I'm responding to the June 26 letter titled "To Hell With the Christians" [in response to "Attack of the Puritans," May 29]. I agree: Christianity does not have the fucking right to tell me not to go to gentlemen's clubs. Christians hate individuality if it does not strengthen their cause. I have the right to be a sexual deviant, and I accept my rightful place in hell, because no Christian tells me how to live. I do not believe in censorship of any form. I'm 30 years old and am living life to the fullest, because I only have one life. To the Christians: I am a freak and sexual demon, and I'm proud of it.
Kelvin Scott Frazier
Cleveland
All signs point to Rooney's guilt:
Mary Lou Vasitas has my deepest sympathies over the tragic loss of her son, the late Father Donald Rooney ["Bless Me Father," July 3]. Father Rooney had been summoned to a meeting with diocesan officials to discuss allegations by a woman who said the priest had sexually abused her in 1980, when she was a child. Rather than face diocesan authorities, he chose to end his life with a bullet.
While this is an extremely difficult time for Mrs. Vasitas, I believe she is in great denial about her late son's alleged sexual abuse. There is a very high likelihood Father Rooney did take sexual advantage of children, particularly since other alleged victims have come forward since the first complaint. Few accusers would risk their personal reputation, let alone risk serving jail time themselves for making false reports and defaming someone's character. Father Rooney fits the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde behavior pattern of most sexually exploitative priests. On one hand, they are caring, thoughtful, attentive clergymen who go the extra mile for people in need. In their perverted dark moments, they exploit the goodwill they have carefully nurtured to take sexual advantage of vulnerable youths. With all due respect to Mrs. Vasitas, I'm afraid I must take issue with the characterization of her late son's initial accuser as a "Judas."
One is hardly a Judas for betraying an alleged pervert. If anything, the "Judas" performed a valuable public service. The accuser finally summoned enough courage after all these years to do the right thing -- in hopes not only of obtaining a just settlement in a court of law, but also in hopes of removing Father Rooney from assignments where he would have access to children. As fate would have it, Father Rooney removed himself.
Louis H. Pumphrey
Shaker Heights
Suicide, molestation, and other hilarity:
The cover story in your recent issue about Don Rooney brought tears to my eyes -- from laughing so hard. The article totally began to piss me off. It would attempt to have me believe that he was some kind of wonderful man, almost a martyr, even though he molested kids and killed himself. I don't care what his family, friends, and misguided mother have to say.
It's too bad that an opposing view was left out of this highly biased article; perhaps there are individuals who felt Rooney was an asshole or a pedophile. I doubt that someone who would molest kids and kill himself was that great a person. I'm sure that Rooney's family and friends did not know the real Rooney. Rather, they knew the "innocent Catholic priest" that was Rooney's intricate facade. But at least I can remind myself that, according to the Catholic faith, suicide is a sin, and Rooney's probably in a pretty bad place right now.
If every child-molesting Catholic priest would kill himself, just like Don Rooney did, the world would be a better place.
Charles Seeburg
North Royalton
The Catholic cash machine:
I see you're skanking around again. You just love this Catholic Church scandal. It provides fodder for the sick and feeble-minded. You don't waste the time reading the paper, do you? Father Rooney is much loved and missed in death, as he was in life. He made a mistake years ago and evidently paid dearly for it in his own conscience.
Let's jump on the "He did bad things to me" bandwagon and see if we can't get our name in the paper, maybe some cash for our hurt psyches. It's pretty creepy to see what you'll say to get someone to read this paper.
Marilyn Anthony
Cleveland
