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. . . .
The Rest of the Story: Hope Springs Eternal in the Priestly Breast
. . . These writers of just and merciful Catholic conscience have made me proud to be a priest, and have given meaning to the suffering inherent in 18 years of wrongful imprisonment. Our reluctant Catholic press would do well to put aside its "Father Maciel Syndrome," and follow their lead to cover this story. And then, there is you. Yes, I do mean you, for if you are reading this you have lent to your Church and faith a courageous ear, and the tools for spreading the rest of the story. If you have been reading These Stone Walls then you have demonstrated for me and the whole Body of Christ something that has been sorely lacking in this decade of scandal: hearts of courage and justice open to the whole truth, and not just the one-sided scarlet letter with which our scandal driven news media and special interest groups have labeled your Church. Fr. James Valladares and David F. Pierre have told the rest of the story. . . .