| April 23, 2003
- To the Editor of the Boston Herald:
Margery Eagan's 4/20 column, "Pocketbook protest" conveys
several misperceptions and inaccuracies which need to be corrected
regarding the teaching and policies of the Catholic Church and the
Archdiocese of Boston.
The Pope's encyclical letter clearly states its purpose is to rekindle
a spirit of "amazement" in the Eucharist, as "Christ's
saving presence in the community of the faithful and its spiritual
food." Ms. Eagan's characterization of the encyclical as focused
on "obstinate sinners" is simply flawed. That was not its
purpose, no matter how much she and others wish to make it so.
The columnist's statement that the Boston Archdiocese "will not
let parishioners earmark a contribution's destination" is also
inaccurate. In fact, donors to the Catholic Campaign may designate
contributions to specific programs, agencies, and ministries, within
the Archdiocese. They simply need to do so in writing when making the
donation.
Ms. Eagan also claims, erroneously, that "funds won't be used
for any sort of education on sexual abuse." The fact is that the
Office of Child Advocacy, Implementation and Oversight-which receives
most of its financial support from those “funds”-has over
the past six months implemented an education program specifically directed
at the identification and prevention of child sexual abuse. This program
has already educated thousands of men and women about the societal-wide
scourge of child abuse.
Furthermore, Bishop Lennon did not reject Voice of Compassion funds
because he is concerned about "maintaining the power of a hierarchy" but
because of the conditions attached to the funding.
Finally, Ms. Egan’s mean-spirited and outrageous slander against
Blessed John XXIII Seminary does not bear repeating. I would offer,
however, that it was truly sad that your newspaper chose to print it
on Easter Sunday, a day on which many of the fine alumni of that national
seminary were celebrating Easter Mass with Catholics all across the
United States.
Sincerely,
Christopher J. Coyne
Spokesperson, Archdiocese of Boston
|
