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Via E-Mail
November 25, 2008
Wall Street Journal
Attn: Editor and Ms. Sataline
In response to U.S. Court Allows Abuse Case vs. Vatican (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122756420187954231.html), the ruling issued by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, is just one of many more examples of judicial abuse committed by attorneys representing religious institutions in the United States.
The clergy sex abuse crisis publicly erupted in June 2002. Today is November 25, 2008--six years and a few months later. What took so long? This recent Circuit Court decision is a RED FLAG to United States citizens, judicial officers, attorneys and government leaders. Hundreds of thousands of sex abuse crimes committed against children and adults by employees supervised by religious institutions were never reported to government authorities, as mandated by law, all in the name of freedom of religion privilege.
Note: To attorney Jeffrey Lena, Pope Benedict, The Vatican's advisors and U.S. Bishops: Your intentional abuse of our country's judicial process and your total disregard for protecting our precious children is a disgrace beyond explanation. Thanks to guaranteed tax exempt status granted to religious institutions in the United States, your financial portfolios are well padded, while Americans witness our country's financial economy crumble.
I pray that some day a person in a position to hold you accountable for ignoring the civil rights guaranteed to all Americans in a court of law speaks out and takes action! God bless the courageous survivors of sex crimes committed by employees protected by powerful and politically-connected religious institutions -- you are a gift to the world's children.
Without justice, there will never be peace. Without peace, faith and our country's laws are empty.
Debby Bodkin
Los Angeles, California
cc: Pope Benedict
U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Jeffrey Lena, Esq.
