Letters to the Editor: La Luz del Mundo and the all-too-common stories of abuse in churches

To the editor: The article about Sochil Martin and the sexual slavery she said she endured as a lifelong member of the La Luz del Mundo church is horrifying, but not at all surprising. Since they existed, church organizations large and small have used the faith of their members against them for abuse.

I’m too old to ask for a trigger warning, but this story brought to mind an episode in my teens when I watched a man designated as a youth pastor brutally beat a teenage boy for hours, in the interest of casting out demons. I was left alone with such “youth pastors” more times than I can remember, and it is only by the grace of Somebody that I escaped being a victim myself.

And people wonder why my generation has stopped going to church.

Dana Anderson, Sherman Oaks