# Priest says Foley "may have found some things inappropriate" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 19, 2006, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104 "2006-10-19T15:47:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104/1 "2006-10-19T15:47:47Z")
A [priest came forward](http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061019/NEWS/610190725) and “described a series of encounters that he said Foley might perceive as sexually inappropriate”. The article then goes on with some of these potentially ambiguous acts: > [@](#): > > Among them: massaging Foley while the boy was naked, skinny-dipping together at a secluded lake in Lake Worth and being naked in the same room on overnight trips. > > One night, when Mercieca says he was in a drug-induced stupor, there was an incident he says he can’t clearly remember that might have gone too far… > > Mercieca said he taught Foley “some wrong things” related to sex, though he wouldn’t specify what he meant. He also said they were naked together in a sauna twice. > > Mercieca said that, at the time, he considered his relationship with Foley innocent. But he now says he could see how his actions could be labeled inappropriate. Of course we need to think about who the real victim is in this case: > [@](#): > > Mercieca said he is confused about why Foley has decided to come forward after almost 40 years, wondering if he was looking for a scapegoat. > > “Why does he want to destroy me in my old age?” Mercieca said. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104/2 "2006-10-19T16:18:54Z")
… and then there was the butt sex … Foley may have misinterpreted it, too. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104/3 "2006-10-19T16:37:57Z")
So, how much is the priest getting, from whom, and for exactly what story? Maybe this should go in GQ, cause I’m sure there are finite answers. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104/4 "2006-10-19T16:54:39Z")
Well, it’s obvious to me that Foley caught the gay from that priest, who in turn was an unknowing carrier. How could he know those activities were considered inappropriate? Geez these dang liberals are always trying to cause trouble. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104/5 "2006-10-19T16:55:22Z")
Gato, are you suggesting that Fr Mercieca got bought out by the Democrats? Sorry, bro, but I for one am just sitting back watching Republicans twist in the wind with the Foley thing. We don’t even have to give them a nudge now and then. ---
**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104/6 "2006-10-19T17:13:08Z")
[QUOTE=dropzone] Gato, are you suggesting that Fr Mercieca got bought out by the Democrats? Sorry, bro, but I for one am just sitting back watching Republicans twist in the wind with the Foley thing. We don’t even have to give them a nudge now and then. [/QUOTE] Or the Republicans could have paid him. I think they want a scapegoat. We can’t just say that Foley decided to say things like that to a minor; no, we have to find a reason for it. Foley can’t possibly be to blame- let’s blame the priest! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104/7 "2006-10-19T17:37:22Z")
I think its almost all Foley engaged in a preliminary plea-bargain. He is hoping against hope that he can arrange things in such a way that he will get either probation or do his bit of time in a secure Club Fed facility. A sentence to an ordinary behavioral sink such as a Florida prison (or just about any state penitentiary, for that matter) is a nightmare quite beyond the capacity of you or I to imagine, if going in with a child-molestation “jacket”. (The things we do to people in the name of punishment and penitence ought to be a source of enduring shame, but there’s no point in bringing that up now, because nobody cares. But if we had set out to create state run factories for the production of malignant sociopaths, we couldn’t have done better than we have…) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104/8 "2006-10-19T17:47:10Z")
[QUOTE=Gatopescado] So, how much is the priest getting, from whom, and for exactly what story? Maybe this should go in GQ, cause I’m sure there are finite answers. [/QUOTE] If he is being paid, he certainly came up with some decidedly untittilating stories. Surely he could come up with something better than a naked massage and something he “can’t remember.” Whoever is paying him should demand their money back. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104/9 "2006-10-19T17:48:06Z")
Yes, but is the priest a Democrat? ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104/10 "2006-10-19T17:55:59Z")
**Dan** , I think what people are trying to tell you is that now that the prurient interest has switched to the sexual adventures of a former priest, and a former congressman, it really is just a porn story, and not meaningful to the majority of reasonable people, except for its pornographic qualities, which are lacking. Tris ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104/11 "2006-10-19T18:07:37Z")
Tris, that’s not what I’m saying. So what if what the priest says is not real lurid yet? Releasing the info in dribs and drabs prolongs the fun. 😉 If he is getting paid, he needs a better agent. _The National Enquirer_ pays much better than _The Sarasota Herald Tribune._ ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104/12 "2006-10-19T18:58:48Z")
