Dear Fellow Catholics:
We are certain that you are aware by now of the Attorney General’s investigation of the Washington state dioceses relating to the ongoing sexual abuse scandal. We note that Archbishop Etienne responded to the fact of the investigation by a letter addressed to parishioners. We choose not to respond on a point by point basis to the letter other than to indicate that these are the same arguments and list of excuses made when Heal Our Church first asked for an independent review more than 4 years ago.
The Archbishop offered a particularly offensive excuse for withholding the files in stating that the victims are entitled to privacy and already know what happened to them. In fact, the victims do not know the background events leading to their abuse or the identities of all the clerical decision-makers who engaged in a decades long practice of transferring predator priests and cloaking their crimes in secrecy. And, to be clear, the files can be redacted to fully protect the privacy of the victims and their families.
We ask that you reflect on this question: If, as the Archbishop suggests, all files have been turned over – why is he resisting the subpoenas?
コメント