Don't Say!

Finally, the priest who had so ingratiated himself with the Vatican, the man with the personal relationship with the church establishment, sheltering for so long under its protective aegis as one of their own, has been dealt with as should have been done long ago. Instead of those in charge averting their attention, practising that old device of seeing, hearing and speaking no evil, and accepting that they were duty-bound as a moral obligation to their flock to divest a sexual predator of his priestly station, as a vital imperative.

Shielding him instead, as one of their own, immune to criticism, defended from the charges of outraged men who as children were abused by the man. Perhaps it was the fact that the long arm of the law reached out and meted out its own form of justice, taking that decision away from a Church that preferred to procrastinate and ignore the obloquy of shame that descended on it when one of their priestly Illuminati erred so egregiously.

That Monsignor Bernard Prince of Pembroke was finally dismissed from the priesthood by a decree from Pope Benedict does finally serve to close a certain chapter in an ignominious tale of betrayal. Better, as they say, late than never. The 73-year-old man has been divested of the stature of priest in the Roman Catholic Church through a decision made by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The Church evinced little interest in safeguarding the childhood and the faith and the trust and the hope of the thirteen boys whom Bernard Prince molested over a twenty-year period, but they did act to promote and safeguard Catholic faith and doctrine. Alas, rather late in the game. Still, Mr. Prince is no longer Msgr. Prince. Mr. Prince was well aware, back in May when he was informed of his changed status.

But chose not to share that intelligence with his former colleagues in the Pembroke diocese. Mr. Prince can be penitent now and to the end of his life, but another kind of penance is still being served, in his four-year penitentiary sentence. The Church, in attempting to salvage its reputation, has finally acted as it should have, long ago. Restoring trust is another matter altogether.