Thank you for an interesting conversation. I ran out of space before answering your question: “Would you still prefer dismissal over such restraint?” It is not one or the other. It can be dismissal and restraint. Under canon law the bishop or religious community is obliged to support these priests or religious once they are released from jail if they have not been dismissed. They don’t have to accept that support and they can go off into the community anyway. The point Justice McClellan was making is that if they want support from the Church, it can always give it to them even if they are dismissed, in the same way as it provides assistance to many lay people in need, and it can then impose appropriate restrictions as a condition of continuing support. In my view, that is a complete answer to those who argue that dismissal somehow is more dangerous for the community because the Church no longer has “control” of them.