What We Have Here Is An Argument From Results

although I don't remember such a thing in my Aristotelian rhetoric texts. The last entry in The Armchair Detective section of the Freedom for St Mary blog makes it plain that, as elected vestrypeople who knew the St Mary's score predicted, the dissidents have begun turning against each other. I'm pretty sure I know who the "source" the detective is talking about is, and his family was among the most vocal -- and indeed, he was among the most physically violent -- of the anti-Kelley faction.

Perhaps because that's how the guy's mind works, he's now convinced that one clique of the angries, having killed off Anthony Morello, has singled him out to be next, and he's gone to the cops about it! But we have to take all this in context: remember that amid all this paranoia and conspiracy, they've got to hire and retain clergy in their spare time, and so far, they haven't been all that good in getting around to that.

I get an occasional e-mail that says, in effect, well, John, you're partly right, these people are all nut cases, this is a sad situation, but really, John, Fr Kelley is over the top, he's maybe even a crook, and maybe if there wasn't actually a naked black girl in the basement or anything like that, still, he deserved what he got, and it's sad sad sad, but Kelley's too much. The only answer I can give is to point to the results. From 2007 to 2012, he kept that parish together, fully recognizing what he had to work with in the 8-12 angries who kept wanting to control everything.

He made sure they had pastoral care, and he made sure they had the sacraments. They haven't been able to do anything like that for themselves -- nor has the ACA. And in fact, he's still making sure parishioners who've stuck things out in good faith continue to get pastoral care and the sacraments. Somebody needs to wake up over this.