Girl seeking help was without sin

Girl seeking help was without sin

I finally read something that disturbed/perturbed me deeply enough that I had to speak out. On the June 22nd front page, Bishop Murry is quoted as saying, “the priest is duty bound to keep things disclosed to him in confidence” and further states that “the Seal of Confession cannot be broken under any circumstance.”

Wrong, Bishop. When she approached and requested help from what she believed to be a godly man, she was not confessing any sin or any wrongdoing on her part. She was not asking the Lord for forgiveness, but asking someone she trusted to rescue her.

The bishop’s faulty logic may have made sense if the parent had been the one seeking penance from the church, but that was not the case. Instead, the church under the representation of the priest, allowed a crime to continue. There are so many people who are sexually assaulted by family members and it continues to get swept under the rug because no one wants to talk about it, or when the victim seeks help, their pleas are dismissed. So they live out their adult lives, sometimes in fear, having difficulty in relationships, feeling internally tormented when they encounter their abuser at family gatherings, and often need professional therapy.

It is unfair that she should have had to endure abuse when someone in a position of authority knew about it and refused to assist.

It is a real abuse when the Catholic Church continues to sweep rapes and molestations under the rug as if they are mere nuisances. It is a sin that the priest knew and assisted in the perpetuation by not reporting it.

No wonder the church has to take out ads on television to get people to go to Catholic services. The priest should be sentenced to jail and experience the same treatment he allowed her to endure for years. How’s that for justice?

Heather L. Olsen, Youngstown