by Fr. Gordon J. MacRae on February 24, 2010 · 9 comments
. . . It’s clear how very much that world view is shaped by the media. Hollywood’s treatment of Catholics and the priesthood has sure changed since Bing Crosby donned a Roman collar. One of my friends watched The Bells of St. Mary’s, then stopped by my cell to comment. He loved it, but added that today Hollywood would have Father O’Malley on administrative leave for his interest in turning a street gang into a choir. . . . Some of my friends tend to see me as a sort of poster-priest for injustice, ill-treatment, and poor morale in the priesthood. When one friend read Bernadette’s comment, she asked point blank what I would do if I knew at ordination what I know today: Would I still become a priest if I knew what was in store for me? Would I still become a priest if I had any sense of the suffering to follow? Would I still become a priest if I had any sense at all? Bear with me. My answers are coming. . . .
by Fr. Gordon J. MacRae on October 14, 2009 · 9 comments
. . . Whoopi Goldberg now ridicules the case against Roman Polanski, inferring that it is unjust to impose a penalty in a case from so long go. Moreover, and most shockingly, she minimized the child’s victimization with the astonishing statement, “It wasn’t really rape, rape!” The inference here is that the victim “consented,” despite being drugged, and despite being thirteen years old. If Roman Polanski was a Catholic priest, Whoopi Goldberg would want his head presented to Herod on a platter. . . . As the national priesthood scandal unfolded seven years ago – at which point I had already been wrongly imprisoned for eight years – my bishop wrote the following to a Vatican official: “Whatever the truth is about [Father MacRae’s] guilt or innocence, the Diocese of Manchester was in a difficult situation during his public trial. I do not feel that the Diocese can publicly advocate on his behalf without risking grave public misunderstanding.” . . .
by Fr. Gordon J. MacRae on September 16, 2009 · 6 comments
. . . At the time I was accused and faced trial in 1994, my attorney
sought the help of my Diocese to defend the case. I was
sitting in the attorney’s office on the day he called the
Chancellor of my diocese asking for details of the protocol
for reporting accusations of abuse to state officials.
The Chancellor, a monsignor, said that the diocese had never had
to make such a report until accusations emerged against me. I
was the only one, he said. Months later as I prepared for
trial, the Chancellor and a diocesan lawyer issued a press
release about me. Knowing that I refused “plea deals,”
maintained my innocence, and struggled to mount a defense, the
press release declared: “The Church has been a victim of the
actions of Gordon MacRae just as these individuals.” My trial,
from that point on, was but a farce. . . .
by Fr. Gordon J. MacRae on September 9, 2009 · 9 comments
. . . Many bishops and brother priests have been in denial about how easy it is to be accused. As one astute prisoner said to me at the height of The Scandal in 2002: “Let me get this straight. If I say some priest touched me funny twenty years ago, I’ll be a victim, I’ll be paid for it, and my life will be HIS fault instead of mine. Do you have any idea of how tempting this is?” (“Sex Abuse and Signs of Fraud,” Catalyst, November 2005). I cannot pretend that I am not angry about the distance and risk aversion practiced by many of my brother priests in my regard. Over time, however, that anger has dissolved into sadness, not only about them, but about the climate of fear and dismay created by The Scandal and kept in motion by people with axes to grind. As more than one reader commented here on These Stone Walls, “Satan has targeted the priesthood.” . . .
by Fr. Gordon J. MacRae on September 2, 2009 · 12 comments
. . . As I was led into the lobby with all my prison hardware clinking and the two armed guards at my sides, I felt the cold stares of dozens of wary eyes upon me. There had been a lot of idle chatter in the bustling hospital lobby, but everyone suddenly fell silent as I was led through their midst feeling … well … like a prisoner. I tried to stare straight ahead, a tactic that was not as easy as the silence quickly evolved into a torrent of whispers. I thought I even heard a gasp or two. . . . In the patient waiting area, an elderly woman smiled at me from across the room. I tried to smile back. I was trying hard not to look like Hannibal Lecter. . . .
by Fr. Gordon J. MacRae on July 25, 2009 · 5 comments
. . . She had lots of comments in her friendly letter, but in the end she wanted to know only one thing:
“Are you mistreated there? I would hate to think you are mistreated.”
As I read her letter, my cell mate, Pornchai, was studying for a Catholic Distance University exam. I looked up and said, “This nice lady in the UK wants to know if I’m ever mistreated.” He didn’t even look up from his book when he said, spontaneously, “Does she mean by us or by priests?”
I was stunned by the irony of his question. When I didn’t answer, he looked at me. I expected sarcasm in his eyes, but there was none. He thought it was a good question. . . .
