Witch Hunt?

The case that can't rest in peace.

The family of Dan O'Connell, who had been alledgedly murdered by Fr. Ryan Erickson (pictured - Erickson later committed suicide) because O'Connell was supposedly going to reveal Erickson's involvement in homosexual acts; has teamed up with a locally famous attorney who specializes in big-time lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Church. This lawsuit has a loophole that could make it a landmark class action suit against the Roman Catholic Hierarchy. Seems like a witch hunt to me. From KSTP Channel 5 News in the Twin Cities:

"MILWAUKEE (AP) - The family of a man believed to have been killed by a Roman Catholic priest in Hudson filed a civil lawsuit Tuesday against nearly 200 bishops and other church officials, asking them to disclose the names of abusive priests.

The lawsuit against bishops throughout the country and the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops was filed in St. Croix County Circuit Court by relatives of Daniel O'Connell. He was shot and killed Feb. 5, 2002, at the O'Connell Family Funeral Home in Hudson along with an employee, James Ellison.

"We're finishing a job Dan started," said Janet O'Connell, Daniel O'Connell's mother." [snip] Channel 5 News.

What a wierd time we live in - Catholics wanting Madonna, together with so-called women-priests, and other's excommunicated (even though they have no interest in being faithful Roman Catholics) while enemies of the Catholic Church exploit others to attack and destroy the Church. The families of all three of the deceased men have my sympathy and prayers, but this does not seem to me to be the appropriate course of action. These people want the names of every priest in the United States who have been accused of sexual crimes to be publicly disclosed. It's absurd.

Update: It's in the Pioneer Press today: 8/09/06

Another Update: Feed back at work this morning is that, other than the attorney bent on socking it to the Church, many people think it's a fair lawsuit. They want to know who the offender priests are for the protection of their children. We'll have to watch and see what develops.