blake johnson

It is immoral to pursue monetary claims against the Church for sexual abuse crimes. Don't get me wrong, I believe these crimes are very serious, but sueing for damages will not accomplish anything. Monetary awards really do little to heal the suffering of a victim of sexual abuse, and the money that these victims would receive would come out of programs that help the poor. Therefore, monetary rewards in these suits have a large social cost to society.

What is really needed is new leadership in the Church which will not try to hide its problems. Now that Cardinal Law has resigned, perhaps new leadership will arrive that can straighten our course.

In Mass on Sunday, M. Chien said that St. Paul's parish will not be participating in the Archdiocese' capital campaign this year. M. Chien says that he cannot in good conscience ask the parishoners to give money to the Archdiocese when the use of the money is as uncertain as it is now (there have been reports that Cardinal Law has been considering filinng for bankruptcy to protect the Archdiocese from lawsuits). While I was shocked to hear this annoucement, I am very proud of M. Chien for doing what he believes is right.