I understand that. So what it might boil down to is the depth and amount of the damage. But still, why lobby for the charges to be dropped? I am not a lawyer, but can they plead no contest? The videotapes of the incident will show without a shadow of a doubt that the act was committed, and hopefully an impartial judge will have the common sense to assess the damage fairly. I know, you can argue that the court system is not fair, the police/government is corrupt, but that still does not excuse a person/individual from accepting responsibility for what they've done. Also, I'm sure some/a lot of the reporting of the incident in all media is distorted, but when it comes down to it, if the individuals were to offer to pay for the damage, I would like to think that the offer would be accepted. Sometimes "criminal" acts are prosecuted by the state, not the "victim", in this case the church. Does the church even have a say as to whether or not the charges could be dropped? Maybe I am naive to continue to think that if you can't admit/accept responsibility for something that you've done, you shouldn't have done it. I have done things in my life that I am not exactly proud of in hindsight, but I can't remember a time when I didn't stand my ground and accept responsibility for the things I did, which has resulted in me losing jobs, friends, money and opportunities. We all have lessons to learn, and for better or worse, the time has come for the Holy Name 6.