BALTIMORE (MD)
Baltimore Sun [Baltimore MD]
October 9, 2023
If you are Catholic, Archbishop, why not Christian?
As a non-Catholic I have had the privilege of serving at two Catholic institutions of higher education in Maryland and Iowa. I worked beside priests and nuns who exemplified Christian ideals for our shared humanity: having kindness, compassion and integrity. A Franciscan sister in Iowa, whom I have not seen in over 20 years, still sends me a beautiful handwritten card each Christmas.
The recent sexual abuse scandal in the Baltimore Archdiocese stands in stark contrast to my experience with Catholicism and all of the decent Catholic men and women I have known who exemplify Christian principles. (“Baltimore archdiocese declares bankruptcy ahead of Child Victims Act becoming law,” Sept. 29.) This juxtaposition of the corrupt with the sacred is disturbing. Through redaction and cover-up, the Baltimore Archdiocese is now trying to protect rogue priests who sexually abused children for years, children who were traumatized and have since had to live with this memory for years afterward, even decades. Archbishop William Lori now claims that the Church cannot afford to provide adequate monetary compensation to the victims (not that money alone could ever correct the mistreatment they suffered), even though Archbishop Lori still finds money to pay for the marketing ads for the Archdiocese that have been showing on TV lately.
I have just one question for Archbishop Lori: If you are Catholic, why not Christian?
— Fred Medinger, Parkton
Don’t forget: Bankruptcy filing hurts plaintiffs’ lawyers
While examining the hypocrisy of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, let us not forget that the authors of this op-ed (The hypocrisy of the Archdiocese of Baltimore,” online Oct. 6) are plaintiffs’ attorneys who stand to lose potentially millions of dollars in fees because of the archdiocese’s filing for bankruptcy and the injunction against the filing of separate lawsuits by sexual abuse plaintiffs’ attorneys.
— Deborah Devan, Lutherville
Church should file for moral bankruptcy
I have a suggested correction to the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s filing for bankruptcy protection. Perhaps the archdiocese should file for “moral bankruptcy,” although for that there should be no protection, but instead, accountability.
— Sandee Lippman, Baltimore
The Church is acting like coal industry
The Archdiocese of Baltimore has run to bankruptcy court to protect it, as it faces the prospect of harm from lawsuits (Catholic schools, parishes to pay survivors as part of Archdiocese of Baltimore bankruptcy,” Oct. 3). It is being safeguarded and shielded, although it completely denied that same protection to children being abused by its priests. Isn’t it a relief to be able to reach out for help, be heard and get what you need to keep you safe, Archbishop William Lori? The Catholic Church hierarchy is like the coal industry, fighting for its right to continue spewing pollutant into the air, when what we need is clean energy solutions that will allow Catholics to practice our faith without doing harm.
— Connie Phelps, Baltimore
Tragedy of clergy abuse has become game for lawyers
So now the tragedy of clergy abuse has become a game for the lawyers. Like the dreaded spotted tick that invades our beautiful Maryland countryside, these professionals live off the blood of their victims and extract a percentage of their life (”From shielding abusers to fake ballpark leases, lawyers keep verging on villainy for their clients,” Oct. 2).
We all get unwanted emails inquiring how much Roundup spray we’ve used or if we’ve been exposed to military burn pits, not to mention the advertisements we see in predominantly poor neighborhoods for injury lawyers.
Just like the country would be better off with Medicare for All, claims against the Church might be best served by a single class action suit that doesn’t enrich a portion of society least in need. This type of focused approach may be the best way to uncover hidden assets and lead to a fair settlement. But I’m not a lawyer.
— Eric Greene, Annapolis
No wonder young people are abandoning the Church
Across the land today we read of the Baltimore Archdiocese’s sleazy legal moves to escape accountability for decades of abuse (“Baltimore archdiocese declares bankruptcy ahead of Child Victims Act becoming law,” Sept. 29). Nothing quite screams pro-life, holiness, justice and sanctity quite like weaseling your way out of paying for your egregious victimization of children. And nothing resounds with duplicity quite like every churchgoing Catholic streaming in the door weekend after weekend in tacit agreement with the Church’s malfeasance. The young people who abandon these churches in droves demonstrate the only practical and final solution to the problem.
— Randal McChesney, Bellevue, Washington
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