If the article “In abuse scandal, spotlight squarely on bishops” (Page A1, Nov. 4) had been published in a Catholic publication, it would be an authentic sign that there has been an institutional conversion of bishops’ accountability. For now, Catholics must rely on the secular media for in-depth investigative journalism of its church’s conduct.
Critics of Catholicism in the United States have charged that the Roman Catholic Church’s highest allegiance is to a foreign power: the pope and the state of Vatican City. This is substantiated in the article when Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore reveals, “I thought if I committed a crime against a young person or in any serious way violated my responsibilities that the Holy See would step in and take me out of office.”
It’s incredible that he would defer to the Holy See to determine whether he had violated any US law. In one sense, he abdicates personal responsibility for his actions. He reveals a deeper mind-set that doesn’t take seriously adherence to the laws of this country.
Critics of Sharia law, fearful of its practice here, are oblivious that the Roman Catholic Church’s canon law has trumped adherence to the American legal system by American Catholic bishops.
The Rev. Emmett Coyne
Ocala, Fla.
The writer is a retired priest with the Diocese of Manchester in New Hampshire.