AFP picture/caption/story of the day ... connecting the dots

First, the picture (see above).

Second, the caption: "Priests carry baskets during the first open-air mass led by Pope Benedict XVI, the first mass of his visit to Munich, in his native Bavaria region of Germany, in September 2006. The US Roman Catholic Church has asked a criminology school to delve into the darkest pages of its history by probing the causes of a priest sex abuse scandal.(AFP/File/Johannes Eisele)."

Third, the story: "At a meeting due to end Thursday in the eastern city of Baltimore, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops voted to disburse 335,000 dollars to fund the first three phases of a study by New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice."

Connecting the dots, the conclusion that the AFP wants its reader to make: The next time a priest walks towards you with a collection basket at Mass, be warned that your money is probably going right to the John Jay College of Criminal Justice to finance its ongoing efforts to "delve into the darkest pages of [the Catholic Church's] history."

... or am I getting paranoid again?

In fact, I find it more than convenient that a picture of priests carrying baskets is connected with a story of money appropriation to John Jay for sexual abuse studies. Especially since the media constantly likes noting that poor disenfranchised Catholics can only have a vote in the Church when they wield their checkbook.