![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp.patheos.com\/community\/sites\/7\/2011\/06\/penance1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSeems yesterday was my day for writing about female journalists<\/strong>. Last night I was late to the Anthony Weiner\/Andrew Breitbart story, barely having time to observe Barbara Walters diminish herself by allowing her hate to overrule her sense<\/strong><\/a>. Before that, I was filing my latest column for First Things, which looks at how Maureen Dowd \u2014 whose whole career, latterly, has been about stone-throwing and filtering hate through pop-references \u2014 has so ruined her pitching mechanics<\/strong><\/a> that even when she tries praise, it can\u2019t make it over the plate.<\/p>\n It\u2019s what happens when you\u2019re throwing while cramped:<\/p>\n In her June 5 piece on Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, a churchman of moderately progressive bent, Dowd discovers a Bishop she can like. No, rather, in her traipsing through Northern Dublin, she stumbles upon \u201cthat rarest of things in the church\u2019s tragedy: a moral voice.\u201d<\/p>\n Never mind all of those other Catholic voices raised in outrage at the priestly abuse crisis, from Commonweal to Crisis and beyond. Never mind Boston Cardinal Sean O\u2019Malley\u2019s well-documented and sympathetic work with sex abuse victims both in the United States and Ireland, or New York Archbishop Dolan\u2019s participation in the sensitive investigations in Ireland. Certainly, let us not discuss Pope Benedict\u2019s tireless efforts, since 2002\u2014even before his papal election\u2014to address \u201cthe filth\u201d that has so roiled the church; to meet with the victims and to establish norms of investigation and reportage that he hopes establish church-wide. None of those voices, it seems, are as moral as Archbishop Martin\u2019s; he managed to melt Dowd\u2019s church-disdaining frost via last February\u2019s \u201cLiturgy of Lament and Repentance.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Wearing a simple black cassock,\u2019 Dowd wrote, \u2018[Martin] helped wash the feet of eight victims and conceded that the church \u201cwill always bear this wound within it.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n This is certainly a fine thing, and I doubt anyone could or would argue differently. Let us have more such liturgies, of course. But how can Dowd neglect to mention that Martin was joined in this act of penitence by Cardinal O\u2019Malley, who wore the \u201csimple\u201d robes of a Capuchin Friar, which is what he is. Indeed, despite his exalted office, O\u2019Malley can often be spotted in his Franciscan brown robes, eschewing other vestments.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t imagine why Dowd would not mention O\u2019Malley\u2019s paired penitence with Martin; she could not have missed it\u2014reports are not difficult to come by. . .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Actually, I can<\/em> imagine why Dowd<\/strong> could not bring herself to praise O\u2019Malley as well \u2014 go read and see if you agree!<\/strong><\/a>. Hint: you won\u2019t be that surprised.<\/p>\n UPDATE:
\nMeanwhile, the Apostolic Visitation to Ireland is done,<\/strong> and the report will be out by January!<\/p>\n