Shoptalk: Sins of the Father

By: Thomas Mullen This sorry, sordid story is finally over now, nearly two years after it began. My former pastor is now essentially an ex-priest who will be on probation for his crimes for the rest of his life. And, in the minds of some members of his former parish, it's all the media's fault. If you ask them, they will tell you that the evil media unleashed demonic powers on this one, poor, innocent man of God.

For someone like me, who has been a Catholic clergyman and a journalist for more than 20 years, that's been hard to take, especially since a fair amount of their anger has come my way.

In my case, it's a family affair since my wife also is a journalist. The impact on our four children is another story. They've watched their former pastor pilloried in a press that employs their mother and father, and heard the venom hurled our way simply because of how we make a living.

Take it just a bit further, as some have, and it somehow gets twisted into being my fault our former pastor faced felony counts of abuse, abduction and sodomy, because I am the media ? or at least the face of the media sitting in the pew on Sunday or proclaiming the Gospel at Mass.

I just don't get it.

The case against my former pastor, the Rev. John E. Leonard, has been part of the local news mix in Virginia since 2002. Leonard's failings are matters of public record and have been well-documented by broadcast and print media in Richmond, the Virginia Beach area, and all over the country. His case has gained national attention for the nature of the accusations against him and his flippant, arrogant response to them.

I immediately declared my conflict of interest in the Leonard story when it first broke and took no part in news decisions at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, where I then worked as assistant metro editor.

It was an odd experience, to say the least, to watch media attention ? the negative kind ? focus on someone I knew. I recalled some of the stories I had written or edited that centered on someone's alleged misdeeds and tried to remember if I was as fair to those people as I wanted the newspapers and television stations to be to Leonard. I also found it unnerving when reporters at other papers and stations asked for comments or help on the story, or when the glare of a television camera caught us wide-eyed.

From a professional distance, I watch- ed how my colleagues at the Times- Dispatch covered this story. They were professional, diligent and fair, and I know they went to great lengths to achieve accuracy and balance. I did not agree with every decision they made. I cringed at some of the stories, but I never questioned the motives or objectivity of the reporters and editors involved.

Some of the other print and broadcast media, in my opinion, did not do as good a job. I saw some bias, but mostly ignorance about the church and how it works. But no matter what, the Leonard case was a legitimate story that was of interest to many readers. To ignore it or offer only token reporting would have been a moral failure.

However, the reaction of many people to the case shows how some Catholics are still caught in the mindset of "Father knows best" and could therefore never do anything wrong. So Father could never have a drinking problem, abuse drugs or, God forbid, abuse children. Not Father. And since Father couldn't do any of these things, it must be the media's fault ? the hated secular press.

The media remain a convenient target in this case and others like it because too many people still do not want to believe that their clergy can do bad things.

I believe that the majority of Catholic priests are good men of God whose service is an inspiration to believers. But some priests are bad ? period. They abuse the trust of their parishioners and feed on the faith given them by innocent children and teens. Who let people know about this?

It wasn't the church.

Cover-ups, secret payoffs, and intimidation are the ways some dioceses dealt with the pedophilia crisis. Much of that has improved, but why? Maybe the media had something to do with it.

If it were not for the news media, for example, disgraced Cardinal Bernard Law ? among others ? would still be shuffling pedophiles from parish to parish. And if it were not for the news media, predator priests would still be preying on the young.

I am a Catholic deacon, and I love my church. I am a journalist, and I am proud of my profession. And I believe there is no conflict between religious faith and honest work that tries to let the light of truth shine on the darkness of evil.