BishopAccountability.org
	The Heron's Nest: Covering Ash Wednesday By Phil Heron Daily Times March 11, 2011 http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2011/03/10/opinion/doc4d78c1c726125160852750.txt The timing could have been better. Actually, it could not have been much worse. Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the day when Christians start the 40-days of introspection and repentance leading to Easter. But that was not what was being talked about on this Ash Wednesday. Not in parishes across Philadelphia. Not even at the Basilica SS. Peter & Paul in Philadelphia. It was there that Cardinal Justin Rigali, archbishop of Philadelphia, took to the podium and discussed, for the first time in public, the controversy that is engulfing the church. The day before Rigali had announced the archdiocese had placed on administative leave 21 priests suspected of being involved in the sexual abuse of children. But the archdiocese did not disclose the names. It didn’t take long for word to leak out. I actually received an anonymous e-mail with the list of names Tuesday night. We confirmed them Wednesday afternoon. If you want to read the full list, click here. Several of the names were linked to parishes here in Delaware County. It was already a big story. The Delco angle made it an even bigger one for us. If you want read our coverage, click here. If you want to read the reaction of one of the affected parishes, St. Philomena in Lansdowne, CLICK HERE. I fully expect to hear from several people today who believe we took great pleasure in splashing the travails of the church all over our front page once again. They believe we delight in knocking the church, and its priests. Catholic-bashers is how they usually refer to us. They could not be more wrong. They will not mention the photo and story we did on the kids at St. Gabriel’s in Norwood talking about what Ash Wednesday means to them. The scandal embroiling the church is not going to go away anytime soon. We are not going to ignore it. Doing just that, on the part of all too many archdiocesan officials, is what put the church in this position in the first place. Why we're doing 'Live From the Newsroom' Last night is a perfect example of why I wanted to start a local, live Internet broadcast on our website. It gives us the opportunity to bring in the people who are literally making the news that affects people’s lives here in Delaware County. Writing about them is one thing, hearing it directly from them is another. Last night’s “Live From the Newsroom” tackled the controversial issue of the Delaware County SPCA’s plan to get out of the animal control business. We had a great panel, including Justina Calgiano, community relations director from the SPCA, and Rick Matelsky, interim SPCA executive director, debating the issues with Tom Hickey, a member of the state Dog Law Advisory Board, and Springfield Police Chief Joe Daly. If you missed the broadcast, you can see the replays here. I cam away from the session more convinced than ever of one thing: All of these people bring a passion to what they do, and neither has any intention of backing down. Calgiano reviewed the reasons why the SPCA decided, almost a year ago, to get out of the animal control business and move toward being a no-kill facility. Hickey and Daly urged a one-year delay in the move, saying the county and municipalities simply were not yet ready for the change and predicting dire circumstances on July 1, when the change is supposed to go into effect. You would think these two sides could get together and at least consider a delay. That would be up to the SPCA board, according to Matelsky. If they don’t get one, I see either the county or state going to court in an attempt to block the move. At any rate, I was glad that all four decided to come on and air the issues. That is what this weekly program is supposed to do. Do you have an idea for a show you’d like to see addressed? Post a comment on this blog or e-mail it to me at editor@delcotimes.com. Here’s one I would like to do. I would like to have at least one parish priest, and maybe one official from the archdiocese come on to discuss the child sex abuse scandal that is quickly turning into a conflagration. Do I have any takers? All wet Just keep telling yourself this today: It could be worse. This could all be snow. Brace yourself, it is going to be wet today. Very wet. As if we could possibly forget. You can’t turn on a radio or TV (or visit a newspaper website for that matter) without being inundated (pardon the pun) with word that it is wet outside. That is what constitutes for news these days. You can’t pass a stream or river without running into a fleet of TV news vans. There is no flooding right now, but you never know about these things. The truth is we are expecting several inches of rain today, and there is the possibility of small stream and river flooding. The worst of that is likely to be tonight and tomorrow morning. If you live in one of the usual spots – attention Darby Borough – it might behoove you to keep an eye on the rising water. Me? All I know is that it is not snow. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say we have seen the last of the snow this winter. Yes, it means my prediction in the Great Heron’s Nest Snow Prognosticating Event is going down the drain. I can live with that. I can even live with a day of rain. I’m not sure I can live with being told about it non-stop for 24 hours. Just wait, it’s coming. As for now, it’s just wet. Kind of like the forecast. The Daily Numbers: 21 priests whose names became public yesterday after they were placed on administrative leave by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in connection with allegations of sexual abuse. 6 of the priests have ties to Delaware County. 16, age of Anna Evans, who has been missing from her Clifton Heights home since March 3. 2 year old boy found wandering on the street in Chester Township yesterday morning. An uncle who was supposed to be watching the tot now faces charges. 52 points for Garnet Valley as they rolled to the Hi-Q title in the scholastic quiz competition. 18 years as a Hi-Q coach for Garnet Valley adviser Carol Rockafellow, who is retiring this year. She’s going out on top. 2-3 inches of rain possible today. 0.6 percent increase in population for Philadelphia, about 8,500 people, the first increase for the city in 60 years. 23 straight days where the price of gas has gone up. 18 state-supported colleges and universities whose leaders met yesterday and blasted budget cuts announced by Gov. Tom Corbett. 34 points and 16 rebounds for Kevin Durant as the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied to win over the Sixers last night. 5 point lead with a minute left, but the Sixers could not seal the deal. 3 run homer for Brian Schneider as the Phils won yesterday. 2 year contract extension finalized by Charlie Manuel. The Phils and their skipper cut a deal this morning. Call me a Phanatic: A look at the ups and downs of being a Philadelphia sports fan. Good for Charlie Manuel. He has a new, 2-year deal to lead the Phils. And with a nagging injury to Chase Utley gumming up the works, he likely will have to earn his money. I Don’t Get It: There just seems to be no end to the controversy swirling around the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. I can’t help but feel that Cardinal Rigali is bringing a lot of this on himself by bungling this from the start. Today’s Upper: Kudos to the kids from Garnet Valley who captured the Hi-Q crown yesterday. And also to Penncrest and Chi as well. Quote Box: “The priests, the bishops, the archbishops, they’re all human beings. They’re not gods.” - Marie McDonald, of Philadelphia, as she went into Ash Wednesday service at Basilica SS. Peter & Paul in the city yesterday. Contact: editor@delcotimes.com
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.