Boston University Catholic chaplain forced out of his position after email to Catholics there suggesting that the killing of George Floyd was not an a

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The Massachusetts of Technology chaplain was forced out of his position by his diocese after expressing his opinion about the Floyd incident.

In his email, chaplain Moloney questioned whether Floyd’s death should be framed as an act of racism.

“I don’t think we know that,” Moloney said. “Many people have claimed that racism is a major problem in police forces. I don’t think we know that.” He noted that Floyd should not have been killed but “had not lived a virtuous life.”
 
Side piece: why are these articles so short? Do bots write these? It’s like a 90 second read.

On the article: it is true that the man didn’t live a good life, but I do take issue with doubting racism in police in general. Not sure what Suzy Nelson meant by his comments failing to recognize the dignity of each human, they weren’t related to that, but okay.
 
mdgspencer said:
He noted that Floyd should not have been killed but “had not lived a virtuous life.”
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He may not have lived a virtuous life but there was always the chance of repentance, by the grace of God, later in life.

That chance has been stolen from him when he was murdered. That is the tragedy.

This goes for any victim of murder, regardless of the life they had led.

Surely this chaplain should have known that.
 
From the link:

He noted that Floyd should not have been killed but “had not lived a virtuous life.”

It should have read Floyd should not have been killed. Period.

To say that he did not lead a virtuous life has nothing to do with it. It makes it sound like it was somehow okay. Would he say that about everyone that does not live a virtuous life? For this quote to come from a Catholic priest is disturbing.
 
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This year has been a wild year so far has it?

First was the pandemic, then the economic downturn, which I and several millions have found ourselves jobless, killer hornets, the riots and protests, China picking fights with Australia, Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines and now India.

Recent border skirmishes between two countries with nuclear capability which left 23 Indian soldiers dead and 40 Chinese soldiers dead.

After all that, the pandemic wastes no time coming back for an encore.
 
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The good thief crucified next to Jesus did not live a “virtuous life” yet there was final mercy for him and he is in Heaven. Who are we to judge the value of one’s life?

It was racism. It was murder. It was hatred. It was pure evil.
 
These are times of biblical proportion. If prayer and fasting wasn’t happening before, it needs to be at 200% right now.
 
I’m not surprised he was asked to step down.
He noted that Floyd should not have been killed but “had not lived a virtuous life.”
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I can’t believe he thought that was necessary to write, let alone email it out to students. What purpose does it serve to defame a character of a man who was needlessly murdered? What purpose when his murder has highlighted so much racism and inequality that exists in the world?
 
I’ve been doing prayer and fasting pretty much everyday since the beginning of this year.
 
I spent many years “Not leading a virtuous life”. I don’t think that justifies being suffocated to death.
Many people including many saints spent some period of their lives living non-virtuously before reforming.
I don’t think the chaplain thought this through.

edited to add, apparently 2 months ago the chaplain published a book called “Mercy: What Every Catholic Should Know”. SMH

 
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I’m not really seeing the controversy in any of these statements listed in the article. Does anyone have the text of the actual e-mail?
 
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He was tone deaf in going on and on about the sins of George Floyd and then expressing doubts that racism is a problem. If he thinks these things privately he should have had the good sense not to express them due to his role as chaplain.
 
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Thank you for posting. Again, I am not seeing anything here that should be controversial. He is correct in saying that George Floyd was a sinful man, but didn’t deserve to be killed. He is equally correct in saying the police are wrong in employing overly aggressive tactics, but do so because the risks inherent in their job can do that to a person. He is right in saying that no link to racism has been proven in this case, or to the police generally as an aggregate. He is also right in saying we all need to express charity and mercy toward one another. If a priest is not allowed to talk about the sins of individuals and of society in general, then, what’s the point? Why even have a gospel message? I would argue that due to his role as Chaplain he MUST talk about these things. It is in his job description. The issue here is less in what he said, and more in the hearts of those who read his email. If anyone need an example, read Romans 1-3. Two and a half chapters of bad news about sin, before we get to the gospel. I can only imagine the reaction if Paul were writing to MIT instead of the Church in Rome. If anyone is tone deaf, it is our society that feels the need to minimize the reality of sin, and therefore becomes deaf to the necessity of the gospel. Quite frankly, the school violated the First Amendment if they called for his ouster, and the Diocese should be ashamed for rolling over on him.
 
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I suspect that as you incline towards the logical and philosophical, as did Fr Moloney PhD, you understand and relate to what he was trying to say. The problem is, his audience for this wasn’t a bunch of CAF philosophers and apologists. It was a campus community full of students and also non-students who were already upset. It’s the same problem as the priest who gave the homily at the funeral of the teen boy who had committed suicide and said suicide was a sin and implied the kid might not be in heaven. Correct from a theological standpoint? Yes. Horrible from an audience reception standpoint? Also yes. Disciplined ASAP by the Bishop? Yes in both cases.

These guys really need to learn how to read the room.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
It’s the same problem that the priest who gave the homily at the funeral of the teen boy who had committed suicide and said suicide was a sin and implied the kid might not be in heaven.
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That is not what the priest said. He noted the kid needs prayers. I know the priest in question.
 
Doesn’t matter if you know the priest. His words were reported in a ton of media and we had about 10 threads on here about it. It’s pretty clear what he implied if not outright said, and the outcome was the bishop taking some strong actions.
 
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Looks like he’s a second career priest who was previously a conservative think tanker/writer (i.e. career in the few remaining places an academic can make provocative right leaning statements to an echo chamber and be rewarded for it). Basically, a very poor preparation for chaplain work at MIT.
 
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