Appearing on an episode of Dan Rather Reports on television network HDNet (episode number: 522; title: "Spiritually Bankrupt"; debut: June 29, 2010), attorney John Manly once again exposed his utter disregard for facts. This time, Manly blatantly misinformed interviewer Dan Rather and the television audience about the operation of the Catholic Church. Said Manly:
"The Pope has direct responsibility for this (the abuse scandals). He was in charge, for the last 25 years. He's the one who's supposed to monitor priests and pull 'em out of ministry. And he did not do a damn thing to protect kids. And that's a shame."
The truth:
1. It is the duty of the local bishop – not the Pope, who is thousands of miles away across the Atlantic Ocean – to "monitor priests." ("The Priest and the Bishop" (vatican.va).)
2. A local bishop can "pull 'em out of ministry," also.
3. The charge that neither Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict VI have done "a damn thing to protect kids" is an awful smear. Even Manly's friends at the notorious SNAP acknowledge that these men have removed abusers. In addition, the numerous measures taken by the Catholic Church over the past several years to protect children could fill a book! The Catholic Church may, in fact, be the safest environment for children today – due in part because of the initiatives of the Church's two most recent popes.
The verdict: John Manly: Not to be trusted.
