Good riddance to confidentiality clauses. If one outcome captures the spirit of the Canadian bishops’ new document on sex abuse, that might be it. No more confidentially clauses.
Making things right
Re: New abuse guidelines focus on prevention (Oct. 3):
This is a good article, but I was hoping you could write that I genuinely feel that the bishops of Canada are really trying to make things right to protect minors. They seemed very sincere with me after my speech to them about clergy abuse. I sincerely want to give them encouragement and support.
It is a different world than before when people kept things hidden. I don’t think the Church knew how to handle it and handled it very poorly. People want transparency and accountability.
The bishops need the laity to work with them. We cannot undo the damage done, but we can have a positive effect in the present and the future.
We must do everything we can to restore lost trust and faith in God through listening to abuse survivors and educating people about safeguards. If abuse is reported, be supportive.
I believe we have come a long way. We must not lose our hope and faith in God. There is hope. I really believe the bishops are trying to make things right.
Deborah Kloos,
Windsor, Ont.
Questioning celibacy
Almost all the articles in The Register about the current sexual abuse crisis are based on repairing the problems of the past with apologies and compensation. But what about the future?
It is necessary to preserve the Church going forward. All of the goodwill and apologies will not change the future. The underlying cause(s) of the rampant sexual abuse will not disappear because the Pope says it must.
The recruitment of new priests must change. It is imperative that mandatory celibacy be discontinued. A few years ago when a number of Anglican priests left their church over same sex-marriage, these priests were readily accepted into the Catholic Church despite being married. The world didn’t stop turning.
And while we are at it, we must ordain women into the priesthood and be prepared to promote them to bishops and even cardinals. Why not a female pope some day?
Patrick King,
Toronto
Why seek answers?
Re: We need answers (Sept. 9):
Your editorial seems to confirm your conviction that the Viganò/Francis you-said-I-said controversy needs an answer. My question is why? Why do we need answers that will do nothing but deepen the conservative-liberal divide?
What percentage of the 1.2 billion Catholics are really interested in the Viganò/Francis controversy? And what percentage are even aware of it?
Although we must do everything to deracinate the evil that has seeped into the Church, we should be careful that in doing so we do not exacerbate the present divide.
J.E. Sequeira,
Pointe Claire, Que.
An important book
Re: Book’s journey takes some tedious turns (Sept. 16):
Joe Gunn has produced an important work. I disagree with the person reviewing it in The Catholic Register, that it is very exclusive. I do believe that it is an eye-opener for joining the activism necessary to take on some of the major problems of today’s world, and nothing is more important than climate change.
It is an important book for many people who are active or want to be active in the world that Joe Gunn knows so well.
Virginia Edman,
Toronto
The summer had been warm and humid, and unlike many churches that can afford air conditioning, the church on the street had to find its own way of surviving the muggy evenings.
Is it possible for a Catholic bishop to not know sex with children is a crime?
The State of Alabama has had a controversial relationship with the Ten Commandments. Not so much its teachings but its physical representation.
Lay investigation
Like millions of Catholics I am scandalized by the priests and bishops who have committed heinous acts, especially to children and teenagers. I’m also frustrated and angry that the clergy, including Pope Francis, use terms that are unfamiliar to the average layperson, such as clericalism.
We have grown weary of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò. Weary of his accusations. Weary of his recklessness. Weary of his insolence. Weary of his betrayals. Weary of his cunning.
The phrases “hot ticket” and “religious freedom forum” appear only infrequently in the same sentence, especially on Parliament Hill where the operative word is secularism, secularism and more secularism.
Mondegreens are those wonderful phenomena in language where a misheard phrase is substituted for the real thing, usually in music. The term comes from American writer Sylvia Wright who explained that she misheard the phrase “and laid him on the green” in a Scottish ballad as “and Lady Mondegreen.”
What does he want?
Re: Abuse Survivor demands ‘real’ change (Sept. 16):
I am shocked and very much disappointed by your giving publicity to this “abuse victim.” What changes does he really want? When he calls for “real” change founded on “honesty and accountability” does he imply that Pope Francis is dishonest?
He was exhausted, lonely, in pain and occasionally maligned. But he carried a vision in his head and a love in his heart that kept him going despite the circumstances.