Failed Church Leaders

Letter to the Editor
Philadelphia Inquirer
By Sister Maureen Anne Paul Turlish
October 24, 2005

Re: "Abuse's 'enablers' still rank in church," Oct. 14:

As a woman religious who has chaired departments in two Philadelphia diocesan high schools, Archbishop Wood and Lansdale Catholic, I am appalled and sickened by the callous abuse of our children, the protection of abusers, the harassment of whistle-blowing nuns and priests and the lack of accountability of our church leadership.

The sad fact is that Cardinals John Krol, Anthony Bevilacqua and Justin Rigali, along with the "enablers," are far beyond the reach of the law as it presently stands.

Unfortunately, too, there are not even any sanctions that will be placed on them. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is impotent, and Rigali is hardly expected to slap the wrists of those who followed what were obviously his and his two predecessors' orders.

At the very least, the eight infamous administrators named in the article, along with Msgr. William Lynn, now a pastor in Downingtown, should be removed from pastorates and from the ranks of bishops and monsignors. If they were in the military, they would have been busted to private!

So, it falls to the laity, whenever they wake up, to hold all of them accountable.

Sister Maureen Anne Paul Turlish
Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur
New Castle, Del.