so sorry... not so sorry

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Aug 31, 2006

You may recall the furor in Darien, Connecticut, back in May, when a pastor was found to have dipped into the collections-- to the tune of roughly $200,000-- for extra cash to spend for excursions with his boyfriend. Bishop William Lori removed the pastor, but not before denouncing another priest for having hired the private investigator who exposed the theft.

That other priest, Father Michael Madden, issued a statement apologizing for having hired the detective. He should have placed his trust in a chancery investigation, the statement said. Some Darien parishioners, thinking that the whistle-blower priest should be treated as a hero, felt the apology was unnecessary. In fact a few even questioned whether Father Madden had actually written "his" apology; perhaps, they said, the chancery wrote it for him?

Both McAleer and Father Madden declined to go on record if any or all of the signed apology letter was not written by Father Madden.

Now that's odd, isn't it? Wouldn't it be a simple enough matter to say: "I wrote it myself"?

Now the story has taken a sad new twist, with the announcement that Father Madden is leaving Darien-- and leaving the priesthood. And whether or not he wrote and signed the original apology himself,...

Father Madden said he is not sorry for hiring the private investigator and that he felt it was the right thing to do in light of Father Fay’s alleged continuous financial misconduct.