Unfortunately, the church I served as an altar boy is sadly out of touch and in need of a spiritual awakening to the world we now live in, a reality brought home all too shockingly with the recent revelations of abuse by priests of children in our communities dating back many, many years.

The Catholic Church is an institution in crisis, facing a loss of faith among many of its followers because of its inability to come of age, whether in regards to its unrealistic demands of celibacy on its religious orders or its difficulty in accepting women and members of the LGBT community as equals under God. In short, it is becoming irrelevant to many who remain, as I do, Catholics in name but who are becoming increasingly disillussioned by the church's old world discriminatory practices.

As the father of a gay son, I would like to see a change in church attitude and acceptance of his choices in life, including the sacrament of matrimony. And I would include all members of the LGBT community as equal followers under God with no exceptions for sexual orientation. Discrimination must give way to equality for all.

It is also my hope that the church moves away from the vow of celibacy for priests and nuns and becomes more closely aligned with the values of today's world, a change that could open the door to many men and women eager to serve the church but unable to live constrained by old world values.

The very sad truth is that the many millions spent in secret to protect child abusers could have made such a great difference in so many areas had it been spent on the poor, the hungry, and the homeless who desperately need help. Instead, it was spent to protect child abusers.

But while I believe the church needs to come of age, I also believe that New York must come of age when it comes to protecting the abused, no matter how long ago the abuse occurred.

The Child Victims Act would have extended the statute of limitations to age 50 in civil cases and to age 28 in criminal cases — including a one-year window to revive old cases making it easier for child sex abuse victims to seek justice later in life. State Senate Republicans made sure it didn't see the light of day.

There should be no tolerance in this state for abusers of children and no time limit for exposure.

I believe the church must take a hard look at the world of today and change accordingly. I also believe our state must stop protecting predators and stand up for their victims who carry their scars for the rest of their lives.

Joel Giambra of Buffalo is a former county executive for Erie County and an independent candidate for governor.