The Letter

Demand an End to the Corruption and Cover-Ups

Source: Church Militant

Please copy and paste the following into a Word document, fill out the relevant portions, print out and mail to your bishop. See this page for a list of addresses for dioceses. 

Include a copy of your letter to the papal nuncio:

Abp. Christophe Pierre
Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See
3339 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20008

*******

[Your Name
Address
City, State, Zip]

Date

Most Reverend (Bishop’s name)
Bishop of (Diocese name)
[Address]
City, State, Zip]

Dear Bishop (Name),

I am writing to inform you that I am withholding all funds from the diocese until you address the serious evil of homosexuality within the ranks of not just the priesthood, but most importantly, the episcopate. No man with any degree of same-sex attraction should be ordained, much less a consecrated bishop. Those who currently are ordained need to be barred from any public ministry.

As a number of prominent Catholics have pointed out quite clearly in the wake of the Cdl. McCarrick catastrophe, until the vice of homosexuality within the episcopate is resolved, nothing will change.

To that end, the following are my demands:

1. A public admission and acknowledgement by you that the root of this problem is a crisis of homosexuality in the priesthood and the episcopacy.
2. A complete and honest public confession from you admitting:
• if you have same-sex attraction
• if you have acted on it since your ordination
• if you have knowingly ordained men to the priesthood who have same-sex attraction
• if you have, in any way, participated in covering up for homosexual priests or retaliating against any individuals who have credibly reported lewd behavior by homosexual clerics
• for the good of Holy Mother Church, you must now come clean if you have been duplicitous in any way
3. That any clergy under your authority who are guilty of homosexual behavior — in any fashion — be barred from any public ministry and proceedings initiated to dismiss them from the clerical state, including so-called “gay ministries.”
4. That any matter that would fall under the jurisdiction of civil authorities be shared with them as well.
5. That an independent reporting system be established immediately for any adult victims (18+ years of age, especially seminarians) of sexual molestation or harassment or who have been subject to any sort of sexual advance by any member of the clergy, regardless of rank.   
6. This system must also incorporate a "whistleblower" safety mechanism so that good, faithful clergy have a means of reporting lewd and lascivious behavior on the part of fellow clergy toward them or others without fear of reprisal.
7. Any such priest who to date has been the subject of such reprisal must be publicly restored and exonerated.
8. A public apology on your part for participating either actively by abusing these men or passively by allowing this abuse to happen by remaining publicly silent in the face of this horror.
9. Your resignation effective immediately if you were a participant in any negligence of office(s) in these matters.
10. That all homosexual men (or sympathizers) who are recruitment or vocations directors, seminary formators or rectors be dismissed immediately.

The abuse perpetrated by men such as McCarrick has caused unconscionable spiritual, financial and emotional damage, and we laity will no longer allow this to continue. The truth is that too many bishops (perhaps yourself) knew about this and did nothing.

We have begun our own #CatholicMeToo movement and are demanding accountability. Until our demands are met, our funding of your various and assorted campaigns will stop. Instead, the money I would have given to the diocese will go to more honorable and worthy institutions and apostolates within the Church, as opposed to, e.g., the enormous sums of money being paid to attorneys to clean up after your and your brother bishops’ failings, as well as paid for settlement fees to victims of clerical homosexual predation and associated cover-ups. We will no longer be passive participants in your sins and/or failure to lead with our money.

May God bless you,

[Your Name]

cc: Abp. Christophe Pierre, Papal Nuncio to the United States

SILENCE STOPS NOW

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will have its annual meeting in Baltimore November 12-15, 2018. The Silence Stops Now Coalition is committed to ending the culture of clerical silence that has enabled the sexual predation and destruction of lives for decades. To this end, we will be organizing the Silence Stops Now rally in Baltimore to demand an end to the silence, to insist on the resignation of those responsible, the prosecution of any criminal activity, and an independent investigation of the leadership of the Catholic Church in the United States.  Use this form to register for the Silence Stops Now rally outside the U.S. Bishops' meeting 12 to 15 Nov.

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