I am very disappointed in the recent letter, “Catholic Church cover-up aided by weak Connecticut laws,” (Dec. 15), which maligned a local priest by name. I understood that the request of readers was to share their own personal experiences and how that had affected them. Instead, the motivation appeared to be that of maligning specific local priests and the Catholic Church itself.

The church has been dealing with this problem at the local level and at the highest level in Rome. It is no longer ignoring and hiding from this problem. It is commonly agreed that the church did not do enough in the past. However, none of us readers needed to know specifics of things that happened close to 20 years ago. Indeed, as a woman over 60, I as well as many women have had the experiences of inappropriate attention from teachers, coaches, professors and even the police. You can probably still see this kind of behavior at bars.

As for me, I recently returned from a religious trip, guided by the aforementioned priest. His knowledge and kindness were greatly appreciated. I signed up for this trip because he would be there. I knew that his presence would enhance the experience for me. It did.

We all need to be able to forgive. I have.

Kathryn Johnson

East Lyme

Editor's note: The letter cited was referencing a news story, not presenting new information.