One Coke, two straws.

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Oct 11, 2003

"Sometimes you have to reach out for someone who is having difficulty in his life. But that's the call of each pastor," Kearns said.

That's Diocese of Fall River spokesman John Kearns explaining why Father Bernard Kelly was permitted to befriend a convicted pederast with a history of violence and hire him as a yard boy. The pederast in question, Paul Nolin, is charged with the murder of a 20-year-old man he picked up at a party.

Yes, yes, it's small-minded of me to prejudge Kelly and to read Kearns's statement as an ecclesiastical brush-back pitch. I plead guilty. But imagine a pastor who "reaches out" to a Las Vegas showgirl (with, ahem, difficulties in her life) by employing her as a maid in his rectory. Are they necessarily pharisees who believe the lass would be better off in the care of (e.g.) the Good Shepherd sisters?