17 December 2011

What really happened to Fr. Demets?

Remember the incident involving Fr. Laurent Demets, FSSP? The rest of the story here:
Three months after the actual incident, without the consent or permission of the parents, and based on some anonymous eavesdropper’s false report, the non-problematic disciplining of an emotional child was turned into a major incident. Then, without any formal investigation it was broadcast throughout the world in a manner that makes the whole thing appear like carefully crafted character assassination.
...
The family had no problem with the disciplinary action he took, but they were in fact very hurt and upset by the way the Diocese of Little Rock chose to handle it. The child has been more traumatized by the media storm, the investigation, and the loss of the Latin Mass community than the slapping. And it was, in fact, the Diocese of Little Rock, not the Department of Human Services, that chose to release the information to the news media. Bishop Taylor never met with Father Demets to discuss the removal of his faculties or to explain the diocesan policy that had been violated.
Apparently, the Fraternity is none too happy with the way the diocese chose to handle the situation, and Superior General John Berg refuses to send another priest down there to replace Fr. Demets. Who can blame him?