The Healing Art

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Oct 11, 2003

Two boys, one described as "mentally challenged," claimed that they were groped by Norbertine Father David Lawlor in the whirlpool bath of a Philadelphia Y. Lawlor was acquitted; it turns out to have been another example of priestly "outreach," misunderstood by the wider community:

Easttown Township Police Sgt. David Obzud testified that Lawlor acknowledged being at the Y on Nov. 24 in an initial, voluntary statement, but denied being in the whirlpool. Later, Lawlor said he might have been in the pool but wasn't there with his accuser. Finally, he said that the man was in pain and that he offered to help him by massaging his knee.

"My behavior was compulsive and inappropriate," Obzud said Lawlor told him in a written statement. He testified that Lawlor also told him that he had been a member of Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous for 24 years. Lawlor testified at the trial that he meant to say he was a member of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Happens to all of us, especially while preparing for Advent. But what I want to know is, did the knee get better or not?