BALTIMORE (MD)
Baltimore Sun [Baltimore MD]
March 16, 2023
When I first read that there was going to be a redacted report, I thought that the redacted names only would be the names of the victims, and I was fine with that (”Judge approves redactions for AG’s Catholic clergy abuse report, clearing way for its release,” March 14). Now, it seems that they’re redacting the names of the perpetrators and the enablers as well.
The state of Maryland and the media share a policy of refraining from publishing the names of the victims of sexual predators. The state and the media typically do publish the names of the accused.
How is this situation any different? Giving sexual predators a pass just because they are Catholic is unconstitutional.
The First Amendment prohibits the government from creating a state established religion. That means that the members of any religion and of no religion are all treated the same. That should be the same whether the sexual predators are ordained Catholics or just plain ordinary Catholics.
We should expect this group of sexual predators to be treated exactly like any other sexual predator in Maryland.
— Henry Farkas, Pikesville