Letter: Malone’s resignation won’t help the healing

By Mike Stockmeyer
Buffalo News
December 3, 2019

https://bit.ly/34Oiwl7

There is a lot of press and news stories about Bishop Richard Malone’s resignation. I’m a victim of pedophile Father Joseph Friel. I’ve seen about eight other victims in the media regarding Friel as the predator. Well if 10 came forward then there are 20 that didn’t. Until about a year ago I was one of that 20, my sexual abuse took place 58 years ago when I was 10.

Now I am only speaking for myself. Malone is the last in probably 100 years of bishops in the Buffalo Diocese guilty of the cover up. There are tons of non-pedophile priests, and lay people also guilty regarding the cover up.

Life is often paradoxical which means truth and its exact opposite are correct. The entire clerical body of priests needs to come on bended knee to the victims, confess their sins and receive absolution from God, through the intercession of the victims. Of course, that would only occur in a perfect world.

You see the biggest thing they took away was our relationship with God. We knew He hated us.

You see the Catholic Church allowed God’s babies to be enormously harmed. That really doesn’t sit right with God, according to Sacred Scripture. My biggest point here is Malone is the last in a long line of Catholic hierarchy. Speaking for myself, he is working outside of his pay grade, but stepping down will do nothing for my healing.

I say let him finish his term, and have the next bishop be a Catholic clergyman who was also a victim.

I went to a support group consisting of victims like myself, and it was incredibly healing, and it was at a Catholic Church. I urge all victims to attend, even if they haven’t come forward yet. There was a lot of tears which needed to be shed.

None of the stories were exactly the same, and yet my brothers and sisters told the same story as me.