Today is the fifth anniversary of my son’s death. There is no better way to honor him than by speaking out against the hypocrisy of the institutional Catholic Church. Here is a letter to the Editor I wrote tonight to the local newspaper.

Dear Editor,
In the last two days, August 25 and August 26, in MJS there are articles on the Archdiocese revised plan filed in bankruptcy court. The sexual abuse victims keep saying the plan “does not do enough to ensure the protection of children or hold the archdiocese accountable for its past actions”, while the Archdiocese keeps spending more money on lawyers and in the revised plan is now compensating more victims. The disturbing line in both articles is that the Archdiocese will now take “2.4 million from two funds it maintains for continuing education of priests, and orphans and other welfare needs.”

The Archdiocese already has been accused of not doing much for the increasing number of impoverished African-Americans and Hispanic living in Milwaukee. Yet now they are going to take money from ‘orphans and other welfare needs.’

I am 72 and a lifelong Catholic in Milwaukee yet this move by the Archdiocese in Milwaukee deeply disturbs me. Perhaps the local leaders of our Catholic Church should read today’s Gospel in which Jesus says to the religious leaders of his time: “…you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth.”

Bob Graf

Was Jesus talking about Cardinal Dolan hiding money in the cemetery fund?

Comments

Please send any comments on this post to . Let us know which day’s post your comments pertain to. If the comments are appropriate we will post them here for you.