Good Counsel

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Mar 07, 2004

"We wouldn't necessarily restrict somebody from getting a degree because of that kind of background," Andriacco said, referring to Kelley's Athenaeum degree. "We wouldn't want them to be working with children. (But) many counselors are themselves what they call wounded healers. One is not necessarily barred from being a counselor because one is in counseling oneself."

You guessed it. Those are the words of Archdiocese of Cincinnati spokesman Dan Andriacco. Father David Kelley had a history of inappropriate contact with boys (sound familiar?); was sent to New Mexico in 1987 for therapy; enrolled in a program to become a pastoral counselor in 1999; and -- until 38 men filed lawsuits against him for having abused them as children -- was employed as a counselor at Northland Intervention Center in suburban Cincinnati. As the story was published today we have a pretty good indication of how deep the lessons of the National Review Board's findings have sunk in. "Many counselors are themselves what they call wounded healers." Right.

Andriacco has said that archdiocese officials had concerns about Kelley's activities with boys in 1983 and 1987, but no one accused Kelley of having sexual contact with a minor until the 1994 allegation, which stemmed from an incident in the late 1970s. Kelley didn't deny that accusation. Andriacco said Kelley's past doesn't mean he can't be a good counselor.

Hey, Kelley's past is ... history.