Caught in the act

Remember the interrogation scene in Basic Instinct? If you weren't momentarily distracted by a flash of Sharon Stone's raw talent, you may recall a moment when she shot down the suggestion that she might have been involved in the ice-pick murders.

Snapping through a cloud of (verboten) cigarette smoke, the knickerless suspect argued: "I'd have to be pretty stupid to write a book about killing and then kill somebody the way I described it in my book. I'd be announcing myself as the killer. I'm not stupid."

I'm reminded of Catherine Tramell's ingenious alibi, having seen the front cover of the new edition of Vermont Catholic magazine (obviously I never miss an issue). Someone obviously thought it was a good idea to show a priest cradling the head of a young man kneeling before him - it's called Ordination apparently.

If your eyebrows aren't already levitating over the top of your head like Penfold discovering his wife in bed with another mole, then consider recent events in Vermont. Only last week the diocese agreed to an $18 million settlement to be divided amongst 26 plaintiffs who had been abused as altar boys over the last 30 years.

Adding insult to internal injury is the fact that this particular issue of Vermont Catholic even features a letter from Bishop Salvatore Matano, aplogising for the scandal and attempting to lay the matter to rest. He's probably wishing he'd waited until the Summer issue to post that particular piece.

As the Catholic church continues to weather the storm of the ongoing child abuse scandal, this cover must come as a real blow to the powers that be. The editors might protest their innocence (much like the offending priests themselves), but it's all a bit much to swallow. Too easy?