Indicted We Stand: Penance, Penn State, and Catholic Culture
. . . It should have been a solemn and somber affair. That cheer seemed more a response to a contest in the Roman Coliseum than the exercise of justice in an American court of law. Are there really winners and losers in this story? Like many prisoners, I followed the Jerry Sandusky trial carefully, and I believe justice was indeed accomplished inside that courtroom. But not outside. The cheers and jeers of that crowd had no place in the administration of American justice. I was glad to hear one newscaster say he was embarrassed for his own peers who stood there to focus on the cheers. . . .
Why Are So Many Catholics So Angry With So Many Priests?
. . . One Philadelphia defense attorney who reads These Stone Walls described this trial as “justice with an agenda." She wrote that few in Philadelphia are now very proud of this "District Attorney with an ax to grind, and a judge who appeared to work for the prosecution." When law is reduced to a lynch mob in this arena of decades-old child abuse claims, the jury is in before the trial even starts. Those who would tritely say today that Monsignor Lynn had his day in court and justice prevailed have no first hand knowledge of the prolific injustices that have permeated our justice system. Just see "Thy Brother's Keeper” for a vivid example. . . .
Separation of Church and Penn State: A Media Double Standard
. . . Ted made the very same point that I made above about the news media letting pass an opportunity to truly expose and effect sexual abuse: "I hope the pendulum swings back to some degree. I never agreed with zero tolerance. There has to be some respect for priests as basic citizens presumed to be innocent . . . The lack of balance in regards to the Globe and NY Times coverage indicates that they have clearly missed a chance to address societal child abuse. This belies a more sinister agenda by people who want to destroy the Church. Since the level of sexual sin in our society is so great, it makes people somehow feel good to persecute the Catholic Church for its abuse problem as a way to feel absolved of their own sin in some way." . . .
These Stone Walls at Year's End: My Hits and Misses for 2011
. . . A "cup o'kindness" in the Scotish tradition is usually something with the words "single malt" imprinted on the label. That, too, is not possible in prison. But I have some Starbucks coffee I've been saving, and I plan to brew it on New Year's Eve. I'll have a cup o'that in honor of you, the friends I have met on this long and winding road. These Stone Walls is such a strange and unlikely place, yet it exists, and from it every week you let me reach into your hearts in friendship, and with a shared vision of grace at work in our world. . . .
Cable News or Cable Nuisance? Gloom and Doom in America's Newsroom
. . . Greg Erlandson, publisher of Our Sunday Visitor, knows the difference, too, and it prompted him to add cable news to his list of things to avoid in 2011 (OSV, "New Years Resolutions," January 2). He clearly considered at least some of what passes for news on 24-hour cable news channels to be more akin to nuisance when he wrote: "The talking heads seem engaged in an anger and anxiety arms race, playing on ignorance and fears to get the best ratings."Greg Erlandson resolved to find "more rational and less incendiary ways" to be informed of the news. A couple of OSV readers reacted in letters to the editor. Dave Maxwell of Adrian, Michigan wrote that for him, "FOX News and The Wall Street Journal are the only reliable and balanced sources for the daily news." It seems that a lot of people agree. I'm not writing an advertisement for Fox News or The WSJ, but both news outlets are pulling in the highest ratings these days. I suspect there's a good reason for that, but it may also cause other news outlets to compete for ratings, sometimes by appealing to our basest nature. . . .