The recent revelations regarding the contents of the diaries, emails, and cell phone records of Dr. Anthony Fauci have produced a curious sidebar that involves the Catholic Church, and specifically the American Catholic hierarchy.
When Fauci assumed the role of Covid Commando and promulgated the reams of regulations, orders, and guidelines, combined with the mandatory punishments regarding infringements of his diktats, America’s Catholic hierarchy quickly fell into line.
Many Catholic laity were outraged, with some formally objecting to their bishops, all to no avail. Dr. Ralph Northam, Democrat Governor of Virginia at the time, simply scoffed that people could pray anywhere, so what was the problem? Meanwhile, Northam smiled on abortion after birth, left the liquor stores open, and protected the abortuaries, arresting pro-life protesters who dared to gather outside.
After all, they were violating Fauci’s mandatory “Six Feet for Social Distancing” rule.
Yes, Fauci ruled – but, on reflection, what could Virginia’s bishops do?
Using the pretext of clerical sex-abuse-and-coverup allegations, Democrat Attorney General Mark Herring had acquired the confidential personnel files of every Catholic priest in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in both the Richmond and the Arlington dioceses. Among other confidential medical and psychological reports, those files contain every letter sent to the bishop by any member of the public lodging a complaint about any priest in his diocese.
But complaining about what? The writer could rant about anything from a disquieting sermon or a lousy organist to an allegation of a suspicious act by a priest that might violate the stringent rules contained in the USCCB’s 2002 “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” regarding the disciplining of those priests and deacons alleged to have broken them.
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