Despite Warnings, McCann Failed to Prosecute--UPDATED

The JS buys into the New York Slimes' attack-dog sleight-of-hand.

But we re-wrote the headline to reflect the reality in Milwaukee.

In 1996, Ratzinger failed to respond to two letters about the case from Rembert G. Weakland, Milwaukee's archbishop at the time. After eight months, the second in command at the doctrinal office, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, now the Vatican's secretary of state, instructed the Wisconsin bishops to begin a secret canonical trial that could lead to Murphy's dismissal.

Eventually, that trial was cancelled because the Church also has a canon-law statute of limitations.

And as was recently revealed, Ratzinger didn't really get control of canon-law priest-prosecutions until 2002. But never mind...

Here's the graf which should have gotten the headline:

Murphy...also got a pass from the police and prosecutors who ignored reports from his victims, according to the documents and interviews with victims.

Anybody call Mike McCann for comment? Anybody? Bueller? Bueller?

UPDATE: "During the mid-1970s, some of Father Murphy's victims reported his abuse to civil authorities, who investigated him at that time; however, according to news reports, that investigation was dropped," said Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi. "The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was not informed of the matter until some 20 years later."

That would be the mid-1990's.

So I repeat: has anyone contacted E. Michael McCann about this?