Cardinal George doesn't get it. In a letter to the laity of Chicago, he apologizes for what he calls "the great embarrassment every Catholic must now feel."
This is on the heels of disclosures that the Cardinal failed to remove a priest accused do sexual abuse. The predictable happened--the priest abused again.
The news report says, "The 11-year-old boy, who came forward Monday, claims the abuse began in October 2004 and continued until Dec. 31, 2005 -- four months after George had decided not to remove McCormack from St. Agatha, instead appointing another priest as a monitor to ensure McCormack was never alone with children. "
Note this was not an "old" complaint. This was after the bishops instituted procedures to prevent these things from happening.
Clearly, Cardinal George is not serious about stopping clergy sexual abuse. Cardinal George admitted he didn't react more hastily to the McCormack case because the priest had an "excellent reputation." Don't they all?
"We thought this was done, or at least contained, and it doesn't seem to have been. I can only apologize for that."
No, that's not true. You can resign. We should be able to find a bishop who is capable of simply follwing procedures to prevent clergy sex abuse. Cardinal, we are not embarrassed. We are angry.
In a not unrelated note, a legal scholar calls for a congressional investigation of the Catholic Church.
In the imortal words of George Bush, "Bring it on!"