Refusing to despair, clinging to covenant fidelity

A couple of hours ago, I received a very upset email from a listserv acquaintance I hope I might call a friend, without even a subject line. Under the Welborn Protocol, since it has to do with the content of this blog, I will reply here. But I am removing the identity of the sender, since I have not begged his specific consent. (and I would prefer to remain his friend.)

Re: Milwaukee's Greek tragedy

[name], peace and good.

Welcome to our real-life cast, characters worthy of the strangest of Greek tragedies. My ex-classmate Paul M, by whom my entire era of Marquette-trained theologians will be remembered, a predator posing as a victim to extort money from the Church, and wreak vengeance on a formerly-dear friend. My father-in-Christ Rembert W, now to be perpetually remembered for having been a coward once in 1998, and not for an entire adult life of self-donation to the Lord's service, no privacy remaining and bent under a restitution commitment which is, in fact, impossible. The diocesan lawyer and diocesan finance director and auxiliary bishop, who advised and approved the settlement. The district attorney, who was consulted about the settlement before it happened. The national media, who broadcast a tale of sexual assault in the third degree in the morning, but by nightfall found that, although there was enough sin and stupidity to go around, 3rd degree rape was _not_ one of the issues. Dean Eisenberg, appointed to lead the commission investigating clerical child abuse, who, not being Catholic, never realized the Church can break one's heart until it broke his, may perpetual light shine upon him! Professor Lux and Ethel Gintoft, who separately at the same time had the same merciful idea. A specter that roams the internet, unrecognizable yet wearing Dom Rembert's name. Timothy Dolan, who gets to put this Humpty Dumpty back together again. And about two million of God's people in the counties of the Milwaukee Archdiocese, nearly half of whom are Catholic, just now beginning to stop reeling.

At 07:13 PM 6/29/2002 -0400, you wrote:
How is it that you refer to Marcoux as "the extortionist" but not to Weakland as the "theiving liar," or the "hateful slanderer"?

I will not give Paul M the attention he thrives on, he is notorious enough without my advertising him also. The matching term for Rembert in this debacle is "coward," but there is no reason to avoid _his_ name, and all of the Archbishop's faults, including the imaginary ones, are well published in the secular and the Catholic press and also by [famous blog-keeper's name].

How you refuse to acknowledge his own "squealing." Remember that viciousness, and contempt of his; it reveals much.

_What_ viciousness and _what_ contempt? That the archdiocese refused to make any effort to collect judgements made by the courts in its favor (because suits were "frivolous," being outside the statutes) because to do so would be unfair to the suers, who _had_ been harmed? (One of those is the $4,000 dollars our [famous blog-keeper's name] writes about.) Or teaching that, though all abuse of the underaged is the grownup's fault, since it is the adult's place to stop it, that our teenagers need to see that playing drinking games during a "jerk-off" party is a poor way of spending a weekend night, and playing flash-the-thong with married men is not just good clean fun, and that both are dangerous to both soul and body.

Karen, Marcoux has obviously behaved as a profiteering opportunist. This is apparent.

True. One of the reasons I avoid adding to his publicity by using his name.

But your Father, "how the mighty have fallen." David mourned. And even those of us to whom weakland has *much* to answer for, we should mourn too. But let us not pretend as though nothing has happened.

We will never be able to pretend nothing has happened. We will wear the scars of our beating for a very long time. Dean Eisenberg of the Marquette University Law School is dead. Lewd jokes about the deflowering of 53-year-old virgins are the latest vogue and will be with us at least until the next international public figure falls. How many will have trouble learning to love and trust our new shepherd Timothy Dolan, knowing that he, also, is only human, and may himself fail? And that specter that roams the internet has been granted perpetual life among the undead.

Spare us, O Lord. Do not be angry with us forever. Lord have mercy, save your people. To whom else can we go?

karen marie of Milwaukee
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"O Lord and Master of my life,
take from me the spirit of sloth,
meddling, lust of power and idle talk;
But give rather the spirit of chastity,
humility, patience and love to thy servant.
Yea, O Lord and King,
grant me to see my own sins,
and not to judge my brother,
for thou art blessed unto ages of ages.
Amen." - Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian
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