Pardoning Alan
Letter to the Editor
This is my reaction to the Dec. 23 Windy City Times article "Queen pardons gay mathematician Alan Turing."
First, I am very glad that you brought this issue to our attention.
I believe that Alan did not deserve a pardon. He deserved an apology from the queen. A few years back, the pope apologized to Galileo Galilei for being excommunicated from the Catholic Church due to his statement regarding Earth not being the center of the universe.
I am aware that you are not in a position to address this issue with the queen; however, somebody should have been able to bring this topic to us and maybe, if there is an address to the UK government, this reaction should be sent to them so they know that we want what Alan deserves.
Luis G. Zunino
Chicago
To the letter
The Rainbow Sash Movement ( LGBT Roman Catholics ) finds Cardinal George's letter released to entire archdiocese on clergy sexual abuse astonishing.
In the letter, there is no indication of an apology to the victims of abuse. Further, the cardinal's explanation that the various offices of the archdiocese did not tell him what he needed to know about those involved in the sexual abuse of minors under his care as cardinal/archbishop of Chicago to be unreasonable.
Had this been a doctrinal matter, George would have been all over it. Why not the same attention to the clergy sexual abuse scandal? Or was George blinded, in the words of Pope Francis, with his obsessing over same-sex marriage, abortion and contraception?
George will soon be leaving his office as cardinal/archbishop of Chicago. He must become more accountable for his actions. We call on the cardinal to listen to the people of the archdiocese on this matter and stop trying to absolve the part in played in this matter with smoke and mirrors. We also realize the only reason the cardinal is issuing this letter to the entire archdiocese is because of the pressure that was brought to bear by the victims of clergy sexual abuse in a legal settlement.
If George is unable to be fully accountable to the people of the archdiocese, we than call on his replacement to immediately institute a thorough investigation of the archdiocese. Such investigation should not be focused on passing the buck; rather it should acknowledge the full truth wherever that may lead.
The sincerity of George is suspect, given his history as "George the Corrector" in his time as the leader of the archdiocese. How could he of been unaware of the magnitude of the problem? Why is he not then taking immediate action against those within the chancery who refused to share critical information? We believe his letter only opens up more questions than it responds to.
George, the buck stops with you. It is about time that you fully accept that responsibility.
Rainbow Sash Movement