In abuse cases, everyone deserves justice

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To the Editor:
This is in regards to the two cases alleging sexual abuse that have been filed with the Diocese of Davenport. Enough is enough. We have as a Church done everything we can to heal the wounds caused by past mistakes. We have apologized to everyone and asked for forgiveness. We have done all that we can to ease the suffering of the victims who were abused as children. It was the right thing to do.
Now it’s time to accept responsibility for the protection of some of the other victims of these crimes, in this case our priests. We need to let our priests know that we have reached the point where every scrap of evidence of old abuses has already been closely examined.
From now on, the burden of proof should be on the accusers, which would be the normal circumstance in any other civil or criminal case. We have adopted the safeguards that are needed to protect our children from current abuse, we have acknowledged past failures, now is the time to insist that our priests be granted the same protections that everyone else enjoys. They need to be protected by a Statute of Limitations and assumed to be innocent until proven guilty. Everyone deserves justice.
John David Knight
Ottumwa


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1 thought on “In abuse cases, everyone deserves justice

  1. Bravo! What a wonderful article. Thank you so much to Mr. Knight who wrote it. No one seems to be concerned about the sin of detraction these days, which is ruining another’s reputation…and especially when one is innocent. I am daily praying for our priests, who have such a burden to carry. God will reward them. May God Bless you, Mr. Knight, for speaking out the truth.
    Sandi Hansen

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