Sins & Silence
Letters to the Editor
Church fails the people and God

By [name redacted at author's request]
Telegraph Herald [Dubuque IA]
March 25, 2006

http://www.snap-greatplains.org

[See the main page of the Sins & Silence series for links to all the articles and letters to the editor.]

As someone abused as a child by a priest and as a mental health professional who works with abuse victims, I can attest that the harm abuse causes is pervasive and lifelong.

As a Canadian and someone who has researched this issue extensively, I can also assure you that the problem is extensive and global in nature.

The Roman Catholic Church has actively abandoned victims and their families to support its own organization and priests. In the end, it has failed everyone—lay people, clergy of integrity, but most of all they have failed God and his children.

[Name and address redacted at author's request]