BishopAccountability.org
	Bishop's Lack of Good Judgment Outrageous By Brian Heath Kennebec Journal February 23, 2008 http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/view/letters/4759258.html When do good men stop being good men? At what point should good people examine the dark side of inaction? Both the Bible and the incarcerated make it clear how disgusting sexual abuse against children is, but inexplicably the Catholic Church continues to act as if this horror is mostly just an embarrassment to be worked around. Bishop Richard Malone's recent decision allowing former priest Paul Coughlin to resume duties, three years after resigning for covering up sex abuse charges against a church volunteer, is another example. The volunteer who Coughlin allowed to reside in the church rectory went to the Maine State Prison, having been convicted of the pedophilia Father Coughlin tried to hide. Not surprisingly, Coughlin himself was found to have had "inappropriate physical contact" with a minor at his church years earlier. If an administrator allowed this to happen in a local school, public outrage would demand the expulsion of the perpetrator and administrator. Why then should Bishop Malone not be expelled for his apparent lack of good judgment? Poor judgment regarding money or conduct is one thing, but poor judgment in matters so potentially harmful is another. It's time for a great religion, which espouses all that is good in the world, to demand that its leaders stop this insanity or step aside. Adults' indulging themselves with children is horrible, but tolerating those who look the other way makes us all a party to the abuse. And that's when good men stop being good men.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.