In My Name

Anne Marie Fahey was murdered 10 years ago this month by attorney Tom Capano. Earlier this year, Capano's death sentence was overturned, No More Capano Capers, and the Capanos have again made the news with a gift to two catholic schools in Delaware.

The Inquirer, in To some, Capano gifts are galling, explains:

In June 1996, Thomas J. Capano, a high-profile lawyer, killed Anne Marie Fahey, scheduling secretary for then-Gov. Tom Carper, after she ended their romantic relationship. The crime, its cover-up, and the eventual trial, conviction and appeals of Capano have gripped the public for years.

And fittingly, it seems, almost everyone has an opinion as two Wilmington Catholic schools - which educate family members of both the killer and his victim - move to name buildings after the Capano family.

Louis Capano Jr. - who is Thomas' younger brother and helped him destroy evidence and hide his crime - has donated $1 million each to St. Edmond's and Archmere Academies with the understanding that both would honor his parents, Louis Sr., who died decades ago, and Marguerite Capano, 82.

St. Edmond's will have a new gymnasium bearing the Capano name; Archmere will gain a student union that includes a chapel and a cafeteria.

The donation has created substantial controversy for both schools, including the Fahey family:

As members of the Fahey family see it, the Capano family is trying to buy forgiveness and, by accepting the money, the two academies are effectively sanctioning it. That doesn't sit well with them. "Redemption starts with an apology, which our family has never received," said Robert Fahey of Villanova, one of Anne Marie's brothers. "And last I looked, no one at Archmere or St. Edmond's had a dead sister, so I don't think they're in a position to grant anyone forgiveness."

Money may not be able to buy you happiness, but it can get you pretty far with the Catholic Church. In Did the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington Forget about the Council of Trent?, Dana Garrett of Delaware Watch reminded:

I thought it was old news. In 1567 Pope Pius V, acting on a recommendation from the Council of Trent, banished the practice of forgiving sins for gifts of money to the Roman Catholic Church. It had been one of the Church’s practices that the Protestant reformer Martin Luther had made such a big to-do about with popular success. It was just bad PR.

However, when St. Edmond’s and Archmere academies accepted $1 million dollars each from Louis J. Capano, Jr., for two new buildings and “electing” to put the Capano family name on the buildings, they apparently forgot about Pope Pius V and the Council of Trent.

Garrett also observed that the same level of "forgiveness" was absent when Archmere, one of the schools, was originally planning to honor Delaware Senator Biden, who is the fundraising Chair for the school. The News Journal, reported:

Archmere had originally planned to name the building after Sen. Joe Biden, a 1961 graduate, but Biden’s pro-choice stance on abortion led Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli to torpedo their plans.

* * * *

The school based its reversal on a June 2004 “Catholics in Political Life” document from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Krebs said. The report said institutions “should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles,” which include opposing abortion.

Delaware Watch provides the best summary:

A revolutionary spiritual and social movement that sprang from a very wise teacher who lived among the poor and “had no place to lay his head” has resulted in a religion in which those with more mammon get more of God’s forgiveness.

The Inquirer just ran a five part series, Catholic Crossroads, exploring the Catholic Church's struggle for relevance (and its continued existence) around the world. This can be attached as an exhibit.

Tags: News, Catholic Church, Capano