The following are some highlights from a recent Catholic Anchor article penned by the former Judicial Vicar for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Fr. Thomas Brundage, who presided over the canonical criminal case of Father Lawrence Murphy. The case was recently highlighted in the NY Times in an apparent attempt to implicate Pope Benedict in wrongdoing.
Highlights...
* "[M]y name and comments in the matter of the Father Murphy case have been liberally and often inaccurately quoted in the New York Times and in more than 100 other newspapers and on-line periodicals... I have found that the reporting on this issue has been inaccurate and poor in terms of the facts"
* "The fact that I presided over this trial and have never once been contacted by any news organization for comment speaks for itself."
* "Pope Benedict XVI has done more than any other pope or bishop in history to rid the Catholic Church of the scourge of child s*xual abuse and provide for those who have been injured"
* He said quotes attributed to him in the media "were not written by me and do not resemble my handwriting"
* "[T]he fact is that on the day that Father Murphy died, he was still the defendant in a church criminal trial. No one seems to be aware of this. Had I been asked to abate this trial, I most certainly would have insisted that an appeal be made to the supreme court of the church, or Pope John Paul II if necessary. That process would have taken months if not longer."
* Fr. Brundage indicated that after competency shifted from the Roman Rota to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (then headed by Cardinal Ratzinger) cases which formerly "could languish for years" were now "handled expeditiously, fairly, and with due regard to the rights of all the parties involved." He says he has "no doubt that this was the work of then Cardinal Ratzinger."
He also claimed that...
* Fr. Murphy was "defensive and threatening"
* "The Catholic Church is probably the safest place for children at this point in history."
* "Few actions can distort a child’s life more than s*xual abuse. It is a form of emotional and spiritual homicide and it starts a trajectory toward a skewed sense of s*xuality. When committed by a person in authority, it creates a distrust of almost anyone, anywhere." He also notes that this "disease" may turn victims to perpetrators ("I realized that this disease is virulent and was easily transmitted to others")
* "As a volunteer prison chaplain in Alaska, I have found a corollary between those who have been incarcerated for child s*xual abuse and the priests who have committed such grievous actions. They tend to be very smart and manipulative. They tend to be well liked and charming. They tend to have one aim in life - to satisfy their hunger. Most are highly narcissistic and do not see the harm that they have caused. They view the children they have abused not as people but as objects. They rarely show remorse and moreover, sometimes portray themselves as the victims. They are, in short, dangerous people and should never be trusted again. Most will recommit their crimes if given a chance."
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