My short piece on the anti-Catholic hysteria in the media surrounding the St. Mary Home for unwed mothers and their children in Tuam, Ireland—which closed its doors 53 years ago—has generated a lengthy response from Rod Dreher entitled “Trust Diarmuid Martin, Not Tom Piatak.” Judging by Dreher’s response, my post accomplished at least two things. Since Diarmuid Martin is the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, my piece may have prompted a small miracle: this may be the first time since Dreher left the Catholic Church that he has urged anyone to trust a Catholic bishop.

Dreher also concedes, in essence, that Chronicles is right. In responding to commenters on his piece, Dreher wrote: “I concede that I am almost certainly quick to believe the worst when it comes to Catholicism and abuse—a bias that I work to counter—but that didn’t come from nowhere.” In commenting on my piece, Scott Richert noted: “the point is that [Dreher’s] turned so sharply against the Catholic Church that he will believe anything, no matter how outlandish, so long as it reflects poorly on the Church.” I’d say that Scott nailed it, even if he is the Executive Editor of what Dreher dismisses as “a turgid Midwestern monthly.” (For those who would like to read a take on clerical sexual abuse in Ireland different from Dreher’s, I’d recommend this recent article by Brendan O’Neill).