Seattle archbishop: Heed call for transparency
Jan. 8, 2021 at 2:37 pm
By
The Seattle Times
Re: “Seattle archbishop is stonewalling push for more transparency of church sex-abuse cases, group contends” [Jan. 2, Local News]:
Retired Judge Terrence Carroll and former U.S. Attorney for Western Washington Mike McKay have impressive professional credentials and have both served on the archbishop’s lay advisory board. It is significant that they, along with the rest of the large group of lay Catholics in Heal Our Church, feel the current in-house review needs to be opened up to broader lay scrutiny.
In her brilliant book on racism, “Caste,” Isabel Wilkerson likens our lack of awareness of racism to the phenomenon described in the movie “The Matrix,” where citizens were victims of “the unseen master program fed by the survival instinct.” The hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church has created a similar matrix, with laity in a parent/child relationship with the clergy.
Despite the huge failings of the institution to even protect our own children from clerical predators, Seattle Archbishop Paul Etienne still insists that the laity should be docile and submissive, and leave important matters in the hands of the all-male, officially celibate clergy. Meanwhile, the laity are expected to provide funds for the victims.
Patrick Callahan, Seattle
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