A hypocrite, by definition, is doing something right. The trick is to figure out what it is.

I think the word we’re really looking for here is “cad.”

I think you’re implying definition #2 for Cad:

1 : an omnibus conductor
2 : a man who acts with deliberate disregard for another’s feelings or rights

However, I think Merriam-Webster‘s agrees with Jim’s original diagnosis:

* Etymology: Middle English ypocrite, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin hypocrita, from Greek hypokritēs actor, hypocrite, from hypokrinesthai
* Date: 13th century

1 : a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion
2 : a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings

I can see Mr. Rogers now, “Okay, kids. Can you say hyp-oh-krit?”

Manchester owes the GLBT community AND the Catholic Church a sincere and public apology! —that scum!

I think the word we’re really looking for here is “cad.”

On Oct. 9, 2008, Manchester ended 43 years, eight months and nine days of marriage to Elizabeth Manchester by moving out of their La Jolla abode. The couple spent the next several months trying to reach a quiet settlement on how best to distribute millions of dollars in cash and other assets. In July, those talks totally broke down, and Doug started playing financial hardball with Elizabeth, allegedly draining the couple’s shared accounts and stealing her mail. On Aug. 6, Elizabeth filed a petition for redress in family court. All of the information in this story comes from those petitions. CityBeat contacted attorneys for both parties, but neither returned calls by press time.

The court records say Doug pushed very hard for a speedy divorce agreement after he moved out, but Elizabeth would have none of it. [Emphasis mine.]

This isn’t exactly Doug playing the passive victim while his wife flees to a divorce lawyer to file for divorce. In fact, it appears that she was trying to prevent being railroaded into what she considered a financial disadvantage, and it was Doug who was pushing for the divorce.

What evidence do you have that Manchester desired and instigated the divorce?

Requesting a legal separation rather than a legal divorce actually seems to me like a sensible way to put the brakes on a divorce process.

(Now, you may argue he’s only doing so for purposes of $$$ in a settlement…but what’s your evidence for that too?)

You might think he’s a douchebag, but there’s not much here to argue that he’s “thumbing his nose” at the Catholic Church–unless you are privy to some secret information the original story isn’t.

And mega kudos to Mr. Kincaid for his longitudinal analysis. Did he ace his Statistics classes in college or what?