What some laity say to the Church today
We had a wonderful day in Knock on April 24th 2010. Between eighty and a hundred people attended the three sessions of prayer and reflection about Marriage & Family Life today and the celebration of the Eucharist. One of the main thing we did was, in eight groups, identify what we would like to say about the present crisis in the Catholic Church to:
Practicing Catholics;
Victims of abuse;
Priests/religious accused of abuse;
Our bishops;
The Vatican;
Priests and Religious in our parishes;
Catholics who have given up because of the scandals;
The media
In the light of all that is happening in the Church today,
what would you like to say to:
Catholics who continue to practice their faith
· We are the Church therefore, Continue to pray
· We are responsible as agents of change so we must become
involved in parish structures, education in faith, etc.
· Continue to give our priests our full support
· Show sympathy & support for victims so that healing can take place
In the light of all that is happening in the Church today,
what would you like to say to:
Victims of Abuse
· We are all sorry and shocked and feel betrayed on your behalf.
· God had no part in what happened to you
· We feel powerless to help you and encourage your faith
· We will pray for you
· We were and are afraid to criticise or speak out against the clergy
· We offer any support we can give
· We will reform our own Church so this will not happen again:
We as lay people must be more responsible, conscious and accountable
In the light of all that is happening in the Church today,
what would you like to say to:
Priests/Religious who have been accused of abuse
· Are you Guilty?
· There’s no justification for what you did
· Why did you become a Priest/Religious in the first place?
· Could you be more fulfilled in a marriage situation?
· Admit to yourself – evil – don’t put victims through the trauma of a court case
· Admit to person – go back to them
· Make reparation
· Are you sorry?
· Why?
· Do you still feel fit to practice
· If you had your own family………………………
· I feel very saddened
· I feel greatest sympathy
· You are never alone
· I would love to support you – prayer – unconditional love
· Not all Priests are abusers - Unfairness
· Why did you do it?
· How did you live so long with this on your conscience?
· Somebody should have done something sooner
· Why did children have to suffer?
· Acknowledge the trauma
· Seek Help
· Assure them of prayer and support
In the light of all that is happening in the Church today,
what would you like to say to:
Our Bishops
· Be true to yourselves. Be honest. No Secrets
· Don’t be overly concerned with the media
· Trust in Jesus
· Why was it left so long? So much damage done
· So difficult to explain to our children what has happened in the Church
· Tell your priests to keep the faith & never despair of God’s forgiveness.
· Comfort and console those abused by priests
· More careful about admitting students to seminaries
· Bishops to listen to their priests
· Was all the cover-up orchestrated from Rome?
· Publicly apologise for all the hurt and cover up
· Allow more participation by the laity in the Church
· Affirm your Good priests
In the light of all that is happening in the Church today,
what would you like to say to:
The Vatican
· They are leaders of the Catholic Church – I want you to be a good leader – good leadership
· Say Sorry – no long statements
· Be pro-active not reactive. Don’t blame – take responsibility. Be sorry for cover-up
· Pray for guidance
· Look at what Jesus would say today – Jesus was 33 – Leaders much older
· Opportunity for renewal
· Priests give up focus on promotion – develop religious life. Roles of priest
· Focus on promoting young vocations
· Jesus asked apostles to give up all – why wealth and splendour of Rome/Vatican – address POVERTY
· Distribute wealth to less advantaged
· Can wealth be sold and distributed to poor/victims rather than collect from parishes
· Why promote a non-vocal domestic church. Give them,
the laity a voice – openness
· Why can priests not marry?
· What happened to Vatican II? Power to people. Parish Councils
· Develop the role of the laity
· Demonstrate Openness – Involve the laity
· Opportunity to talk to Vatican about JUSTICE – hear the pain of the people
In the light of all that is happening in the Church today,
what would you like to say to:
Priests/Religious in Your Parish
· We are all guilty of “Cover-up” at some level and to some extent –
all of us
· Please do not give up and become disillusioned
· We need to be less fearful and collectively stand up to the truth
· We realise only a few were involved – but even this is too many
· Accept responsibility – no further denial or apology
· We need a less powerful & controlling church – more transparency is needed!
· We need you
In the light of all that is happening in the Church today,
what would you like to say to:
Catholics who have given up because of these scandals
· Feel deep sense of sorrow
· Influenced by power of media
· Talk it out & listen
· Seek help if needed – help our there
· Focus on good people – priests & religious – support them
· Condemn actions and not the people
· Must not have had strong faith to begin with
· Church will be stronger after
· Christ chose those with filings
· Look for God’s grace
· Talk to God – share feelings and ask for help. Trust & Pray
· Turn back to prayer – especially Rosary
· Devil working away
· God is with us through trials – trials before – Church still here
· Seek forgiveness – healing – help
· Trust family/friends
· Don’t abandon just because of this – hang in there – make things better
In the light of all that is happening in the Church today,
what would you like to say to:
THE MEDIA
· Thank the media for bringing truth into the open
· To address complexity of the truth
· Media search for the way to forgiveness
· No amount of expression of regret enough to satisfy