A Compelling New Book : Catholic Priests Falsely Accused

“In 2002, the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire, faced accusations of abuse from 62 individuals. Rather than spending the time and resources looking into the merits of the accusations, Diocesan officials did not even ask for specifics such as the dates and allegations for the claims. ‘I’ve never seen anything like it,’ a pleased and much richer plaintiff attorney admitted.” (Catholic Priests Falsely Accused, p.80).

Thus is told the chilling tale of how decades-old claims of abuse by Catholic priests become “credible” to torte lawyers who score windfall profits from every claim, and Church officials cowered by a scandal-hungry media and the tactics of vigilante “victim” groups. Catholics disheartened by the sordid scandal of sex abuse in their Church would do well to read this well-researched account of how the Church’s tragedy was hijacked by contingency lawyers and others with nefarious agendas of their own. David F. Pierre tells the sordid story the mainstream media won’t touch.  It rings of both truth and justice.

Being very familiar with the trial of one falsely accused priest whose case is explored in David Pierre’s book, I marvel at the depth of his research and skill in telling this disturbing story. In succinct and lucid style, the personal accounts in Catholic Priests Falsely Accused leave the reader with some nagging questions:  How did the mainstream media fail to notice and report the extent of obvious fraud that took place in more recent years in the Catholic scandal?  Why did entire groups of self-described victim advocates, like SNAP, turn a blind eye to this fraud and blatantly deny its existence?

David Pierre goes on to answer these questions, and the answers are part of the horror of this story.  Mr. Pierre here exposes the sordid agendas of news media personnel looking to disparage the Catholic Church and “advocates” who have been transformed from the advocacy of victims to that of contingency lawyers, their ultimate masters.  As I have pointed out in other venues, “Greed ranks right up there with lust among the Seven Deadly Sins.” I highly recommend Catholic Priests Falsely Accused:  The Facts, The Fraud, The Stories.

Related link: A Book Every Priest Should Read:  Catholic Priests Falsely Accused. 

(Ryan A. MacDonald is a Spero News columnist, and an occasional contributor to These Stone Walls)