the right tool for the job

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Sep 28, 2010

A Berks County couple became suspicious of the Roman Catholic priest who was supposed to be helping their daughter, so they secretly set up a video camera in the basement of their home -- and caught him having sex with the 18-year-old.

Give the couple credit. It’s not always easy to persuade a bishop that he must take action against an abusive priest, but videotape should do to the trick. Trial lawyers will find it useful as well.

Still one might question the parents’ choice here. Video cameras can run out of battery power at the most inconvenient times. Baseball bats are far more reliable. They should always be used with restraint, of course. But if you use it properly (and avoid sliders outside the strike zone) a baseball bat nearly always does what it is designed to do. If you phone the bishop and say, "I found Father Bonilla in my basement alone with my daughter and broke both his legs. Come pick him up," he would probably not go to the police with a complaint. 

More to the point, one wonders about the priorities of parents who, fearing that their child might be harmed, rely on video evidence to confirm their (obviously justifiable) concerns. If you are suspicious about the intentions of an adult male who wants to be alone with your daughter, it’s best to confront him not with a camera nor with a bat, but with a closed and locked front door.