note to self

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Feb 23, 2004

Remember Bishop Joseph "Put in that I laughed" Imesch? Roman Catholic Faithful posts a memo circulated by his Chancery administrator.

Diocese of Joliet
Chancery
425 Summit St.
Joliet, IL 60435

December 11, 2003

To: All Diocesan Employees
Re: Internet Use

The computers provided by the Diocese of Joliet are to be used primarily for diocesan business purposes. This is just a reminder that storing pornographic material on your computers is prohibited. This is grounds for termination.

One imagines diocesan bookkeepers Wanda and Lois, with photos of their grandchildren on their desks, slapping their brows and thinking, "Thank heavens for the reminder! It totally slipped my mind!"

And speaking of recovered memories, Jason Berry recounts a deposition of Imesch taken by Michigan attorney Mark Bello in 1985. Bello was representing a child abused by a Detroit priest:

Bishop Joseph Imesch of Joliet, Illinois, had been a Detroit auxiliary when the crimes occurred. Bello asked if homosexuality violated the promise of celibacy, and he said, "Sure."

Bello: What do you feel, or do you know, is the penalty for violation of these premises?

Imesch: Eternal hellfire. I -- you know, what's the penalty? Put in that I laughed.

Bello: At the question or the answer?

I don't have a clear recollection.