Maryville’s Mole?
She denies it. “I certainly didn’t tell him what to do, who to talk to and who not to talk to, what words to use, how to sit, how to talk, how to show confidence, how to relate to people, how to get your point across,” she says. “No, I didn’t do that with him. Nor would I. I wouldn’t do that with anyone out there. The only ones I’ve talked to on that level were the kids. They need to stand up tall and understand they’re individuals who have great merit.”
But Laney’s restraint hasn’t put a stop to the innuendo.
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The message that needed to be spread was “Maryville Saves Children’s Lives.” The academy’s leaders were shown what to say. For Father Smyth: “Sure, challenges have occurred throughout our 120-year history, and they will continue. Maryville has historically taken all children and we will continue to do so. We turn no one away.” For Guidi: “My responsibility is to lead the programs, clinical approaches and vision at all of Maryville’s sites. We will continue strengthening these programs and protocols with emphasis on psychological and clinical support along with the family model.”
Serafin insists that “there’s nothing in there about smearing the opposition. We talk about telling the truth.” But opposition research is generally understood to mean getting the dirt on the enemy. Project Sunshine triggered a storm. The Sun-Times and Tribune both called it a “smear campaign.” “After I read it I felt like taking a bath,” said public guardian Patrick Murphy in an AP story. Father Smyth said in the Tribune, “I refused it, and I don’t want to discuss it. I outright rejected the whole thing. Period.”
If any piece of the working paper can be said to correlate with what’s happened since it surfaced, it would be the advice to “utilize third party organization.” A third-party champion has emerged–Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed. She’s far more influential than Laney, and last month Maryville became a fixture in her column.
“Hmmm. Could that cash be used to pay off the sexual abuse victim settlement? (A classic case of sending abused kids away from Maryville in order to pay off victims abused by priests?)
