Everyone else is wrong about "the Situation"

Vast quantities of ink - real and virtual - have been spilled about the pedophilia crisis which is gripping the Catholic church. As a Catholic father trying my best to raise three little girls as Catholics, it is always a special moment to turn on the morning news and hear the announcement that "another" Catholic priest has been arrested. [It's like the joke from the late-eighties that the police had announced that they would not rest until every last cast member of Different Strokes was behind bars.]

Every one has an opinion on the root causes. Homosexuality, celibacy, a changing ethical environment, men from the sexually repressiver 1960s and 1970s. They are all wrong.

The problem is lack of accountability.

Every human institution grows lazy and self-indulgent without accountability. The human members of the institution start thinking that they are special and more valuable than their fellow men. Then they give themselves allowances because - after all - they are doing such special things. Then, they start making excuses for the evil they do. In my experience, from numerous business fraud cases, no one starts off corrupt; they earn their corruption step by tiny step. The Catholic doctrine - oddly enough - is that virtues and vices are a kind of habit. Another Catholic doctrine is that sin is always punished - here and now, or later - but it is always punished.

The answer then is to reaffirm that no one gets to do wrong without fear of consequences. The answer is accountability. People are encouraged to find a way to express their better natures when they appreciate that unpleasant consequences will follow bad conduct.

That's where people like me come in. I carry a law degree, and I'm not afraid to use it. If anyone messes with my vulnerable brothers and sisters and daughters, I will come after them. They may think they are special and protected, but I've dealt with tougher, smarter and better protected defendants. Until this April, I had viewed priest abuse cases as basically being part of a tradition of anti-Catholic slander. I have changed my mind. I now appreciate that it is the duty of Catholic lawyers to protect the Church from itself. The free ride ends now. Just a friendly reminder, if you step over the line in my Diocese, I will own your future.

There, that should help clarify issues.