St. Hedwig’s parish

pays for misdeeds

Editor, OBSERVER:

I recently attended the “Last Mass” of my hometown church at St. Hedwig’s. Very sad.

A social gathering followed. Every single person I spoke to was angry and disillusioned by the Buffalo Diocese.

Points of contention included:

— The lawyers are the only ones who get rich off this endless litigation. Will the parishioners be able to see a list of law firms involved & their compensation?

— The victims will receive a small fraction of the $150M

— Where was the due process when most of the accusations are from decades ago, and most of the priests are deceased (note- accusations go back to 1948)?

— How many accusations came from ‘actual’ abused, and how many came from family members, associates, etc.?

– Many are done contributing to the Diocese of Buffalo. Snowbirds join churches in states where they have part-time residents (i.e. Florida). Others are attending Mass online and contributing to those churches, making sure it is not in New York. Some are looking into alternatives (i.e. Polish National Catholic Church)

— Why did certain politicians, along with the media, promote the extension of the “look-back” period?

— All agreed that victims should be compensated. But why should parishioners be forced to ultimately pay. And for the horrific acts that we were unaware of?

Of the people I spoke to at this gathering, not one person ever heard of sexual abuse allegations in our parish. I personally served as an altar boy for many years, and so did my older brother. Never heard of abuse.

But our parish was one of the first to close. Why?

RICH HALAS,

Eden