BishopAccountability.org
	Readers React to Medianews Series on Catholic Priests Contra Costa Times April 12, 2008 http://www.contracostatimes.com/opinion/ci_8907874?nclick_check=1 THE RESPONSE to our series on priests accused of sexual abuse (March 30-April 2) was swift and passionate. In hundreds of e-mails, telephone calls, Web site forum posts, and letters, readers reacted with strong opinions. That reaction ranged from outrage at the newspaper for bringing up "old news" to outrage at the Diocese of Oakland for "its cover-up and denial." There were also heartbreaking personal stories of abuse. The four-part series, researched and written by Rob Dennis, Jeremy Herb, Matthew Artz and Chris De Benedetti of the Fremont Argus, showed that the number of clergy accused of sexual abuse, many multiple times, has been vastly underreported in the diocese that includes Alameda and Contra Costa counties. One element of the series was a list, including some photos, of 64 priests who are serving or had served in the diocese and the sexual abuse allegations against them. Hundreds voted in online polls, overwhelmingly in favor of the diocese being more forthcoming with information about accused priests. Responses to an e-mail account set up to handle feedback was 2-1 positive. Calls to a telephone line set up for responses tilted toward the negative, as were many calls to reporters and editors. "It is well-known," an angry caller said, "that journalists are biased against religion." "What is your point?" a reader asked in an e-mail. "The priest scandal is not new news." Some wanted to know why we don't examine sexual abuse in schools, or among other groups such as pediatricians. For that matter, one asked, "Why haven't you printed photos and information of all the men accused of abuse in the Bay Area since 1952?" Others praised the report and asked for more. "It goes way, way deeper," wrote one. "Thanks," wrote another. "I am sure a lot of people are finding a sense of peace and justice in all this." Another e-mail: "This is exactly why the print media is so important to everyone." Still others detailed personal accounts of abuse. "Both my sister and I were abused at the school, in our home, in his home and on trips we took with him. The abuse was abundant, horrendous and hell on earth," wrote one woman. "Our family was destroyed in more ways than I care to mention." Here are some of the reactions we received.
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