Letters: Readers discuss Catholic Church responsibility, NFL greed and blaming victims
Come clean now
Several days ago, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas released a list of 22 priests involved in substantiated cases of sexual abuse against minors over the past 75 years. (Jan. 26, 1A, “Archbishop names 22 priests facing substantiated allegations of sex abuse”)
At best, this disclosure was anemic and antiquated. Most of the individuals named are dead or have left or been removed from the clergy. Surely there are other accusations that are more current. That information should be revealed.
The Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in Missouri has also displayed very little of the transparency it has promised — what happened and when.
It is painfully obvious that the bishops are slow-walking the disclosures of criminal activity every Catholic should be fully aware of. It is up to the media and to the state attorneys general to investigate and completely disclose what has been hidden from us.
It is time to put it all on the table for all to see and then give some closure to this sad chapter of clergy abuse and coverups.
James Cox
Louisburg
Do-over time
The National Football League should have looked at Major League Baseball, which ordered the New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals to replay the 1983 “Pine Tar Game” from just after George Brett’s contested ninth-inning home run.
The NFL should have made the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints replay from the point of the missed pass interference call in the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 20. It was the only fair way to have two legitimate teams in the Super Bowl.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell refused to do that, of course, because if he did and the Saints won (about 99 percent probable), how would Las Vegas bookmakers refund and pay all that money?
The NFL is one of the most greedy, money-hungry organizations ever devised. It is a rich man’s business that engages in threats, intimidation and extortion for stadium funding and World Wrestling Entertainment techniques to control game outcomes.
Dan Anderson
Lee’s Summit
Why no action?
Another bloody weekend in the Kansas City area: seven people shot, two dead. (Jan. 28, 4A, “Two dead, 7 injured in separate shootings around Kansas City”)
During Jan. 23-25, we saw three mass shootings in the United States: in Sebring, Fla.; in State College, Pa.; and near Baton Rouge, La.
Also last week, two local teenage boys were shot and killed, one in Overland Park and one on the Missouri side.
It’s too bad President Donald Trump doesn’t use his power to rally his base and the Republican Party to move against the proliferation of guns in this country rather than against desperate people fleeing violence and seeking better lives for themselves and their families in America.
Jerry Scully
Overland Park
Victim blaming
Several items in this past Sunday’s Star spoke clearly about our current divisive society:
Beware when others seek to define who you are and how you think. In the Opinion section, George F. Will explained Sen. Elizabeth Warren. (21A, “Do Democrats want their own Thatcher in Warren?”) Like anyone describing the thoughts and motives of someone with differing views, the explanation inevitably became slanted — and instead of shedding light, it became just one more voice adding to the divisive cacophony. I wonder how Will feels when MSNBC analyzes the views of conservative commentators.
Beware of bullies. After increasingly common verbal assaults, we attack the target instead of the offender. In the news pages, a former dance coach justified a clearly racist remark by saying it wasn’t meant to be seen by the person targeted. (4A, “Blue Valley dance coach: Racial texts about student hurtful but taken out of context”) But when it was seen, its target was deemed the unreasonable one because she was offended.
Rep. Steve King of Iowa was applauded by his constituents because he was foolish enough to think that his racist comments wouldn’t offend. (10A, “King applauded at 1st event since House rebuke”)
And in the comics pages, “Pearls before Swine” (C6) and “The Wizard of Id” (C8) took aim at people who are supposedly easily offended.
Yes, some folks are too sensitive and don’t know how to respond appropriately when singled out. However, the problem is less with them than with the bullies who justify their insensitivity by blaming the person or people they attack.
Robert Powell
Independence