MASSACHUSETTS
Natick Bulletin & Tab
By Mary Kate Dubuss/ Staff Writer
Friday, November 18, 2005
Every Sunday, Terence McKiernan leaves his Natick home before dawn, so he can attend the 8 a.m. Mass at an East Longmeadow church. Though the trip to the parish of St. Michael's in western Massachusetts takes him an hour and a half each way, McKiernan says it is one of the only places he can go these days.
"It's gotten really hard to go to Mass, unless I feel the guy is courageous," McKiernan said.
His respect for Rev. Jim Scahill is rooted in the priest's own battle against the Springfield Archdiocese. He was the only pastor who spoke out and refused to send collection money on to the archdiocese when it kept a convicted child molester - Richard Lavigne - on the payroll.
Like many Catholics, McKiernan has struggled on many fronts since the sexual abuse crisis broke in 2002. He wanted to work on behalf on the scores of victims who were abused by children, which is now what he does as a full-time job.
His goal is to answer the "Watergate questions - what the bishops knew and when they knew it," through the examination of internal and public documents.