Opinion Piece: Every denomination should be eager to protect children.

Letter to the editor, published in The News Journal, March 7, 2007

The sexual abuse of children is no more a strictly Baptist problem than it is a strictly Catholic problem. It is a societal problem of immense proportions that has been covered up for too long.

It is an unpleasant, embarrassing subject to many. Some would rather not have to deal with it. But it is shattering people’s faith and their lives.

I have heard individuals say that it isn’t fair to hold people accountable for crimes they may have committed years ago. Fair has to do with ball games. The laws of the United States are supposed to be about justice.

We owe justice to those adults who managed to survive childhood sexual abuse.

A non-sectarian Web site, http://www.childvictimsvoice.com, has been set up to support the passage of Senate Bill 29. I do not think it is too much to expect the various religious denominations in Delaware to lead. If churches are not protecting children, God help us.

Sister Maureen Paul Turlish, New Castle