The Catholic Church is at last facing the sex abuse perpetrated by members of its clergy, an evil covered up for years by bishops and archbishops. Reform was required if the church was to retain any sense of respectability.
An evil even more pernicious is the silence of the Mormon hierarchy on the gun violence epidemic — the major cause of death for children nationally, and for Utah children in particular.
Utah government is dominated by GOP, LDS legislators who continue to throw fuel on the flames of Utah’s gun violence epidemic. And the church does nothing to rein in the LDS-GOP perpetrators. Both the church and state have failed the residents of Utah. No other advanced democracy fails to provide a safe, gun-free environment for their children. Even kids in China grow up in a safer environment, free of guns.
LDS Church leaders should promote a moral compass required for responsible citizenship in a democracy. Unfortunately, Mormon state legislators provide ample proof of failure and the church tax exempt status is not legitimate. Utah is worse off because citizens falsely assume the church will provide moral leadership when in fact the church remains silent on guns and other moral issues.
What will it take to get LDS legislators to act like real Christians and protect the lives of their children? The kingdom of God has morphed into a kingdom of guns and the promised land is now only ideal for gun addicts. Catholic priests have been guilty of abuse, while Mormon legislators are guilty of an unforgivable act for which they are being paid, even while their children are dying. God help us!
Ron Molen, Salt Lake City
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