BishopAccountability.org
	Pimp Politics: Bettencourt and the Bishop New Hampshire Union Leader April 5, 2011 http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Pimp+politics%3a+Bettencourt+and+the+bishop&articleId=db449b4e-d56f-4148-9d41-40d5214a4d2d House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt, R-Salem, made an unacceptable comment last week when he posted on his Facebook page that Roman Catholic Bishop John McCormack was a "pedophile pimp." He should have said "pedophile protector." At last Thursday's rally in protest of proposed House budget cuts, McCormack said the state had a moral obligation to take care of the poor. Bettencourt sought to remind Granite Staters that McCormack is not the best person to be lecturing elected officials on matters of secular morality. It was a fair point, poorly made. McCormack didn't pimp pedophile priests. He harbored them. For years, McCormack helped Cardinal Bernard Law hide priests accused of child sexual abuse by shuffling them from parish to parish -- without telling anyone about the allegations. Because of his actions, many more Catholic children likely were abused. Democrats demand Bettencourt's resignation or his head. These would be the same Democrats who remained largely silent when McCormack's activities under Cardinal Law first came to light. They were silent, too, when the New Hampshire Attorney General's investigation of the Diocese of Manchester ended with a settlement only after AG Philip McLaughlin threatened to take the diocese to a grand jury. We searched our archives for any record of former state Democratic Party Chairman Kathy Sullivan or current Chairman Ray Buckley denouncing McCormack for his handling of priests accused of sexual abuse. We found no record of it. State Democrats say Bettencourt's statement was offensive to Catholics. That's interesting, considering that it was Democratic Rep. Mary Stuart Gile who tried in 2006 to decimate the sacrament of penance by introducing a bill that would require priests to report any abuse allegations they heard during confession. Which was a worse offense against Catholicism? And where are those Democratic leaders when liberals denounce the Bishop for his positions on abortion and gay marriage? Bettencourt's choice of words was inaccurate and offensive, and he has acknowledged they were offensive. And he apologized to his fellow Catholics. The state Democratic Party operatives denouncing him should explain why they have lots to say about a Republican's choice of words, but nothing to say about the Bishop protecting child molesters.
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