What is the *matter* with this guy?

How, at this late date, can a bishop still be such an utter, utter numbskull?

Newark Abp Myers allows priest who *admitted* groping boy to continue working with children

What baffles me is the sheer gratuitous, wilful, reckless, irresponsibly wicked stupidity of this stuff. 30 years ago, when the Smart People were saying that second chances and rehab would fix it, I can imagine a dumb bishop listening to The Experts[TM] against his better judgment and putting a perv back in circulation.  But 20 years after Rudy Kos and the pileup of evidence that this is just stupidly endangering children to no purpose, and 10 years after the immense catastrophe of 2002?  And 10 years *after* saying “We will never endanger children again?”  And with an entire civilization now hyper-focused on the expectation that a bishop will do the stupidest and most irresponsible thing possible?  What kind of mentality can possibly be at work inside that way-too-tight mitre to possibly suggest to a bishop that this was a good idea?  Let’s prescind entirely from the most bleeding obvious question “How do we protect children from harm?” (since that does not, even at this late date, seem to be uppermost in the mind of a “shepherd of souls” like this).  My question is “How does even the most selfish, stupid, moral dwarf *possibly* conclude that there is some benefit to be derived from an action like this?  The criminal mind does bad things in order to achieve some selfish good end.  He steals or kills because he hopes to gain some benefit.  But how  on God’s green earth, even if he is an arch-criminal, instead of an archbishop, does a bishop think, “It will be a really good idea if I do something as massively stupid and certain to get into the news thing as put this guy back in circulation with children?” What in hell does he hope to gain?   There’s a sort of preternatural stupidity and wickedness about it.  As though a human being is, with demonic assistance and a sort of anti-grace, going above and beyond what an ordinary pagan moron acting with merely mortal stupidity and wickedness would do.  Absolutely nothing is gained  by it, as is usually the excuse for some evil human act.  It’s just pure stupidity and wickedness for it’s own sake.  I don’t don’t don’t understand it.