Well, Greg -
As far as experience with the Catholic Church, you and I have almost identical backgrounds. Every single thing you say you've done in the Catholic Church, I've done (and vice versa). I've been on the payroll of the Church more than once, and I spent eight years in the seminary and so on and so on and so on. And yes, I have had experience with both abusers and their victims.

My experience was chiefly positive, yours was not - and I'm very sorry about that. Mine is still positive - partly because I work hard to fix the problems in the parishes where I've been, and I don't take "no" for an answer. And I know where the skeletons are buried, and I have very good connections. It also helps that I'm a retired federal investigator.

OK, so a million dollars in "hush money" hurts church donors more than $30,000. Thirty grand is still a lot of money - but does either amount heal the damage done by child abuse? So what's your solution to the problem? TEN million dollars? I readily admit that the Catholic bishops botched the handling of the child abuse problem - but what institution has done a good job of handling it? I suppose the reparation payments were an indirect part of the reason I was laid off a year ago from my job as a pastoral associate. It was a job I've always wanted, so it cost ME a lot.

Most non-Catholic churches are incorporated separately, so individual congregations may get hit for child molestation, not the entire denomination. That being the case, the settlements are usually much smaller - and the press coverage is much less sensational.

I don't blame you one bit for becoming a Unitarian. I have lots of formerly Catholic Unitarian friends, and I'm very much at home and well-known in three Unitarian congregations in the Sacramento area.

BUT don't blame me for remaining a Catholic. Don't tell me I have my eyes shut - I know all the problems. It's just that I find more good than bad in the Catholic Church, and I plan to stick around to solve the problems instead of seeking another church. In my experience, it's 95 percent good and 5 percent bad. And the bad can be awful, but I'm not going to give away my church because of the five percent.

-Joe Offer-