In the past three weeks, the Boston Globe has published not one, but two, articles about the release from prison of a soon-to-be-laicized Jesuit priest, Fr. James F. Talbot. (One article was by the frenetic Joan Vennochi.)
The bottom line: It is a stern reality that every day across the United States, inmates are released from prison after they have completed their sentences. Even most of those who have committed the stomach-turning crime of child abuse are released eventually. And nearly all completed sentences go unnoticed by the media and the public.
Indeed, Talbot committed deplorable crimes back in the 1970’s, and the harm he wrecked is inestimable. That is undeniable.
However, the fact that the Globe has desired to single out and publicize the release of this 73-year-old cleric only provides more proof that the paper continues to unfairly target the Catholic Church. Those who argue that the paper harbors a pervasive anti-Catholic bias have added even more evidence to their case.
Yes, we must continue to demand compassion and justice for victims of clergy abuse.
But what about those victims who were victimized by individuals who were not priests? In their zeal to attack the Church, the Boston Globe treats these "other" victims as if their harm is not nearly as important as that committed by Catholic clergy. And that is flat-out wrong.
