Letters: No one spoke up for sex abuse victims

Re “Silent witness to abuse,” Column One, June 26

Many in his Ventura County Catholic community more than three decades ago suspected that Father Donald Patrick Roemer sexually abused children, but few spoke out. Some approved of his affection for children; others were unable to accept the accusations brought against him.

Catholic seminarians live in tight-knit communities and are held to high standards of behavior. How is it that more than a few pedophiles manage to squeeze through the system and reach ordination?

To what degree are priests responsible in their silence for the abuse that went on? And what about the Catholic parents and parish workers who stood by in silence?

The secular media do Catholics a great favor in calling the church to account for these abuses. Yet many Catholics seem to be more angry at reporters than at the system that caused the abuse.

Robert E. Doud

Glendale

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