The Divine Sociopath

Why isn't Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien in jail? There are far too many who have left the church because of his bad behavior.

Comments (0) By Michael Lacey Thursday, Apr 15 2004

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As far as I could tell, the tune to this song had three notes. Maybe four.

But never mind. It was good to be in church. I was glad I'd resisted the temptation to storm out over Bishop O'Brien.

Mark Poutenis

*Author's note: I may be sick, but I am not ill. None of us here at New Times could imagine anything worse than a bedside visit from the prelate without a personality, Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien; so we decided to imagine it in words.

Christine Keith

In the courtroom: Bishop O'Brien flanked by defense attorneys Patrick McGroder and Melissa Berren.

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People are different on Easter than on other Sundays. There are more of them, for one thing. Little girls are nicely dressed and comfort stuffed bunnies throughout the service. One tiny boy sported a lime green golf shirt, shorts, and cowboy boots up to his knees. Stylin'.

But no matter what Sunday you attend, almost the entire congregation takes communion, a dramatic change from when I served Mass.

In the church bulletin, Father O'Grady wrote, "You may have drifted away, walked away or even run away from the church . . . for your own particular reasons."

He invited the disaffected to a meeting. Bishop O'Brien was not mentioned.

Two weeks before Easter, the bishop had underscored his level of remorse for killing Jim Reed the night of the hit-and-run. He had returned to the court and asked that his drive time to and from the deathbeds be included as community service. Understand, he is chauffeured to each of these visits.

As I contemplated Father O'Grady's gracious invitation to the disaffected, I thought about O'Brien and his chauffeur and the terrible toll this man has taken upon the devout.

There are too many who have left the church in deep pain over the pedophilia scandal. What they have lost is their faith. The mystery that turns the bread and wine into the body of Jesus Christ is answered by faith. This particular mystery gives Catholics the answer to life and death and offers hope in the face of judgment and eternity. Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien snatched that faith away from too many innocents.

"Take away our faith," said Father O'Grady on Easter Sunday, "and it's just bread."

E-mail michael.lacey@newtimes.com, or call 602-229-8404.