MPR Owes Father Shelley and their Listeners an Apology for Shoddy, Sensationlist Journalism

Stating "Everyone who's looked at it says there's no child pornography on those disks," Washington County Attorney Peter Orput announced today "We've declined to prosecute the case, as there's no criminal evidence we can find."  This has to come as a devastating blow to MPR "reporters" Laura Yuen and Madeleine Baran who openly lobbied and advocated for the investigation and then reinvestigation of Father Shelley. Yet despite investigations by police investigators, the Justice Department's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and county prosecutors, " there's no criminal evidence we can find".

"There's no criminal evidence we can find"  is a far cry from the biased and libelous reporting of MPR which reported today on its website that "...there was insufficient evidence on the disks to warrant criminal charges against Shelley".  I am so disgusted with MPR's conduct with respect to its slander by innuendo coverage on Father Shelley that I ceased to be a member of Minnesota Public Radio and it can say goodbye to my formerly annual contributions and along with it my employers matching contributions.

Unfortunately for Father Shelley the damage is done, they have destroyed a good man's reputation and for what?  So a couple of out of control "journalists" could cross the line from fair and independent journalism into sensationalistic advocacy in their crusade against the Catholic Church regardless of whose life is destroyed along the way?  Responsible journalism?  I think not.  More like guilt by association.

Don't get me wrong, I am no fan, let along apologist for the Catholic Church.  As a life long Lutheran who was deeply troubled by the rapprochement between the major branches of the Lutheran religion and the Roman Catholic Church a few years back, I remain defiantly anti-organized religion. To paraphrase Will Rogers: "I am not a member of any organized religion. I am a Lutheran."  I can now add to that "I am not a member of MPR".