I think it’s just probably a pre-emptive strike by the priest. Foley said he was going to name him. And I don’t get that this is not too tawdry. A priest giving a 13 year old boy a naked massage is pretty far out there. Raise your hand if your priest/rabbi/pastor/imam/shaman gave you a naked massage when you were 13…? How many would say, oh that’s not so bad, if it happend to your 13 old son…? ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104/13 "2006-10-19T19:05:47Z")
Fuck all John: I don’t know about rabbis, pastors, imams, and preist, but isn’t naked massage like, a good half of what shamans DO? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104/14 "2006-10-19T19:12:48Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] And I don’t get that this is not too tawdry. A priest giving a 13 year old boy a naked massage is pretty far out there. Raise your hand if your priest/rabbi/pastor/imam/shaman gave you a naked massage when you were 13…? How many would say, oh that’s not so bad, if it happend to your 13 old son…? [/QUOTE] It’s not that it’s not tawdry, but that if someone were making this stuff up he could do a lot better. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104/15 "2006-10-19T19:15:47Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] I think its almost all Foley engaged in a preliminary plea-bargain. He is hoping against hope that he can arrange things in such a way that he will get either probation or do his bit of time in a secure Club Fed facility. A sentence to an ordinary behavioral sink such as a Florida prison (or just about any state penitentiary, for that matter) is a nightmare quite beyond the capacity of you or I to imagine, if going in with a child-molestation “jacket”. (The things we do to people in the name of punishment and penitence ought to be a source of enduring shame, but there’s no point in bringing that up now, because nobody cares. But if we had set out to create state run factories for the production of malignant sociopaths, we couldn’t have done better than we have…) [/QUOTE] Have they announced the potential charges? Last I heard, there were some questions whether they could charge Mark Foley with anything criminal. Any indication on whether there has been enough solid evidence gathered to charge him with criminal harassment? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104/16 "2006-10-19T19:25:10Z")
Foley blames his problems on alcohol and clerical molestation, but didn’t touch any of the boys. The accused priest then blames that molestation on pills and a nervous breakdown, but the whole thing was “innocent.” I guess the next question is “who molested Anthony Mercieca, what drug was that person on, and why was it ‘not so bad?’” Oh yeah, and Foley is gay. :rolleyes: Just like Jim McGreevey, I bet Foley is hoping people will forgive him for being persecuted and give him millions of dollars in book sales in a couple of years. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104/17 "2006-10-19T19:30:38Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] And I don’t get that this is not too tawdry. A priest giving a 13 year old boy a naked massage is pretty far out there. Raise your hand if your priest/rabbi/pastor/imam/shaman gave you a naked massage when you were 13…? How many would say, oh that’s not so bad, if it happend to your 13 old son…? [/QUOTE] Thank you. When I read “might perceive as sexually inappropriate,” I was thinking things like: signed his confirmation gift card “Love, Father Mike.” But naked massage? How could anyone possibly perceive that as anything but sexually inappropriate? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104/18 "2006-10-19T19:32:24Z")
[QUOTE=Colibri] It’s not that it’s not tawdry, but that if someone were making this stuff up he could do a lot better. [/QUOTE] That’s what Rove wants you to think. 😉 Has the priest announced his entry into rehab yet? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104/19 "2006-10-19T19:39:53Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] That’s what Rove wants you to think. 😉 [/QUOTE] Now I get it! Rove got the priest to talk in order to remind the base that Republicans are just like the Church! Powerful, religious, and always covering it up when one of their members abuses some kids. It’s brilliant! ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104/20 "2006-10-19T20:59:57Z")
I’m really having a hard time believing this whole story. a) this priest very (in)conveniently lives thousands of miles away on some island in the Mediterranean b) gives details about sexual contact with Foley in a very “yeah- so what?” kind of way c) says Foley liked it d) says Foley should get over it All of this making Foley seem like this huge victim, and not just a victim when he was 13, but also a victim today with the “don’t keep dwelling on this” statement. If this whole thing is really true, I would be saddened, but it just seems a li’l too perfect… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/priest-says-foley-may-have-found-some-things-inappropriate/377104.md?page=2)