I wrote in a recent blog post that Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, has some seriously warped views on morality. In case you were still in doubt over whether Dolan’s moral compass could use a major readjustment, take a look at what broke during my break from blogging:

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York authorized payments of as much as $20,000 to sexually abusive priests as an incentive for them to agree to dismissal from the priesthood when he was the archbishop of Milwaukee.

Questioned at the time about the news that one particularly notorious pedophile cleric had been given a “payoff” to leave the priesthood, Cardinal Dolan, then the archbishop, responded that such an inference was “false, preposterous and unjust.”

But a document unearthed during bankruptcy proceedings for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and made public by victims’ advocates reveals that the archdiocese did make such payments to multiple accused priests to encourage them to seek dismissal, thereby allowing the church to remove them from the payroll.

Dolan has since replied by sidestepping the issue, instead blasting one of the outlets that broke the story:

“The New York Times does not have a reputation for fair and accurate reporting when it comes to this issue. … So, to respond to charges like that — that are groundless and scurrilous — in my book it’s useless and counterproductive.”

So, in short: Cardinal Dolan is both an immoral leader and a “brazen liar”. Which, if you ask me, should cost him his job. Unless, of course, the Catholic Church doesn’t mind corruption and coverup at the expense of young men’s lives.

I’ve written before regarding my disappointment with the global Catholic laity for not publicly rebuking crooked leaders such as Pope Benedict XVI. If Dolan’s actions aren’t enough to get American Catholics to denounce the church’s current hierarchy, then I simply don’t know what they’ll need to finally stand up and reject those who claim to represent them.