor Collins J. Seitz ordered desegregation of Delaware's public schools and university. Lawless is responsible for the present school at 18th and Broom streets. Msgr. Paul J. Taggart, who died in 2005, was also a champion of social justice and interfaith relations. He helped to establish the Delaware Chapter of the National Council of Christians and Jews, which over the years cited Lawless, Reese and Taggart for their contributions to equality, justice and harmony. A common denominator for all three was a wonderful sense of humor, which often helped ease tensions. Just the other day the Rev. Richard Reissman was honored by the Voice of the Faithful, the lay Catholic group that has spoken out for the victims of priestly sexual abuse. Reissman also took an idiosyncratic stand when he spoke out in favor of what is now state law removing a statute of limitations for such victims to sue those who abused them. Two priests who spanned most of the decades of St. Anthony of Padua parish deserve mention for their community leadership. The founding pastor, the Very Rev. Canon J. Francis Tucker, would go on to additional fame for helping to facilitate the marriage in Monaco of Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly. He died in 1972. He was followed by the Rev. Roberto Balducelli, now 94, whose long service in the parish was followed by his founding of St. Anthony in the Hills just across the Delaware line in Pennsylvania. Those are just some of the names that come to mind as outstanding examples of their chosen priestly profession for their positive contributions. Let's keep their achievements in mind as we read the periodic headlines and stories about those clergymen who have abused their responsibilities.
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