Money wasted by diocese, facilities ban isn't transphobic
St. Agnes Roman Catholic Cathedral in Rockville Centre, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
Time, money lost by diocese’s actions
More than three years and $100 million in legal fees have been spent, or misspent, by Bishop John Barres to avoid settling with victims who endured sexual abuse by priests at the Diocese of Rockville Centre [“Judge could toss RVC diocese bankruptcy case,” News, April 30].
That’s time and money our church will never get back. By church, I mean exactly what the Second Vatican Council said it means. The church is the People of God; the kids who need education, the sick who need health care, the hungry who need food, the homeless who need shelter, and the victims of clergy’s crimes who keep clinging to the hope of closure.
Through baptism, every Catholic is commissioned to preach the good news of God’s healing love to the world, especially those broken in mind, body and spirit by men who claim to be Christ’s representatives here on Earth.
Where is Barres’ good news for the victims of clergy sex abuse? In wasting our donations on endless legal antics, he has brought the bad news of dismissing bankruptcy proceedings and further delaying healing of a suffering church.
— Pat McDonough, Long Beach
Facilities ban dictum isn’t transphobic
A reader wrote that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s order banning transgender females from using county facilities was transphobic [“Kudos all around for defending trans rights,” Letters, April 29].
However, nothing inBlakeman’s statement was transphobic. His action is simply a way of protecting biological female athletes, assuring they are competing with their peers on an even basis.
I hope that he prevails. I am confident he has the support of many other Nassau County constituents.
— William Lorusso, Williston Park
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