As James’ faithful self-appointed amanuensis, I dutifully listened to this entire interview. I found it quite difficult.
James has inspiring things to say. About his relationship with Christ. About his triumph over drugs and alcohol, by God’s grace. About friendship, communication, and doing God’s will.
And he has insightful, illuminating things to say about Theodore McCarrick. He knows a great deal about McCarrick’s life. He says things about McCarrick that resonate with me. (For instance: the man is cheap. Has tons of money, but hates spending it.)
James continues to insist that he cannot discuss ‘on-going investigations’. Dr. Marshall asked James: What did Pope Benedict know about McCarrick? “I can’t go there,” James replied.
My question: Why, exactly, can’t you go there, sir? Or: Could you explain to us what these investigations are, that preclude you from giving any information about McCarrick’s abuse?
I would ask dear James that because: We don’t know. We the People. Out here, just wanting to know the facts, just wanting to see justice done. So this ordeal can end.
Apparently, according to James, in 1948, Thedore McCarrick studied languages in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Nearly fifty years later, a group of Cardinals and bishops began meeting annually in St. Gallen, to discuss how much they disliked Josef Card. Ratzinger, then Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Both of these are perfectly honest and reasonable things to do. Learn languages. Talk church politics. Both fine.
And St. Gallen, Switzerland, seems like a perfectly lovely place to do them.
But it would appear that neither of them has anything to do with the other. The young Cardinal McCarrick studying there for some months in 1948; liberal European bishops and Cardinals meeting there in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Nothing to do with each other. Except that they happened in the same place.
I was born in Washington, D.C., in 1970. President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in Washington, D.C., in 1865. Connection?
According to Dr. Marshall and Mr. Grein, evil spirits must rule the lovely canton of St. Gallen. And they are to blame for both: Theodore McCarrick’s abusive homosexuality. And the election of Pope Francis.
I don’t see the connection myself. According to Dr. Marshall and Mr. Grein, the connection is: Bella Dodd. (Famous ex-communist in the 1950’s.)
????
…My point is: The Marshall-Grein interview above is kooky. Kooky kooky.
Now, people are allowed to be kooky. James Grein is allowed to be kooky. His being kooky does not mean that he’s not telling the truth about Theodore McCarrick abusing him in a criminal manner.
Please, though: Can’t we stick to facts? At least for now?
Evil spirits may very well rule the Swiss canton of St. Gallen. If so, may God help those afflicted by it. But we cannot determine the truth of that claim based on the evidence before us. And it’s not the real question, anyway.
The real question is: Is Theodore McCarrick guilty of crimes? And which crimes, exactly? And what punishment should be meted out upon him, to restore justice?
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Speaking of lovely European places:
In 1995, a sex-abuse victim denounced the sitting Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna, Austria.
A meltdown ensued. The Cardinal denied the charge. The Vatican would not intervene. Other victims came forward. The other Austrian bishops began to wonder. The Vatican then intervened in a backhanded manner, promoting one of the auxiliary Vienna bishops (Christoph Schonborn) to the status of co-adjutor.
(The Holy See even had an investigation done, eventually, but never released anything.)
The poor little, ancient church of Austria lurched through almost three years of not knowing what to believe. The pope even came to visit, and beatified three saints, and it seemed more painful than joyful.
”The Pope is visiting a burning house,” a victims’ advocate complained. ”But instead of speaking about the fire, he talks about the lovely flowers in front of it.”
At the beginning of 1998, a journalist published a book comprehensively documenting Cardinal Groër’s systematic sexual abuse of students and seminarians over the course of decades.
And then an amazing thing happened. It happened two years too late, and it apparently drew the Vatican’s ire. But it happened.
The bishops of Austria issued a statement. They publicly affirmed, in writing, that they had achieved moral certainty that Cardinal Groër was guilty.
Now: if we didn’t have mafiosi for bishops (and a pope), they would do that for us. A clear declaration. Guilty. Or, maybe, innocent. Whatever the evidence indicates. And it would not take three years.
Father Mark White Blog 