An anonymous caller left a long, bitter message on my voicemail complaining about an article I wrote regarding the funeral of defrocked priest C. Neil Lucas (you can read the article here). Among other things she said in her diatribe, I am slimy, stupid, and sleazy, I should resign, I'm anti-Catholic, and I should apologize to Father Robinson when he gets out of prison.
Oy vey.
Anonymous callers are like vandals who don't have the courage to stand up for what they believe, but instead just hit and run and hide.
I was reluctant to write about Lucas' funeral out of respect for the deceased. But when Christ the King canceled school, saying the church would be so crowded for the ex-priest's funeral, it meant that hundreds of families were affected. That made it newsworthy.
In addition, legitimate questions are raised about what kind of funeral honors are appropriate for a priest who was credibly accused of molesting children. Lucas was accused in 2002 by "more than one" male who said he abused them when they were children in the 1970s. The ex-priest did not deny the allegations, according to the diocese. He was one of only a handful of accused priests in the Toledo diocese who were laicized, or returned to lay status, indicating that the offenses were more serious than most. Generally, priests accused of molesting children are barred from ministry but remain priests, with a number of restrictions.
With a retired bishop conducting the funeral mass, and with the school closing, it did appear that the diocese was giving Lucas all the funereal honors accorded to a priest in good standing. Is that appropriate for a priest who was kicked out of the church for molesting boys? What do you think?
The situation and the controversy that swirled around the funeral merited an article, in the opinion of my editors. They also felt that while it needed to be reported, it was not front-page news. The article ran inside the second news section, with comments from a number of people who were involved or concerned with this issue.
It's not always easy to write these articles and I did my best to be objective and fair.
I could have, but chose not to, report the fact that the pastor of St. Clement Church at the time of Lucas' removal wrote a letter to parishioners saying that Lucas told him he never touched any boys but went "waterskiing in the buff" and played strip poker with them. That is evidence of extremely poor judgment on the part of a religious leader, but I suspect there was actually much more to the case. (I have a copy of the letter, maybe I'll post it.) The diocese would not have pursued laicization without a strong case that a cleric abused a child.
I did not attend the funeral but someone who was there said Christ the King church was packed and that there were probably 50 priests in attendance. Lucas received a hero's send-off and, of course, there was no mention of the allegations or his laicization.
The anonymous caller would, like too many people, prefer to ignore the fact that innocent children were sexually abused and their lives ruined or at least derailed by a man who was supposed to be Jesus' representative on earth.
That is the real tragedy and it should not and cannot be ignored. Yes, the ex-priest did a lot of good things, but he also clearly, as the diocese has acknowledged, performed some horrible deeds. We should all have compassion for the abuse victims.
So the anonymous caller rails at me for putting a light on things she would prefer would remain under a rock.
I know she would never listen to me, but the slime and sleaze and stupidity and anti-Catholicism are not in reporting the facts -- however painful they may be -- but in trying to ignore the realities of clerical sexual abuse, and in failing to do more than offer lip service to prevent more abuse in the future.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot her other point. if Father Robinson is released from prison and his murder conviction overturned, I would be glad to apologize to him. But don't hold your breath, ma'am.
As I've said many times before, if Robinson is guilty of the brutal murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, he needs to pay the price. But if he's not guilty, I hope he is set free and the real perpetrator caught and brought to justice.
Toledo, Ohio
Nov. 8, 2007