Dear Diary ...

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Jun 04, 2003

The ordination season is upon us, and I've got a gift suggestion for that new priest on your list: a daily planner and desk diary. It may come in handy.

Father Tony Buchette from Franklin, MA, is accused of [squeamish readers may wish to avert their eyes here] boundary violations. He's very upset with William Kennedy, attorney for the alleged victims:

"I'm over 70 and I'm trying to live a peaceful life and they're trying to get everything I've got," Buchette said shortly after 5 p.m. when the Daily News reached him at home in Lynn. ... Kennedy said his clients' complaints "go from fondling to rape."

"Buchette would take it upon himself to befriend these young boys in the sixth to eighth grades," Kennedy said. "Not any older, not any girls. He would take them out for sodas and treats and would basically lure them -- at least these two clients -- up to the rectory."

Buchette, now retired, said he "can't remember" if he harmed the two alleged victims. "You're not going to get something out of me that I don't remember," he said. "These things happened 30 years ago. My religion calls for, no matter what happens, forgiveness."

(Note to Tony: Try to save the "unconditional forgiveness" plea for after the conviction. It looks better that way.)

We've seen this before: the frail old priest, a mere 13 years younger than the pope and therefore nearly dead, who is beset by a pack of hounds demanding answers to questions about things that happened three decades earlier.

Can you remember what you did for amusement in your every hour of free time in the summer of 1973? Perhaps not. But most of us can be reasonally certain of certain things we didn't do -- even after the lapse of 30 years -- like winning the Cy Young award or sexually molesting adolescent boys in Franklin, MA.

Incidentally, Father Tony was earlier accused of harming a 16-year-old in the same town. That complaint was settled out of court.