I would like to respond to the June 23 Buffalo News front page article, “Separating fact from fiction with church closings.” In my opinion, Buffalo News reporter Jay Tokasz is the only journalist, along with WGRZ’s Charlie Specht, who is endowed with the courage to tell the truth about the diocesans’ cover up of abuse that has occurred for at least the past six decades. What infuriated me about the article was reading the official diocesan reason for the church closings being, “The shortage of priests becoming more acute and negative financial contribution trends.” That statement puts half of the blame on faithful parishioners who have and are still putting their money in the collection.
With three out of every five parishes in the Buffalo Diocese currently operating in the red and a shortage of priests becoming more acute every year, diocese officials said the closures are necessary for the future vitality of the Catholic faith in Western New York.
Anyone with any memory of Buffalo diocesan history knows that the real reason for these parish closings is because several members of the clergy have been abusing the flock both literally and figuratively. Bishops Burke, McNaulty, Head, Mansell, Kmiec and Malone have all aided and abetted the criminal behavior of more than 250 priests and nuns in the Buffalo diocese who have been accused of sexual misconduct by covering up their crimes. Over 1,000 Child Victims Act lawsuits were filed in Western New York, with the majority being against the Diocese of Buffalo. That is the real reason for the ultimate betrayal of the diocese’s decision to close churches that generations of immigrants have sacrificed to build in the Buffalo metropolitan area. So take courage, faithful Catholics, it’s not your fault, it’s theirs.
People are also reading…
Joseph Mombrea
Lewiston