Bishop Roger Foys of Covington issued an apology Friday for a Jan. 19 diocesan statement that condemned the actions of some Covington Catholic High School students, following a widely publicized incident after last week’s March for Life in Washington, DC.Meanwhile, Gateway Pundit reports,“We apologize to anyone who has been offended in any way by either of our statements which were made with good will based on the information we had,” said Bishop Foys in the letter, which was addressed to the parents of Covington Catholic students.
“We should not have allowed ourselves to be bullied and pressured into making a statement prematurely, and we take full responsibility for it.”
Foys also singled out Covington Catholic student Nicholas Sandmann, the student at the center of the controversy. A video emerged Jan. 19 of Sandmann standing in close proximity to Native American activist Nathan Phillips, who was, at the time, chanting and playing a ceremonial drum.
. . . “I especially apologize to Nicholas Sandmann and his family as well as to all CovCath families who have felt abandoned during this ordeal. Nicholas unfortunately has become the face of these allegations based on video clips,” said Foys. “This is not fair. This is not just.”
L. Lin Wood, recently retained by the family of Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann issued a statement Friday afternoon promising a “multitude of civil lawsuits” against those who made “false accusations and threats” against Sandmann over the incident involving him and Native American activist Nathan Phillips last Friday in Washington, D.C.Tomorrow I'll post the transcript of Bp Foys's talk to the Covington Catholic School students on Wednesday. It was remarkably flaccid and continued to deflect responsibility. My wife thinks the hiring of Mr Wood's firm and the sudden full apology from Bp Foys are not unrelated -- clearly someone slapped this stubborn old man upside the head, figuratively speaking.. . . Wood came to prominence representing Richard Jewell, the security guard falsely accused by the media in the Atlanta Olympics bombing in 1996. From the Wood lawfirm about page:
. . . L. Lin Wood, P.C., focuses its practice on First Amendment and defamation litigation; media management in high profile matters; False Claims Act cases, or “whistleblower” actions; fiduciary, trust and estate litigation; complex business litigation; and cases of catastrophic personal injury.
We'll have to see what further apologies are forthcoming. It's worth reflecting that Church authorities have been completely unwilling to stand up to the bullying that Bp Foys now acknowledges took place. It's taken a courageous individual lay family to force these men to begin to act like shepherds.
