Bishop Loverde, where is Fr. Buckner?

Sigh...thinking about good priests who have disappeared amidst unproven allegations makes me sad. Fr. Christopher Buckner was swallowed up in the ether of vague accusations several years ago and has not, to date, resurfaced. While he had a reputation for a bad temper, he also had a reputation for being a good, solid priest. So where is he and what's the state of his case?

I have no idea, but I came across this August post today and thought I'd link to it.

The Performer, the Politician and the Priest: Funerals, Fanfare and Felonies

The performer, of course, is Michael Jackson and the politician...need you ask? Both of them whose lives were filled with scandal, left the scene honored, no idolized. But a good solid priest who merely lived out his vocation serving God and neighbor? Thrown out amid innuendoes that he was an abuser, the same innuendoes used against Fr. James Haley. Innuendo is the tool of a dishonest man. It lends itself to all kinds of evil imaginings. Here's an excerpt from the blog that I found particularly interesting:

The Diocese kept the accusation vaguee. To date, more than 2 years later ,there have not been any charges filed against Fr. Buckner. There has been no civil trial. No criminal trial. No canonical trial. There hasn’t been any word about where Fr. Buckner is. He’s just in canonical limbo, suspended as a priest, without any due process.

My mother in law told us that, shortly after the suspension, they brough this whole investigative crew to St. Mary’s. They were told the people would be there for 4 weeks investigating the case against Fr. Buckner. It was a regular witch hunt, and they summoned people in trying to dig up dirt.

And they couldn’t find any.

They left in less than two weeks because no one was able to corroborate anything, and no one was willing to denounce Fr. Buckner.

There was no evidence.

But with some of our bishops all it takes is an unsubstantiated accusation and a good priest, perhaps a troublesome priest, is out of his hair. And who keeps watch over the bishops? Apparently no one judging from the silence over Archbishop Weakland's scandalous book and Cardinal Mahony's ability to outlast every new outrage. Which bishop is gone? Joseph Martino who bravely spoke out for the truth. It is the way of the American Church.

I mourn and I write. What else can I do?

In the end all injustice will be righted by our all-just God, but how much damage will be done in the meantime? I mourn for the persecuted priests who have disappeared and sometimes I mourn even more over some of those still serving who live secret second lives of perversion. They are honored and pampered, but face a severe judgment unless they repent.

But what of those priests whose earthly lives are destroyed? Will they continue to be faithful in exile or will they commit the spiritual suicide of despair? Oh, how I pray they will not.

In this year of the priest please think often of the persecuted priests in exile. They deserve better than to be abandoned and forgotten.