An offer to the archdiocese

Cardinal Justin Rigali met with a group of priests from across the diocese here in Delaware County yesterday.

They gathered in the gymasium at St. Anastasia School out in Newtown Square. No media was allowed into the meeting, but the word is that the cardinal might have gotten an earful from his own priests

Good for them.

No one is suffering more during the priest chilid sex abuse scandal that is eating away at the church than the overwhelming majority of priests who are good, decent men.

They’re the ones who face the stares every time they where their collars in public.

Apparently they are not especially thrilled with the way Rigali has gone about the latest response to the crisis ever since several priests were criminally charged a few weeks ago.

One of those targeted by the grand jury was Monsignor William Lynn, charged with endangering the welfare of children in his role as secretary of the clergy under then-Archbishop Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua.

It sounds like some priests believe that Lynn was merely following the policies in place and is now being viewed as something of a fall guy.

Here’s an offer to the archdiocese.

I would like to devote one of our “Live From the Newsroom” sessions to the issues dealing with the church here in Philadelphia. I’d like to have someone from the archdiocese come on and tell their side of the story.

We also will seek to get someone to advocate on behalf of the victims.

I would love to have a local priest come on and talk plainly about what their everyday life is like now that all priests are dealing with this cloak of suspicion.

My guess is that I will not hear from the archdiocese. Then again, maybe they'll surprise me and prove me wrong. But I won't hold my breath.

Judging by the way they've deal with this latest scandal, that just might be part of the problem.