by Fr. Gordon J. MacRae on October 13, 2010 · 24 comments
. . . False accusations are rare? Tell that to Mike Gallagher and the falsely accused men I described in “The Eighth Commandment.” Tell that to the twelve falsely accused men who appeared on CNN’s “Larry King Live” with Innocence Project attorney Barry Scheck on October 6, after they each were exonerated following an average of 20 years in prison accused of sexual assaults they had nothing to do with. Their stories, and the hundreds like them, will be the subject of a landmark film, Conviction, opening this Friday. Justice has turned on its head when men who stand to gain hundreds of thousands of dollars for making a false claim are automatically called “victims” by Church leaders now, while priests accused without evidence from decades ago are just as quickly called “priests-offenders” and “slayers of souls.” . . .
by Fr. Gordon J. MacRae on August 18, 2010 · 5 comments
. . . Then I walked through three locked gates outside, passed a guarded check-point, then across the long, walled prison yard, up three flights of metal grate stairs, through three more locked doors, then another guarded check-point, then finally down the long infirmary corridor to the staff member’s office. In the dream, I felt my heart beating faster, unsure whether it was anticipation of finally seeing TSW or the long trek getting there. When I walked into the office, the computer was on. “Sit down right here,” the woman said. I sat down and watched her carefully type http://www.thesestonewalls.com. I was smiling as the screen blinked into action. Then I saw in large print across the screen: “Page Cannot Be Displayed.” I woke up just then feeling terribly disappointed. . . .
by Fr. Gordon J. MacRae on June 9, 2010 · 5 comments
. . . Are men in general like that? I sure hope not, though lots of prisoners are. Add to the mix a bit of prison paranoia and they make for a challenging population. A twenty-six year old came to my cell door last week with a worried look on his face. He had been to sick call that morning with a sore throat, nagging cough, runny nose, and headache. He seemed perplexed that he wasn’t hospitalized immediately. Instead, he said, they gave him some Tylenol and cough syrup and told him to wash his hands a lot. . . I told him it sounds like he has a common cold, and washing his hands helps keep it from spreading to everyone else. He looked at me as though I was delusional, and walked away alarmed that I would share the medical staff’s utter ignorance of the severity of his condition. He’s still alive, but I’ve never seen him wash his hands. I washed mine twice while typing this post! . . .
by Fr. Gordon J. MacRae on January 13, 2010 · 15 comments
. . . Last month, a Massachusetts high school teacher was exonerated after facing a nearly identical plight. A 14-year-old student accused him of sexual assault. Months later, his life in near ruins, the teacher was exonerated at trial when it was learned that the girl made up the story because the teacher had reprimanded her in class. Here in prison, men often joke about how easy it is to set someone up in this way. Some have openly asked me for the names of priests who might have been present in their childhood communities so they can bring an accusation for money. (See “Sex Abuse and Signs of Fraud.”).
A few months ago, a self-described member of Voice of the Faithful wrote a scathing message to me. The writer, a retired teacher, declared that any effort to revisit the case against me is “nothing but a misguided right-wing conspiracy.”
The man’s criticism was responded to by a friend who asked him what makes him feel so immune in an arena in which anyone can be accused by anyone, from decades ago, and with no evidence whatsoever. His blustering response was, “I have absolutely no fear of EVER being accused of such a thing.” Well, neither did Michael Gallagher. Neither did I until it happened. . . .
by Fr. Gordon J. MacRae on January 6, 2010 · 9 comments
. . . In “Scandal Time,” Fr. Neuhaus stared straight into the hearts of panicked American bishops who responded to the crisis with neither fidelity to the law of the Church nor with mercy. To the very end of his life, Father Neuhaus, like Cardinal Dulles before him, pleaded for the due process rights of priests accused, and for fidelity to the Magisterium and laws of the Church. In one of his last letters to me, Father Neuhaus wrote of his concern that priests have a fair and just hearing, and that bishops not be allowed to implement mob justice that resulted in the forced laicization of many in cases that were decades old and defied fair investigation. In a letter dated October 27, 2008, Father Neuhaus wrote: “It is indeed disturbing that [a bishop] may move on this without giving you a chance to offer a defense, and without your even knowing the case being presented against you … ln the modern history of the Church, it is more often than not the case that Rome is inclined toward checking possible abuses of power by bishops. So let’s pray that happens in this case. . . . .
by Fr. Gordon J. MacRae on December 29, 2009 · 17 comments
. . . My final post of 2009 is a day earlier than my usual Wednesday posting day. I think you will see why as you read it. It was written for Priests in Crisis. I think it is the most important post of the year. . . . As we prepare to begin a new year, I will offer Mass on the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God for the readers of These Stone Walls. Thank you for your presence here, your support and encouragement, and most especially for the gift of your prayers and prayerful witness. . . .
by Fr. Gordon J. MacRae on December 16, 2009 · 12 comments
. . . When These Stone Walls was first considered, I was a bit nervous about an expected onslaught of negative, hateful comments. It’s astonishing that in the five months of this blog’s existence, only three such comments were aimed in our direction. One was from a self-described member of Voice of the Faithful that was little more than a name-calling rant. One was from a contingency lawyer who made enormous profit from keeping the accusations against priests going. The third was from a from a man who was charged with trying to blackmail a Boston priest in 2003. Voices like these have been given the loudest and last word in virtually every media article about accused priests since 2002. On These Stone Walls, you have overwhelmed and supplanted such comments with voices of reason, mercy, and truth – voices of faithful witness to the Gospel. This Christmas, the angels we have heard on high are you, the readers of These Stone Walls. . . .
by Fr. Gordon J. MacRae on October 7, 2009 · 18 comments
. . . Recently, I obtained the great honor of celebrating weekly Mass in my prison cell. Sometime soon, I will write about, the struggle to bring this about. At Mass, I like to use the First Eucharistic Prayer – the Roman Canon – the most beautiful and ancient of the Canons of the Mess. It affords an opportunity to pray for people by name. I pray there for the readers of These Stone Walls, and I keep a list of those who left comments so I can pray for each of you by name. . . . I want to call your attention this week to , “Pornchai’s Path to the Narrow Gate,” a new article by author Ryan Anthony MacDonald. It can be found under “Commentary” here at These Stone Walls. If you have been reading These Stone Walls, then you know of Pornchai – my friend and a fellow prisoner – who will soon be received into our Faith. . . .
by Fr. Gordon J. MacRae on August 15, 2009 · 3 comments
. . . I thought you might want to know that Priests in Crisis just published my article, “From Crisis to Hope” on the occasion of their first anniversary. You can read it here . . .
