Cathedral Booster

Re: “Plan for Catholic Cathedral in Santa Ana Is Criticized,” Aug. 13: Give us Catholics a break! One million faithful Catholics in Orange County had nothing to do with the clergy sexual abuse scandals. Money we donated over the years got diverted to pay victims of sexual abuse, and rightfully so.

All Catholics were outraged by this horror. Victims must be compensated and the guilty punished. Our church has fired archbishops, bishops, priests and brothers, and many errant priests are in prison. But please don’t tie our overdue cathedral to the clergy sex abuse scandal.

The Diocese of Orange is the second-largest diocese west of the Mississippi. Our diocese is 28 years old, yet we have no cathedral. Preposterous! The donations of 1 million Orange County Catholics will build the new cathedral. No funds slated for payment of clergy abuse victims will be used for the new cathedral.

Jerry Mazenko

Garden Grove