If you ever want an unedited look at the dank sewer of human relationships, check out leagle.com, which has an endless stream of court decisions between litigating parties. The conflicts range from petty to murderous. It’s delicious.
That’s where I found this gem of justice, in which an Indiana court actually did the right thing by the father in a custody case, ruling against church and mom in one swift verdict.
Fact 1: Gerald Clutter has joint custody of two children, ages 9 and 7, with his ex-wife Anna Finnerty. They live with mom, dad has custody Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, alternate weekends, and holidays.
Fact 2: Both parents are Catholic. But after the divorce, mom really stepped it up (ironic, yes?). She enrolled the kids in Catholic school, and started taking them to Wednesday evening Mass.
Fact 3: She sued to compel dad to either take kids to church on Sunday evening, or give up the kids at 3pm (instead of 7pm) so that she can take them. He wanted Sunday afternoons to have dinner with the kids and his extended family. She argued that she “has the sole right to direct religious upbringing for the children.”
Fact 4: She must be crazy.
Fact 5: Judge Barnes made a heroic ruling, and set the world back on its axis.
I mean, it must be hard to rule against more church in the heartland. But the court found dad to be a fit father. So this is clearly either a completely cynical power grab by mom, or she is so wrapped up in her post-divorce Christlove that she really thinks it would be best for her children to spend more time in mass and less time with their father. Given especially that, in the fine tradition of Christ in the Field and St. Francis in the Field and St. Martin in the Field and so on, one can perhaps even find God in places that are not the seat next to Anna Finnerty in church, the court was right to rebuke her. Those kids need to spend more time with their father, who art actually their real father.