Category: The News

At some point, the Archdiocese of Boston needs to set a limit on payments for sex-abuse claims. Since last year’s settlement of over 500 allegations, another 140 cases have appeared, with a potential tab of up to $20 million. Similar old claims could continue to arrive for years as the numbers trail off.
So far the archdiocese has been settling the cases with amounts much larger than they are legally obliged to pay. The archdiocese has not exercised its right under Massachusetts law, as a charitable institution, to cap the damage payments at $20,000, but at some point, I think they should consider invoking that limit. The aim of setting a deadline would be to motivate any remaining claimants to present their information sooner rather than later. Let’s get this done. Let’s do justice. And let’s not drag out the pain and the payments for the next decade.
The primary abuse victims have a right to consideration, but the whole diocese is also hurt by these cases, bearing burdens that the perpetrators created — burdens that in some cases were worsened and multiplied by the failure of victims and their families (and yes, the bishops too) to report the crimes when they happened. The Church is an injured party, and deserves to get the cases resolved in a reasonable time.

A gentleman bandit returns a stolen laptop.

Report: Saddam Writing Poetry in Prison
Maybe HBO will feature him in a special called “Humbled Tyrants: Poetry from the world’s Detained Despots”
We could have a Saddam poetry contest…
“George Bush took my army, my death squads and my riches. I lived in a hole with lipton tea. Woe is me. Woe. Whoa… it sucks to be locked up like this.”

So much for the Cahoot Theory of why we are fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. Or perhaps you can subscribe to the theory that Bush, Cheney and the Military/Industrial complex are all in cahoots but can’t seem to manage the work to a profit…
The report is via the WSJ. I believe you need to be a subscriber to read it.