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To the Editor:585bet

Re “The Joy of Breaking Up With an Abusive Parent,” by Eamon Dolan (Opinion guest essay, March 9):

I am a Catholic deacon and a pediatric registered nurse. I have seen a lot of the pain children endure at the hands of their parents. At times, it’s parents’ ignorance or poor decisions that result in harm to their child. But too often it is willful neglect or active abuse. I am an advocate for the priority of parents over the lives of their children, but there is no hiding the fact that the majority of physical, emotional, sexual and spiritual abuse occurs within the confines of the family.

People have a right to be safe. Children have a right to be safe. People have a right to disassociate themselves from anyone who is causing them harm — physical, emotional, sexual or spiritual.

Mr. Dolan should feel no shame in estranging himself from his abusive mother. She is the reason for their estrangement, not he. Children often feel that they deserve the hurt they suffer, because adults teach them this. It is rare, indeed, for adults to come to terms with the fact that they are not the cause of the hurt they suffered as children — or as adults,betef casino for that matter.

The one who has been hurt can forgive, but that is not the same as reconciliation. Reconciliation requires a great deal of work to regain the trust that was lost. Perhaps Mr. Dolan will someday choose to pray and work toward that, even while he keeps himself safe.

Bob HuntKnoxville, Tenn.

To the Editor:

I am dismayed by the guest essay by Eamon Dolan celebrating the breakdown in communication among family members. I personally know three families where this has occurred and have been in touch with the parents and the children involved. In all cases, they experience great regret and remorse. The pain on both sides has been immense.

I certainly have not seen the exhilaration or relief that the author suggests. What I have seen is a breakup of good families over issues that could possibly be resolved with effort, and it is certainly worth it to try.

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Federal agents seized Mr. Pearson’s phone earlier this month. In four lawsuits, he was accused of sexually harassing female subordinates; the city Department of Investigation is also examining Mr. Pearson’s role in a physical confrontation with security guards at a migrant shelter, as well as the conduct detailed in the lawsuits.

DebunkBot, an A.I. chatbot designed by researchers to “very effectively persuade” users to stop believing unfounded conspiracy theories, made significant and long-lasting progress at changing people’s convictions, according to a study published on Thursday in the journal Science.

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