Friday, September 27, 2002
How does one comment on what has come to be known as...
"The List"? The list I am referring to is the one issued by Cardinal Keeler and reprinted in The Sun and The Catholic Review that inaccurately labels one of St. Blog's parishoners as a sexual abuser. Nevermind that they spelled his name wrong, and got his assignments wrong, the fact of the matter is, the courts of Maryland don't even have a record on him!
Over on that last blog entry, Gerard Serafin asked: Would this be "sexual abuse of a minor?"
Given the "hypothetical situation", I would say that it would not be. I could give my reasons why I don't think it is, but suffice it to say that the state of Maryland, as one reader pointed out, does not consider it sexual abuse of a minor. Which, by the way, is the issue most people who have condemned Gerard for have raised. People want the legal system to have more of a say in punishing offenders, and I agree that they should. So the question I ask then is why, when the state doesn't see fit to punish someone, do the people then go all "vigilante" and turn to verbal abuse?
The state of Maryland found Gerard Serafin innocent of any charges against his person, for me, that is good enough.
Fact of the matter is, it should be good enough for everyone else as well... the courts have made a ruling, which is what everyone wanted to happen in the first place, now let it be.
"The List"? The list I am referring to is the one issued by Cardinal Keeler and reprinted in The Sun and The Catholic Review that inaccurately labels one of St. Blog's parishoners as a sexual abuser. Nevermind that they spelled his name wrong, and got his assignments wrong, the fact of the matter is, the courts of Maryland don't even have a record on him!
Over on that last blog entry, Gerard Serafin asked: Would this be "sexual abuse of a minor?"
Given the "hypothetical situation", I would say that it would not be. I could give my reasons why I don't think it is, but suffice it to say that the state of Maryland, as one reader pointed out, does not consider it sexual abuse of a minor. Which, by the way, is the issue most people who have condemned Gerard for have raised. People want the legal system to have more of a say in punishing offenders, and I agree that they should. So the question I ask then is why, when the state doesn't see fit to punish someone, do the people then go all "vigilante" and turn to verbal abuse?
The state of Maryland found Gerard Serafin innocent of any charges against his person, for me, that is good enough.
Fact of the matter is, it should be good enough for everyone else as well... the courts have made a ruling, which is what everyone wanted to happen in the first place, now let it be.
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