Edit the Instrumentum
I wrote the other day about the death of Matty Molnar, a seminarian for the archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and a blogger, in a car wreck on the grounds of Mundelein Seminary near Chicago. More feed here. A second seminarian was also killed, the other two charged -- one with reckless homicide and DUI, the other with impersonating an officer and weapons charges.
Having spoken with a veteran of the place, it seems that a time-honored tradition in the "Enchanted Forest," as the campus' 900 wooded acres are known, is for seminarians to run "time trials" of the property in the hopes of clocking a record on the circuit of dark, narrow roads which wend around the place.
This is the kind of formation the Visitation needs to look into. In all seriousness, it'd be outrageous to claim that sexual orientation has ever wrapped a carload of seminarians around a tree, killing two.
The archdiocese of Chicago has retained Windy City uber-lawyer Thomas Breen to serve as defense counsel, which indicates a strenuous defense to come.... Stay tuned.
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Having spoken with a veteran of the place, it seems that a time-honored tradition in the "Enchanted Forest," as the campus' 900 wooded acres are known, is for seminarians to run "time trials" of the property in the hopes of clocking a record on the circuit of dark, narrow roads which wend around the place.
This is the kind of formation the Visitation needs to look into. In all seriousness, it'd be outrageous to claim that sexual orientation has ever wrapped a carload of seminarians around a tree, killing two.
The archdiocese of Chicago has retained Windy City uber-lawyer Thomas Breen to serve as defense counsel, which indicates a strenuous defense to come.... Stay tuned.
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posted by Rocco Palmo at 17:59
16 Comments:
I fail to see why the Archdiocese should be held legally liable for the reckless stupidity of the seminarians.
Not so because the theory behind the predator priest lawsuits - among others - is negligent entrustment. It's not clear to me how the Archdiocese did anything that was legally "negligent" other than allowing seminarians to take a ride in a car late at night. And, if that is "negligent" then every college and university in the United States is in deep doo-doo.
Sexual disorders have killed plenty.
Visit an AIDS ward sometime.
Or, if you prefer. wait until the day of judgement.
Patrick, if it is indeed "a time-honored tradition" to run "time-trials" on the seminary grounds, then it follows that the seminary authorities would know of the practice, and knowing that a dangerous practice is taking place on grounds for which they are responsible the authorities would have an obligation to make a good-faith effort to suppress such dangerous practices. I think this is not entirely unlike the situation with known abusive priests. The difference is that in the case of abusive priests one is dealing with religious authorities having to answer to the state and justify their religious personnel decisions, which I think is unacceptable from both a Catholic and a constitutional point of view.
Fungulo,
Ok. And sharp roads and cars don't kill people, people kill people.
A distinction without much relevance.
But, anyway, my point was that the comparison between daredevil college students and the deep seated homosexual sub-culture in seminaries is ludicrous.
And yes, that does unfortunately mean that I think the bishops should go scot-free in the secular courts for the act of transferring molesting priests about, unless they made such transfers with the intention of facilitating the molestation, which would make them accessories, I believe. But it does not mean that they should be exempt from the obligation to report molesters, unless they come to know of it under color of the Sacrament of Penance. Which is why, among other reasons, superiors should not as a rule hear their subjects confessions—it really puts them between Scylla and Charybdis.
Sounds like a variant of the "attractive nusiance" doctrine, except that applies to children, not -err - seminarians.
Assuming that the roads aren't reasonably unsafe, it seems to me that it would be difficult to stop seminarians from doing these things if they intended to do so. If the practice was known and forbidden, yet the seminarians horsed around anyway, it is, in my view, the fault of the seminarians not the seminary. Unless, of course, there is something else going on that we do not know.
It's smart for the Archdiocese to get their legal ducks in order no matter what happens. And, I also object to the sex abuse lawsuits on Constitutional grounds which do not seem to apply to this case.
"And yes, that does unfortunately mean that I think the bishops should go scot-free in the secular courts for the act of transferring molesting priests about, unless they made such transfers with the intention of facilitating the molestation, which would make them accessories, I believe."
Agreed. Or, if the bishop in approving the transfer committed some sort of legal fraud. The 1st Amendment does not (or should not) protect fraud. Fraud would be very difficult to prove, though the Kos case in Dallas comes the closest.
Hmm, I visited Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas, or rather Irving, in 1977-78 when I was thinking of a priestly vocation. In spite of the outward signs of orthodoxy and even traditionalism, something put me off, something of a "Daughters of Trent" feeling, which, while it didn't characterize the entire seminary, certainly was more noticeable than I was comfortable with.
Well, I have to confess I lifted the expression from some web site I cannot remember. Apparently, though, it's become very popular.
Ah, I saw it here:
http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/RINVol5No3/scandal%20without%20end.htm
Good article, too.
No, not skydiving. The first funeral Mass at which I ever served was of a young man whose parachute had not opened. His family was very distraught. No, not skydiving.
Father Trigilio uses the term DOT when he is quoted in "Goodbye, Goodmen". Hilarious quote.
"If you wore a cassock, you were a reactionary 'daughter of Trent.' If you wore women's underwear they'd make you seminarian of the year."
Interesting quote from Fr. Triglio, but he is somewhat of an intriguer and, IIRC, was forbidden by the Bishop of Erie (not my favorite) to function in his diocese as a result of certain statements that the Bishop maintained were libelous.
And I don't see what the big deal about having Mary as a legitimate religious name for men, however much people may snort in derision at it in the American context. The beards, can be a little silly looking.
A a bearded Mary without the Mary part, I take offense to the rant against beards.
Look at all the icons of the Fathers and ancient monks; indeed, of Christ himself. Almost always bearded.
Take your shaven-fem-hangups elsewhere.
;) :P
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