EXTREMIST FEMINIST PRIEST ATTEMPTS TO APOLOGIZE

The following is Elizabeth Kaeton's try at an apology. Greg Griffith at Stand Firm in Faith points out that there is a discrepancy in the first paragraph. Kaeton claims that the offensive part of her essay was online for about 45 minutes; Griffith states that it was up for 4 hours. Griffith has also produced lines from the first draft that appeared on line where Ms. Kaeton names the blog of the Rev. Anne Kennedy. You can be the judge of whether or not Kaeton's attempt is actually an apology. ed.

My first draft of the piece was admittedly edgy. I hadn’t intended it to be so. In the way of being connected to one’s work, I didn’t really see it until after it was up. It was posted for about ¾ of an hour when I reread it and decided it didn’t say what I had intended. In fact, it didn’t represent what I wanted to say at all. Seeing my fear about this priest so naked and out there surprised and startled me. So, I pulled the piece and edited it. The final version is now posted. I stand by every word that is published on my blog.

In these days of supersonic cyber communication, that ¾ of an hour is all it took. Someone at what is widely experienced as one of the uber-conservative and especially nasty blogs caught it and archived the first draft.

They have made it sound as if I have written a particularly malicious post to a particular priest – without noting the anonymity of the person and the blog and omitting the parts that would have any person concerned about the state of her health.

It’s all scurrilous and salacious and vile.

Truth is, I am mostly angry with myself. I should know this crowd better than that. I am still so naive about the power of blogs and the speed of Internet communication. This’ll learn me.

So, to the unnamed priests with the unnamed blog who has been hurt and insulted by my post, I am sorry. I never meant for you to be linked so publicly to my concerns. Alas, one of your own did that to you. I, perhaps, deserve what I got. You didn’t. I’m sorry about that. Truly.