He is a whistleblower in a Roman collar, the conscience of a Catholic diocese demoralized by two decades of sex abuse scandals and conspiracies to cover them up. Or, he is a zealot - so determined to hold the Catholic hierarchy accountable for the crisis that he loses sight of his larger duty to the church.
Since 2002, public opinion has splintered on the subject of the Rev. James J. Scahill, the small-town pastor who became a media sensation last month after urging Pope Benedict XVI to deal more forcefully with sex abuse cases or resign.
Within hours of prodding the Holy Father from the pulpit of St. Michael's Church, the priest's views were breaking news on national television networks, the British Broadcasting Corp. and the Cable News Network, which is broadcast at the Vatican.
Then, silence.
"I feel we've done enough," said the 63-year-old native of Springfield's predominantly-Irish Hungry Hill neighborhood, reflecting on his media celebrity. "This is not about Father Scahill. To say anymore would detract from the message, which is speaking truth to power."
If other priests across the country shared Scahill's views, they have kept it to themselves.
Not one has come forward in the past month, apparently leaving Scahill and the Rev. Thomas Faucher, of Boise, Idaho, as the only priests broaching the idea of Vatican regime change, an Internet search shows. The Idaho priest called for the pope's retirement a week before Scahill, but without the media buzz.
The lack of response has been a disappointment, even if Scahill's stand was nothing short of heroic, says Peter C. Pollard, of Hatfield, coordinator of the local chapter of the Survivors' Network of those Abused by Priests, a clergy abuse survivor group.
"We were hoping more people would come forward - maybe three or four in the next week" said Pollard.
SIC: TRep