Letter: Church should ‘open its doors’

A letter in the last issue of the Star-Observer begs for a reasoned response. In it, writer Karen Trinko presents a muddled and arrogant defense of the Roman Catholic Church and its continuing legal battles due to claims of sexual abuse by priests.

Here are a few points for consideration:

There are no ethical, moral or legal justifications for the thousands of cases of child abuse perpetrated by Roman Catholic priests throughout the United States. There is no justification for the church’s decades-long record of ignoring the claims of parishioners and of protecting accused priests. There is no honor in the church hierarchy’s refusal, sometimes for years, to admit their complicity and comply with the laws regarding remuneration to abuse victims.

The church’s stand against abortion is totally separate from the issue of sexual abuse by priests. The church as an institution is certainly free to object to abortion, but that does not somehow endow it with holiness credits that make it exempt from answering to charges of sexual abuse by its employees.

To suggest that a priest who has not “confessed” to an act of sexual abuse should not be charged because the allegation cannot be corroborated shows an ignorance of the law. To suggest that people who are sexually abused will not remember several years later who did it and how it happened is an attempt to cast doubt on every courageous person who came forward to tell his or her story. Who is Trinko protecting?

The Roman Catholic Church should welcome the opportunity to throw open its doors, let the truth be told and let justice be done. I’m tired of writers like Trinko who slyly suggest that their church is being unjustly attacked by people just out to get the church’s money.

Tags: opinion, hudson, church