NH House Majority Leader calls Bishop of Manchester "pedophile pimp"

[Peadar O Suileabhain]

Bettencourt on Facebook: Catholic bishop is a 'pedophile pimp'

Quote:House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt this morning wrote on his Facebook page that Catholic Bishop John McCormack is a “pedophile pimp” with “absolutely no moral credibility to lecture anyone.”

McCormack spoke yesterday at a State House rally where thousands of demonstrators criticized the state budget proposed by the House of Representatives. McCormack criticized the budget for failing to protect people in need and called caring for the poor “the fundamental requirement of our religious heritage.”

This morning, Bettencourt posted on his personal Facebook page: “Bishop John McCormick (sic) of the Catholic Diocese of NH told the crowd, ‘It’s a moral concern (because) the vulnerable take priority in our society.’ Would the Bishop like to discuss his history of protecting the “vulnerable”? This man is a pedophile pimp who should have been led away from the State House in handcuffs with a rain coat over his head in disgrace. He has absolutely no moral credibility to lecture anyone.”

My $.02

This is more than a little absurd. First of all, DJ's father was a Catholic school biology teacher and football coach ( he was one of my coaches at Central Catholic back in the day).

Second, DJ actually isn't a bad guy and really should know better than to pop off like this. I think being surrounded by a lot of libertarians (ultraconservative but also militantly secular) has knocked him off the rails a bit.

Third, McCormack is actually known for his LACK of action on issues of economic and social justice, unlike his predecessor the late, great Bishop Leo O'Neill. McCormack is very tight with the business community, his diocese once shared a lobbyist with the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, and he usually only heads to Concord to speak out on pelvic legislation like abortion and gay marriage.

Finally, I never, ever want to hear so much as a peep from the EWTN/Rick Santorum crowd about "cafeteria Catholics"!

[Peadar O Suileabhain]

In a way, I can empathize with Bettencourt. Those of you who have been in public life know that it is easy to let the whirlwind get control of your thought process and lead you to make statements that reflect the passions of the moment, not the core of your character. DJ is a good kid, and while I find his remarks way out of line, I hope that he will be able to learn from this incident.

[nofurylike]

(04-01-2011 12:59 PM)Peadar O Suileabhain Wrote:  In a way, I can empathize with Bettencourt. Those of you who have been in public life know that it is easy to let the whirlwind get control of your thought process and lead you to make statements that reflect the passions of the moment, not the core of your character. DJ is a good kid, and while I find his remarks way out of line, I hope that he will be able to learn from this incident.

i'm sorry, Peadar O Suileabhain, but i am having a hard time with some of that.

i agree the bishop was a highly-questionable spokesperson on the moral aspects of what he said. those issues are too crucial to have people advocating for the most vulnerable who are, themselves, so easy to impeach. but i am a bit taken aback to hear Bettencourt referred to as "a good kid," and "isn't a bad guy."

here is a demonstration of his 'morality':

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?...8ca6bda5d6

-snip-

When the budget deficit metastasized last winter, the Democrats were busy working to decriminalize marijuana and lessen other offenses for the use of other drugs. As jobless claims grew in the spring, they were focused on "transgender rights" and a "bathroom bill," and during the summer, as $110 million of the state budget was being legally challenged in the courts, Democrats were preoccupied with celebrating the passage of gay marriage.

For the third consecutive term, Democrats defeated parental notification legislation, which ensures another two years of children having the ability to undergo abortion surgery without their parents' knowledge -- but they can't ask the school nurse for an aspirin without a parent's note. We still bear the distinction as the only state in history to repeal parental notification. Regardless of how one feels on these social issues, the focus should have been on our declining economy.

-snip-

***



do you think that your experience of knowing him in your youth - i presume i got that right from what you wrote? - supersedes the view you might, otherwise, have of him?
maybe you feel that he was a good kid? - as in, when he was a kid?

ironically, he is in some trouble with more conservative people there, and is now receiving some criticism similar to that he dished Democrats back then. do you think he can learn enough from it all to become more humane than a being republican? i hope so! if you know him in person, maybe someone clarifying the issues would help him take the next steps.

[Peadar O Suileabhain]

(04-02-2011 04:55 AM)nofurylike Wrote:  do you think that your experience of knowing him in your youth - i presume i got that right from what you wrote? - supersedes the view you might, otherwise, have of him?

Actually, I knew his father when I was a kid; he was one of my football coaches at Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Mass. I served with DJ in the House from 2004-06.

I will freely admit that knowing the guy personally probably tempers my reaction, and to a certain extent, I think that is a good thing. Too often, we let our political beliefs take control. We allow ourselves to see cartoons and caricatures where there are actually human beings with a complex array of motivations and beliefs.

You can count the number of issues where I agree with DJ on one hand. I also have a very different political style; he's a red-meat partisan, I'm more of a policy wonk with a Johnny Rotten disposition. That being the case, I still found myself able to talk with him and work with him, even though we had diametrically opposed beliefs on pretty much everything except education reform and, to a degree, abortion.

As a legislator, I tried to maintain good personal relationships with people of all sorts of background. My mentor was Rep. Jim Splaine, a long-time liberal stalwart and one of the first openly gay legislators in the country. I also had a deep respect for the conservative but extremely thoughtful and civil chair of the Criminal Justice Committee, David Welch. I considered Republican John "Gibby" Gibson to be one of my closest friends in the House. When you serve with people, you see beyond the purely political. You look for ways to communicate, build bridges, and find common ground.

[Julie]

I dunno, this guy sounds like an asshole.

Julie

[There Is No Spoon]

(04-02-2011 06:04 AM)Julie Wrote:  I dunno, this guy sounds like an asshole.

Julie

I can't get past that either.

[RoyGBiv]

(04-02-2011 06:04 AM)Julie Wrote:  I dunno, this guy sounds like an asshole.

Julie

I don't think either of them would make my short list for potential dinner companions.

[jaxx]

I'd be interested to know if the bishop has been shown to be a part of any of the priest pedophile scandals in the church. Or if he is being called a "pedophile pimp" because of the deeds of others. It does seem like the Bettencourt guy was doing a little my religion is better than yours in his presentation. JMO

[sandnsea]

I just read this, the name didn't connect right away. I'd say the description is accurate, even though not appropriate. Really the bishop has no business being rewarded for doing such a horrible thing. No excuse for anybody to not understand sexual abuse by the 90s. I don't know why you guys tolerate him in the position. One reason I don't go to church anymore. Enough hypocrisy without adding on another pile.

http://www.boston.com/globe/spotlight/ab...ormack.htm

[Peadar O Suileabhain]

McCormack hasn't been accused of improper sexual activity, but he did a nauseatingly bad job of handling the situation, both as Bishop of Manchester and as Auxiliary Bishop of Boston, where he was Cardinal Law's top aide during the clusterfuck there.

McCormack has never been particularly popular. He is a career church bureaucrat. His style is stodgy and corporate. By contrast, his predecessor, Bishop Leo O'Neill, was a charismatic, blue-collar guy from Holyoke, a hardscrabble mill town in western Massachusetts. O'Neill was by turns feisty and warm and compassionate; when he died of cancer, it was a real loss for the state.