An attempt to demonize liberalism

SENATOR RICK Santorum of Pennsylvania seems to feel that Boston's noted liberalism was a formative factor in the creation of sexually abusive priests (''Santorum resolute on Boston rebuke," by Susan Milligan, City & Region, July 13). In fact, he puts Boston ''at the center of the storm" but seems to ignore the fact that the largest settlement paid out to victims ($120 million) was in largely Republican Covington, Ky.

Or how about the $85 million paid out in famously Republican Orange County, California? Should we conclude that there is a link between pedophilia and the concentrated conservatism of these regions? Only if we took as simpleminded an approach to causality as Santorum has taken. However, this seems more like another of the far right's attempts to demonize liberalism.

I look forward to the further linking of the left to the Black Death, the Trojan War, and perhaps even the asteroid impact that killed off the dinosaurs.

TODD BEARSON, Roslindale