Your American bishops today

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Feb 18, 2004

Today's headlines in the secular press inform us that:

• 1 American bishop has been convicted of a felony
• 1 American bishop has been implicated in a suicide (for the second time in recent weeks), amid charges that he forced a priest to lie
• 1 American bishop has gone into seclusionafter being charged with sexual abuse
• 1 American bishop is being charged with a flagrant and continued cover-up of sexual abuse.
• 1 American bishop, who resigned years ago after misconduct charges, is being forced to reconsider his part-time ministry in another diocese because his name has appeared in complaints again.

And those are just today's stories-- just one day's worth of bad news about the American hierarchy.

Next week we'll hear about what the US bishops' conference has done to address the scandal of misconduct among diocesan priests. We won't hear about what they've done to address misconduct within their own ranks. Because they haven't done a thing!