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| Fr. Gary Uhlenkott, S.J, |
What’s wrong with this picture? Federal agents raid a Catholic university in the state of Washington, and find a trove of child pornography, purchased with the credit card of a professor—who happens to be a Jesuit priest.
Father Gary Uhlenkott, S.J. is now on leave, as the federal investigation continues. We don’t know all the details, but federal officials say that more than $1,600 of porn was ordered with his credit-card account and shipped to his physical and/or internet address.Horrifying? Certainly. A scandal? No doubt. But let me take a different perspective on this wretched affair. Leave aside, for now, the question of Father Uhlenkott’s guilt or innocence. Here’s what I want to know: How could he (or someone using his identity) spend $1,600 on videos of any description, without attracting someone’s attention? Can you, dear reader, spend $1,600 on your own entertainment—even assuming it’s healthy, licit entertainment—without prompting questions from your spouse, your boss, your parents, your colleagues, or your accountant? I certainly can’t. And unlike Father Uhlenkott, I haven’t taken a vow of poverty.
Link (here) to Catholic Culture to read Phil Lawler's full piece
3 comments:
The questions posed here are of course valid. And not surprisingly, "Father Gary" is one of those antiquated, guitar-strumming, civilian-type priest which the state of Washington is lousy with. Why am I making this point? Because it is quite obvious that he is not taking his "day job" as a priest seriously; it's a 24/7 gig. Too many priests simply play "dress up" once a week on Sunday and think they are being cool by "hanging" with the parishoners/students the rest of the time. Whether or not he purchased the child pornography (and my money says he did...he absolutely fits the M.O.) as the author states, the fact that he had enough free time to go on ANY $1,600 shopping-spree speaks volumes to his commitment to the priesthood and his vows.
Hopefully, the law will remove him through due-process (since we know from Los Gatos, CA that the Jesuit order itself does not have a good track-record of dealing with the filth within its ranks).
Fr. Gary has not been charged with a crime or been arrested. In the U.S., he has the presumption of innocence until he has his day in court. He should not be tried in the press or in the blogosphere. What if he is innocent of possessing child pornography? Will you be able to pick up the grains of mustard seed?
To answer your question, he was a teacher for a few sections of a class called Music in Film & TV. Faculty at GU have credit cards to use for classroom expenses. Doesn't seem like that far of a stretch for a music/TV teacher to spend $1600 on films 'for classroom use' over a couple of years. I'm sure the receipt didn't list film titles that were actually indicative of the material contained in those films.
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