The Arch Nemesis Can't See The Forest For The Trees

What kind of priest seriously considers bankruptcy as a valid option to protect his diocese from having to pay damages in lawsuits because of unresolved child abuse cases that keep getting won in court by victims? Why; a Catholic priest, of course! Reverend John Nienstedt, Archnemesis of the Minneapolis, Minnesota area, truly feels that despite dozens of lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct of his priests, he "couldn't see the forest for the trees", and he refuses to resign.

Before this whole matter went public, the archbishop did not perceive any problems, despite the fact that his knowledge of Minneapolis priests was the same as it is now. This means that the real problem, as the reverend sees it, is that he is having to answer in court for the priests he failed to properly train, and that the matter is now known to the general public. Back when he enjoyed the luxury of private child abuse, Nienstedt had no problems.

This type of Christian church truly pushes limits. It seems that when Catholic priests are not busy telling victims of domestic violence to apologize to their abusers, they are telling victims of hate crimes that the violence is all their fault......after all, if the victim had never been Black, Spanish, female, disabled, Pagan, Jewish, Muslim, ect., the hate crime never would have been committed! Surely the victim should "take ownership" for being different in some way or other that offended the perpetrator! Merely obeying the laws and being upstanding is obviously not good enough; we must all work harder to make the bigots happy, so they don't lash out! Ain't that right, Reverend Patrick Sullivan? And it appears that those children should all work harder at not being children, because it's all their fault that they are vulnerable, and as long as that's the case, a priest is naturally expected to take advantage of vulnerability, rather than act like a decent human being. It's never the church or the priest's fault. If the perpetrator is politically or financially better off than the victim, it's always the victim's fault when abuse takes place.

Of course, another perspective would be that Archbishop John Nienstedt should be responsible and neuter his priests.

Baby Lisa Drama

Hiring a LOCAL attorney, who knows the populace, the courtroom players, and the geographical area, is one of the few smart things that Debbie Bradley and Jeremy Irwin did when their ten month old daughter, Lisa Irwin, went missing from Kansas City, Missouri, earlier this month. Other than that, they have given conflicting, incomplete, and possibly false testimony, obscured the presence and testimony of potential witnesses, and gone on the air with non-information about their daughter and about whatever happened preceding their daughter's disappearance on October 4. While I did not agree with most of what Cyndy Short stated in her short (no pun intended) time representing Lisa's family, I thought that, if still alive, Lisa might have a better chance of returning home and leading a normal life with Ms. Short representing her parents; but now Ms. Short has withdrawn from the case. Joe Tacopina, the council from New York, is now Lisa's parents' sole representation.

There are not that many reasons that a lawyer can just drop a client. Of course, Debbie and Jeremy have not been charged with a crime and are not sitting in jail, so withdrawing from the case, or potential case, as the case may be, has not left them without local council while putting on a defense. I can't imagine money was a problem, because Lisa's family seems to be playing up the drama to the hilt, even though their child is missing.  Has anyone noticed the recent article in People Magazine?   I know that about fifty percent of those who live near Kansas City will think that this may be unfair, and I may be wrong, but it seems to me that it is too early in the game for magazine articles about Lisa. She hasn't even been gone for a month.......I am surprised that Debbie can even do an interview that would be useful for entertainment purposes.

Conflicts of interest are other things that can force a lawyer to withdraw. Each of Lisa's brothers has an absentee parent who either lives in Cyndy Short's stomping grounds, or has lived there in the past. A lot of the recent conflict in this case has involved potential testimony from those two boys. Is it possible that Ms. Short represented one of the other parents at some point, and therefore; one of the boys, simply by default? Or, conversely, provided council to someone who litigated against a guardian of either of Lisa's brothers? I guess it's possible. What the media seems to be regurgitating is that Joe Tacopina thought it would be fine for police to interview the boys, but Cyndy Short, geographically closer to all the action and much more familiar with Missouri law, didn't agree. That seems completely weird. I hope it's nothing but stress and personal reactions thereof, but how can interviews with a six year old and an eight year old be such a pivotal discussion point if they did not, as Lisa's parents claim, witness anything?

Lisa Irwin, probably sometime during the spring of this past year. I really wish I had a sketch of the person who was seen in the wee hours of the day Lisa disappeared, carrying a baby around outside, to put here, too. That, along with Cyndy Short's position on the findings of the cadaver dog, was where I personally differed with how she handled this case. It seemed to me that a composite sketch of a possible suspect could help solve this case and bring that baby home more quickly than any You Tube video or People Magazine article, and it also seemed to me that any bystanders in the Kansas City area who might have the ability to help locate this potential "person of interest" could do so more easily if everyone had a description of this person. That would also pull accusations and suspicions away from her clients......unless she knows who this person is and it behooves her clients in some way to keep him or her unidentified. That's just my take on it, though.