Reply #34: MA delegation asks apologies to Santorum [View All]

[Mass]

http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/record.cfm?id=240731

MASSACHUSETTS CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION DEMANDS SANTORUM APOLOGY

Senator's Comment Blaming Massachusetts For Child Abuse Offensive

Washington, DC -- Below is a letter the 12 member Massachusetts Congressional Delegation wrote to Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum today, asking him to apologize for his suggestion that Massachusetts is to blame for the tragic child abuse scandal that has caused immeasurable pain to families in the Bay State, as similar scandals have for countless families in other states including Pennsylvania.

Dear Senator Santorum,

We are writing to request your immediate apology for your outrageous, erroneous and insensitive comments made about victims of abuse in our home state of Massachusetts and the excuses you made for unconscionable acts committed against children.

Three years ago you said, "While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm," and on Tuesday you reinforced those comments. To place blame on the people of Massachusetts for the sexual abuse scandal is fundamentally wrong, and we believe you owe the people of our state an apology.

The victims of abuse have endured a long and painful process. This terrible tragedy has affected brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, friends and entire communities. It has hurt parishes where trust has been shattered. At a time when the victims and their families work to find peace and heal after suffering through this tragedy, your comments can only exacerbate their horrible pain and suffering.

We are deeply disturbed that you would offend Massachusetts by using an abuse scandal, one that has been mirrored in your state and in others, to score cheap political points with far right political groups. The exploitation of children is a tragic and perverse act, and the people of Massachusetts are working hard to bring the perpetrators to justice. Sadly, child abuse happens in cities large and small across our country, and your words are hurtful to victims everywhere.

We now urge you to apologize to the people of Massachusetts and set the record straight, so the people of the Commonwealth and abuse victims elsewhere, including those in Pennsylvania, will know that the responsibility for these heinous crimes rests only with the perpetrators themselves.

Sincerely,

Senator John F. Kerry Senator Edward M. Kennedy Congressman Edward J. Markey Congressman Barney Frank Congressman Richard E. Neal Congressman John Olver Congressman William D. Delahunt Congressman Marty Meehan Congressman John Tierney Congressman Michael P. Capuano Congressman James P. McGovern Congressman Stephen F. Lynch # # #