Letters: Dallas Diocese, Bishop Edward Burns, Rudy Kos, Education, Driver's License Renewal Tips

End pattern of concealmentRe: "Raid shows new push by police — Victims' advocates heartened by efforts to investigate clergy," Sunday news story.As a lifelong Catholic I was offended by Bishop Edward Burns' comment that he was "saddened" by the Dallas police raid of the diocese. I am saddened by the fact that one of these known pedophiles baptized my daughter into the Catholic faith. Until the pattern of abuse and concealment ends and the actions of the church equal their pompous pronouncements, I will remain skeptical.Michael Whiteside, Dallas/Old Lake HighlandsBishop protests too muchBishop Edward Burns would do well to show some restraint rather than respond with condemnation to the raid of diocesan offices. I am no scholar of the Bible, but I have heard that the writers recommend humility. And while I have not read Shakespeare since high school, I do recall Hamlet's Queen Gertrude's observation that in protesting too much, one might be hiding the truth.Karen Kimball, McKinneyDiocese is making progressSunday has been the fourth day in a row that your readers have been subjected to the same relentless attack on the Catholic Diocese of Dallas regarding their handling of past sexual abuse. Although I firmly believe that any form of sexual abuse is intolerable and should be subjected to the ultimate investigation, as a parishioner in the diocese, I am disgusted and angered with your brash attacks on Bishop Edward Burns and the current diocese staff in their present handling of clergy sexual abuse. I wish to make it clear that I, too, was the victim of sexual abuse when I was 16 years old — that was 66 years ago. The perpetrator was not a member of the clergy but was a church-going man. I told no one, because that is what you did in those days. That doesn't make it right, but that is a fact that the media often omits. In my case, as in many others, the perpetrator is dead. I believe we should acknowledge the past and learn from it. It is now important to dwell on the future. I feel the Catholic Diocese of Dallas is currently making a very strong effort to be transparent, acknowledging the past egregious sins and adopting procedures against any form of future abuse. I commend our bishop.Joan Van Vliet, FairviewKos warnings ignoredFrom 1990 to November 1995, I was the administrator over Catholic Counseling Services. In 1992, the Rev. Robert Williams confided in me (this is now public in court files) about the grooming behaviors of Rudy Kos against young men in his Ennis parish. We immediately made the referral to Child Protective Services as I had been a CPS intake supervisor from 1976 through 1986 and knew state mandates well.I presumed that Kos was being removed from being a danger to the victims after these facts were shared with the bishop's staff and a child abuse expert had declared this behavior to be that of a "textbook pedophile."It was not found out until five years later, from the liability trail of the diocese, that the protections did not happen for 11 months. The suspected abuse had continued. However, I had been fired in 1995 after I had made it clear I was angry about this. I know for a fact that one CPS report on Kos was made in 1992. The Rev. Williams I consider to be a living saint within the Dallas Diocese. God bless you Father Robert, one of the very many good priests.Bill R. Betzen, DallasTeens know skills are vitalRe: "Prepare students for real life — Focus on important skills in high school to promote independence," by Annabelle Toe, Avery Dean, Arianna Ruocco and Sydney Gill, Friday Viewpoints.Sometimes "simple" is best. How refreshing it was to read the article written by four students of Woodrow Wilson High School on the importance of teaching core values to our youth. A shared responsibility of parents and teachers alike, values systems are often set aside by the pressures of advanced courses, which are definitely vital. The students meticulously categorized slots where learning about taxes, mortgages, voting, careers, jobs, cooking and nutrition all would have their places in state standards called TEKS — Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills. Congratulations to those students, Annabelle, Avery, Arianna and Sydney, for asserting themselves by pointing out the obvious!Anne R. Healy, RichardsonWe can shorten DPS linesRe: "Driver's license fix remains elusive — Lawmakers still at odds on how to end hours of waiting at DPS offices," Wednesday news story.While it does not seem that a quick fix or transfer to Department of Motor Vehicles is in the future, why not broaden the number of licensees who can renew online? Search the system for those eligible and expand the number eligible. Let more enroll on line. There should be a special day(s) for seniors and the disabled. Since we can register our cars at grocery stores, why not let us renew our licenses at the same locations? Consider creating locations in libraries and senior and rec centers. There are tech companies who could assist. Give them access, equipment, employees and give them a tax break. Texans need a better education system, and very little is being done to move Texas up from close to the bottom. The driver's license problem should not be that hard.Nancy C. Mack, CarrolltonDo your license homeworkRegarding your list of wait times to renew a driver's license, Waxahachie was listed as 59 minutes. I went there on a recent Monday morning to renew my license and it took 12 minutes to get my temporary permit. My secret? I went to their online site, like my renewal letter said, and printed out the Form 43 and completed it at home and brought it with me to their office. If everyone would read their notice letters and bring in a filled-out form, think how fast they and everyone else coming in for renewals could get their business done. Since our folks in Austin are trying to figure out a solution, here is one I just thought of — send the Form 43 with the notice letter of renewal. Have signs on the door that no one can enter without a Form 43 filled out and ready. It took two seconds to answer yes or no questions on the machine that spits out your number. When I sat down, there were 45 or so people sitting and filling out their Form 43 sheets. I sympathized with them. My No. 43/Station 4 sent me to a nice, professional woman and we breezed through the rest, thanks to her.Marjorie Miller, Ennis  Continue reading...