Pope's meeting did not wipe away pain

A letter from Ed Smetana quoted Barbara Thorp of the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston who stated, "The Papal meeting with survivors of sexual abuse was a true balm for the majority of survivors and families."

I believe that is overstated. The pope met with only five victims of sexual abuse.

The 1,474 victims he mentions may be for the Archdiocese of Boston alone but is short by many thousands of victims in the entire country.

The assumption that a 20-minute meeting with five hand-picked victims in a private room is going to wipe away the suffering of thousands is ludicrous.

This pope, as the one before him, has a long history of ignoring pedophile and homosexual transgressions.

Mr. Smetana believes the victims and their families hate their abusers. In some cases this may be so, but for the great majority, hate is not the prevailing emotion.

What hurts most is the sadness and despair they have suffered.

The anger is not aimed at these sick priests who don't belong in church positions.

The anger felt is for the bishops and heads of religious orders that have callously transferred abusers from parish to parish for years knowing they had abused children in the past.

It says in scripture "You shall know a tree by its fruit." So far, the fruit is not forthcoming.

Cardinal George recently went against the advice of his own lay review board to remove Rev. Daniel McCormack from active parish work after numerous charges of child abuse. Instead, he assigned him to another parish where, prosecutors say, he molested boys on an almost daily basis until he was arrested.

Last year, Cardinal George sent lobbyists to Springfield to block Senate Bill 1733, which would have provided a two-year window for victims of abuse to file a claim though the statute of limitations had run out. In spite of having 20 co-sponsors, the bill died in committee.

Christ told Peter three times when he asked if he loved him to "Tend my sheep."

The cardinal, the bishops and the pope up to now have proven to bear no fruit of change for the Church nor have they tended the Lord's sheep properly.

R.P. Harrison

Elk Grove Village