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| Cardinal Dolan's Verdun Strategy for SNAP
By Frank Cocozzelli
Talk to Action
April 12, 2012
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2012/4/12/1727/81748#.T4eKnvmb_4c.facebook
In early 1916, the First World War was entering its third year. For over two years the German army had been locked in a stalemate with the forces of Britain and France on the Western Front. The German high command decided on a strategy intended to "bleed France white" by drawing the French Army into a battle of attrition centered on the forts of Verdun. But in pursuit of this strategy, the Germans almost bled themselves out instead.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and the most powerful leader of the the Catholic Church in the United States -- may be leading his church towards a similar outcome, having adopted a similar strategy towards groups seeking greater accountability for the Catholic hierarchy's handling of pedophile clergy.
Bishop Robert Finn of the Diocese of Kansas City-St, Joseph, Missouri has been charged, along with his diocese, for allegedly failing to notify authorities about his constructive knowledge of sex abuse of children by Rev. Shawn Radian. Concurrent civil law suits are going forward against Finn's and another diocese seeking damages. One of these also includes allegations of sexual misconduct against Fr. Michael Tierney, a Kansas City priest who had allegedly been abusing minors since the 1970s.
Dolan, seeking to alter the unenviable legal position of the Church in the long running pedophilia scandal is now leading his forces in an effort to bleed his opponents white. The target is SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests . And like the Kaiser's army at Verdun, Dolan's strategy may have unintended consequences.
The current battle features the subpoenaing of executives from SNAP in a series of depositions that are apparently designed to wear out the victims' group. At the same time, they are seeking the names of confidential sources and contacts that the organization has had with regard to complaints about pedophile priests.
Along with Voice of the Faithful and BishopAccountability.com, SNAP has led the fight for greater transparency from the Church on matters of pedophilia in general and in seeking accountability from Bishop Finn in particular. This led Catholic League president Bill Donohue to recently declare: "SNAP is a menace to the Catholic Church." Dolan apparently shares this view and the strategy that grew out of it. But his office oddly denied it before he affirmed it.
Bill Donohue recently told The New York Times, "The bishops have come together collectively. I can't give you the names, but there's a growing consensus on the part of the bishops that they had better toughen up and go out and buy some good lawyers to get tough. We don't need altar boys."
The Cardinal's USCCB spokesperson, Sister Mary Ann Walsh claimed that Donohue had misspoken. But then Dolan himself republished Donohue's original statement on his blog. The National Catholic Reporter commented:
Cardinal Dolan, with his blog posting, it seems to us, is taking the same approach political candidates take to their Super PACs: not running them, don't really know what they are doing on my behalf (wink, wink), can't help they are saying exactly what I want to, and boy do I love the dough they are socking into it.
If you agree with this approach, please do nothing, Cardinal Dolan and Mr. Donohue have it well in hand.
The purpose of the subpoenas and depositions appear more designed to intimidate than to effect justice.
As the Times recently reported, "...SNAP, is neither a plaintiff nor a defendant in the [Finn] litigation. But the group has been subpoenaed five times in recent months in Kansas City and St. Louis," further noting, "its national director, David Clohessy, was questioned by a battery of lawyers for more than six hours this year."
The object is, the The Times continued, "...to disclose more than two decades of e-mails that could include correspondence with victims, lawyers, whistle-blowers, witnesses, the police, prosecutors and journalists."
In an earlier post on the Finn scandal, I reported how several Catholic Right organizations with overlapping members and interests have rallied to Finn's defense. These players are well funded and have powerful attorneys with which to bury opponents in a mountain of litigation motions, particularly Opus Bono Sacerdotii. In contrast, SNAP's legal team is made up of two pro bono small practice attorneys.
Meanwhile, Finn's criminal trial is going forward. The judge recently wrote in denying a recent defense motion seeking to dismiss the charges or at least sever Finn's trial from the diocese, that "the evidence in this case is sufficient to allow a jury to conclude that Bishop Finn was a designated reporter as defined by Missouri law."
While it is possible that Dolan's forces may succeed in bleeding SNAP white, and victims of pedophile priests and confidential sources of information may be scared off by the possibility the potential loss of confidentiality -- history shows that attrition strategies often backfire.
At Verdun, even though the Germans inflicted over 500,000 casualties upon the French, they themselves lost over 400,000 men - and the battle -- and had the effect of deepening French national resolve. They recognized the nature of the beast they were up against and that Kaiser's army was willing to go to any length to destroy their nation.
Indeed, it is also possible that the battle of Missouri may well turn out to be Dolan's Verdun, and bleed the Church white. The everyday faithful will see his bully-effort for what it is: A continuing effort to avoid accountability for the abuses of children in the care of the Church.
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