“And Pilate asked him, ‘Art thou the King of the Jews?’ And he answering said unto him, ‘I can’t remember.’ ” Mark 15:2 (St. Louis version 2014)
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/editorial-archbishop-carlson-has-some-troubling-memory-lapses/article_2788ba94-5721-5973-855c-7a131b74228e.html
Editorial: Archbishop Carlson has some troubling memory lapses
“And Pilate asked him, ‘Art thou the King of the Jews?’ And he answering said unto him, ‘I can’t remember.’ ”
Of course that’s not what the second verse of the 15th chapter of Mark’s gospel actually says. Jesus, on trial for his life before Pontius Pilate, replies, “Thou sayest it.”
He didn’t deny it, he didn’t admit it, he certainly didn’t go all Watergate on him and say, “At this point in time, I have no present recollection of what may or may not have happened.”
Now contrast that with how St. Louis Archbishop Robert J. Carlson responded in a deposition on May 23.
He was answering — more precisely, not answering — questions posed by attorney Jeff Anderson of St. Paul, Minn., who represents a victim in a priest-abuse case that took place in 1984.
Archbishop Carlson then was an auxiliary bishop in the St. Paul archdiocese. He held the title of chancellor to then-Archbishop John R. Roach. Mr. Anderson asked the archbishop if at the time, he knew it was a crime for an adult to engage in sex with a child.
“I’m not sure whether I knew it was a crime or not,” Archbishop Carlson replied. “I understand today it is a crime.”.....
Slippery language like this normally is employed by lawyered-up mobsters, politicians or Wall Street fraudsters. It is not the sort of thing that you associate with a shepherd of the flock of Christ. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/archbishop-robert-j-carlson-claims-he-was-unaware-sexual-abuse/article_4215ecea-3409-53b3-813b-545c81a1b793.html
Archbishop Robert J. Carlson claims to be uncertain if he knew sexual abuse was a crime
1 hour ago • By Lilly Fowler [email protected] 314-340-8221 159 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2009- Rev. Robert J.
Carlson watches the procession leading into the Cathedral Basilica-St Louis Stephanie S. Cordle � [email protected] Enlarge Photo Related Documents
1984 Archbishop Robert J. Carlson memo St. Louis priest abuse case headed for trial Ambitious legal strategy will try to show that the archdiocese ignored a pattern of abuse.
It will point to the fact that even before the St. … Read more Archbishop Robert J. Carlson claimed to be uncertain that he knew sexual abuse of a child by a priest constituted a crime when he was auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, according to a deposition released Monday. During the deposition taken last month, attorney Jeff Anderson asked Carlson whether he knew it was a crime for an adult to engage in sex with a child.
“I'm not sure whether I knew it was a crime or not,” Carlson replied. “I understand today it's a crime.”
Anderson went on to ask Carlson whether he knew in 1984, when he was an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, that it was crime for a priest to engage in sex with a child. “I'm not sure if I did or didn't,” Carlson said. Yet according to documents released Monday by the law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates in St. Paul, Carlson showed clear knowledge that it was a crime when discussing sexual abuse incidents with church officials during his time in Minnesota.
In a 1984 document, for example, Carlson wrote to the archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis at the time — John R. Roach — about one victim of sexual abuse and mentioned that the statute of limitations for filing a claim would not expire for more than two years. He also wrote that the parents of the victim were considering reporting the incident to the police.
Over and over again during the deposition, Carlson claimed to not remember answers to questions posed by attorney Anderson — for a total of 193 times.
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