Quick Hits: Priest falsely accused?/Religious test for White House?/Liturgical changes we need

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Jan 21, 2016 | In Quick Hits

• The highly publicized trials of Philadelphia priests are an instance of “prosecutorial lust,” according to reporter Ralph Cipriano. Since the trials began, Cipriano has been making a strong case that the key witness for the prosecution is completely unreliable. Now those strong arguments, which have been largely ignored by the secular media, have appeared in a Newsweek article that should shake any public confidence in district attorney Seth Williams. That key witness, Daniel Gallagher, has a long record of crime, drug abuse, and changing his stories. Yet his testimony, bolstered by some astonishing prosecutorial aggression, led to the conviction of four priests. Now the DA, Williams, has vowed to appeal the court ruling that overturned the conviction of Msgr. William Lynn-- despite the facts that a) this is the second tine the conviction has been overturned, and b) the priest has already served most of his sentence. There’s something very wrong here, and it’s good that the mainstream media have finally noticed.


• Earlier this week I wrote about the prospects for a pan-Orthodox council: an unprecedented meeting of all the world’s Orthodox churches. Whether the ambitious plan for such a meeting is successful could be decided by a preparatory session next week, and it’s noteworthy that Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill himself will be attending that session. Perhaps even more noteworthy (for those who are following closely), the delegation from Moscow will include Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev, who has expressed serious misgivings about the pan-Orthodox council. The participation of the Russian Orthodox Church—by far the largest of the world’s Orthodox bodies—is critical to the success of any worldwide Orthodox council. Next week’s meeting could be a make-or-break session.


• The crazier liturgical experiments that followed Vatican II have played themselves out in most American parishes. Yet now some of those failed experiments are being proposed again, as if they were new ideas. My very favorite author argues that active Catholics should promote their own policies to restore reverence, and suggests Three Liturgical Changes We Need Now. Leila is always right, of course. But if I were making the list, her #2 would be my #1.