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I have now read more about the Keating resignation, and my initial impressions were unwarranted. According to the CONCENSUS of articles I was able to find, he had intended to resign at about this time anyway, had done so, and in doing so made some INFORMAL remarks, after the fact, to which some people objected. Fair enough. I understand his criticism of what he considered less than full co-operation from the bishops. I THINK I also understand that, from the bishops' side, they wish to minimize the accusation of innocent priests. Once again, when we look at the statistics, 'perhaps 2000' accused over a 50 year period according to TIME magazine, nearly 1/2 of these accusations determined to be unfounded according to recent statistics of a little over 1200 now accused, and of these 1200 about 1/2, or 600, accused by ONE PERSON ONLY. (This was the case, you will remember, with the late Cardinal Bernardine of Chicago, whose accuser admitted lying due to mental problems). One is reminded of the 'mass hysteria' of 15 or so years back, especially on the West Coast, concerning alleged Satanic abuse at day-care centers, etc. The last statistic I heard of actual convictions was quite low, something on the order of 35 or fewer. No doubt other convictions will follow - compared to the number accused, the percentage will be small - probably less than 1/4 of 1% of priests active during the period in question. While ANY number is too many, I welcome the comparison of that number with ANY other religious body, Christian or otherwise.
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