On the contrary, Keating was the right man for the job. He had the bishops pegged ("mafiosi") and was not intimidated by the "Most Reverend" that these guys carry around on the front of their names.
He must have struck a nerve, at least in Oklahoma City. These churchmen continue to destroy what little credibility they have in the public eye.
Like the popular press, Keating choose to ignore the real problem, gay priests. Here is an exchange between a wired detective and a now convicted abusive priest:
Burkhart and McBride dined on crab cakes and chatted lightly. After dinner, McBride turned the conversation to the recent Catholic Church scandal. He hoped that, when it was all over, the church would recognize that priests are sexual beings too -- and that some are gay.
"Back in the 1960s, would you have ever come to a place like this?" Burkhart asked. "I mean, in this town, where you were working?"
"Probably not, no," McBride said. "Realistically, in 1960, no."
"And in certain places it looks like the seminary on Saturday night now," Burkhart joked.
"Yeah, that really is how it is," McBride said.
They compared notes on seeing clergy in gay bars. Then Burkhart stammered as he asked McBride a personal question: "So, whenever you had sex . . . were you bound to go to confession and confess it before you said Mass, or . . .?"
"Well, you were supposed to, yes," McBride said.
"Do you think all these priests do?"
"No," McBride said. "I think they changed their minds and decided it's not a sin."
I posted the article here this morning:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/992919/posts