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Where Does William Donohue Get His " Facts" ? By Susan Matthews The Catholics4change September 15, 2011 http://catholics4change.com/2011/09/15/where-does-william-donohue-get-his-facts/ Several people sent me a press release issued by William Donohue of The Catholic League because it mentioned Catholics4Change in regard to Archbishop Chaput. The press release probably won't get picked up but I'll address some points. I'm confused by why a Catholic civil rights group would find fault with a Catholic creating a blog where Catholics can freely speak. Here is a portion of his press release… Still another group of malcontents, Catholics4Change, demanded that they "become part of Church leadership." But wouldn't that make them part of the dreaded "institutional Church" they so deplore? Where did Mr. Donohue get the statement "become part of Church leadership?" Here's what we say on our About page. "Catholics4Change.com was created to serve as a forum for Catholics who would like to respectfully share their concerns and questions regarding Church accountability to laity on a variety of issues – the most important being the protection of children. Catholics4Change strives to create a system of meaningful communication and solutions with Church leadership. Catholics4Change will offer related news, links and commentary from a variety of perspectives." I do believe that laity should be involved and vocal. The laity is just as accountable as their leadership. Does Donohue disagree? Also, I don't deplore the institutional Church. Perhaps Donohue doesn't know that I worked for the Archdiocese and still have friends there. The institutional Church is responsible for a tremendous amount of good – Catholic Social Services, Catholic Charities, Catholic Schools, the Office for Disabilities, the Office for Migration and so on. I applaud their work. As for being described as a malcontent, I agree. I'm not content with the handling of clergy sex abuse in Philadelphia. However, I do not hold Archbishop Chaput responsible for the alleged crimes or mess created by others. No flak here. I am concerned about the civil statute of limitations regarding child sex abuse in PA. But that doesn't make me a dissident. It makes me a concerned Catholic citizen and mother. |
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