I remembered back to this past spring. I'd just hung up the phone. It was late and the conversation with yet another clergy abuse survivor had zapped my strength and spirit as they'd recounted to me the horrors of their youth. I looked to the clock and knew I should be heading to bed because tomorrow was Easter. Easter. The celebratory feast day that millions of Catholics would spend rejoicing and celebrating the resurrection of Jesus.
I also knew that the survivor I'd just spoken with would not be attending Church tomorrow; instead the victim of clergy abuse would struggle to get out of bed and spend most of the day weeping ...
Just as I know; Jesus weeps.
Frustrated and deeply saddened by my inability to help a sufferer more, I'd placed a kettle of water on the stove, sat down, grabbed a pen and pad and did only what I felt capable of doing: To ask. Ask for accountability and apology needed for healing for the survivor I'd just hung up with, and for all those who are still suffering and seeking.
A Letter of Apology and Accountability Request.
I was deeply troubled when I read that Pope Benedict XVI was "weary and sad." I, too, am weary and sad. I've been answering calls, letters and e-mails from countless victims of child abuse by the clergy for over a year now -- calls, letters and e-mails that the pope and the Catholic Church's hierarchy should be answering. So I thought I would send a polite reminder: Apologies and accountability are due.
I am a survivor of clergy abuse. Abandoned to a Catholic orphanage as an infant, for nearly a decade I was exposed to unspeakable abuses by Catholic nuns and a Catholic priest. It was only in the last year that these horrific abuses were publicly exposed after I was finally able to write about the long nightmare inflicted by those who hid behind His cloak to mask their evil deeds -- deeds the Roman Catholic Church concealed while enabling decades of child abuse by predator clergy.
I wanted to forgive them and I did forgive; however, I wonder and I am often asked: How can you offer forgiveness to those who hide behind their righteousness, behind ill-conceived surety of their place in heaven and on Earth, those who have not asked for forgiveness because they do not think they need forgiveness? Those who have denied the damage to suffering souls, these children who remain as children, and who will forever be held hostage in childhood until that child is healed.
I sit in Kentucky with a voice, among tens of thousands of victims globally who speak through me, all awaiting an apology and an admission of accountability from the pope and the Church's hierarchy.
We've waited, sometimes for decades. People like the CEO, also a former orphan and victim of clergy abuse who has to lock himself in his office because he's having a "bad day." His "bad days" happen when the memories of physical and sexual abuse become too strong for him to function as a regular working adult. He writes to me hoping I can offer him strength, hoping I can make sense of crimes committed against him as a child that were the most heinous crimes committed in history.
Then there is the former priest who writes to tell me of rape by his "own." There's a nun, too. There is also the woman who suffers from crippling PTSD because of her abuses by clergy. She writes that she may not be contacting me for a while because she will probably be back in a "dark place" and she will have to seek mental health institutional care for her "latest bout" -- a bout directly caused by predator clergy. She prays she'll be strong and not be tempted again to commit suicide, as she's tried so many times before. Another voice in the darkness reaching out to one woman. Voices who should take strength and comfort from the Church for their darkness -- a darkness caused by the Church.
There's also the daughter (one of five). Her mother, now deceased, a childhood resident of a Catholic orphanage, was severely abused and raped by clergy. The daughter says her mother's former clergy abuse touched everyone in her family and continues to cause trauma and discord so intense they have all sought counseling.
And lest I forget, there's the strong advocate for victims of clergy abuse I've been privileged to know. He was not abused, but sadly, he is now "religious empty," this man from a strongly connected religious background. I worry about him and his children.
Pope Benedict XVI and the church's hierarchy have created a scatter bomb. Abuse. The abuse of one does not just stop with one, its shrapnel scatters and piercers, and affects and harms their families, friends, co-workers, and society and on and on. The Church must be willing to publicly help these deeply wounded, still-suffering victims and survivors. Remove the shrapnel, start the cleansing by reaching out to survivors, answering and also disclosing the records of predator clergy that have been protected by the Roman Catholic Church for decades.
My name is Kim Michele Richardson. I am waiting, along with all those voices around me.
This post is an excerpt from The Unbreakable Child, a story about forgiving the unforgivable, by Kim Michele Richardson, to be released Oct. 1, 2010 by Behler Publications.
Catholic sex abuse cases - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Just look at the Eastern Orthodox church. There are many similarities between it and the Roman Catholic church;however, Orthodox clergy are allowed to be married. In return, they do not nearly have the level of sexual abuse like we see in the RCC.
Just look at the Eastern Orthodox church. There are many similarities between it
I went to Catholic school from 1953-1985 in NYS where I was taught by sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. One nun (wish I could remember her name but if her beliefs have any validity she'll be facing an eternity of accountability) had some issue with one shy girl. For no reason I can identify she subjected the girl to daily humiliations infront of the whole student body. Her abuse was not physical but it was of such voracity that I think the whole student body was fearful of the rants.
The child had no recourse. I don't know if she ever told her parents but if she did I doubt they would have understood the unrelenting extent ofthe verbal abuse. Even if they did I wonder if they could have dressed down a nun. The girl just shrunk into herself and took the abuse year after year.
I had my own share of humiliations. I had a younger sister who had incontinence problems. When she had an accident in class I was called from my classroom to clean it up and subjected to a verbal lashing while I did it as though I had some responsibility for her physical immaturity. Fortunately, by the end of first grade my sister had mastered bowel control.
In the boys classes the Christian Brothers held sway. What happened to the boys is difficult to say since we were never allowed even casual contact. But we did hear the brothers' screaming at them. And we heard the sound of smacks of god-only-knows-what on flesh.
I know what I experienced is mild in consideration of what happened in Irish orphanages. But it's time for people to consider that sexual abuse of individual children -- horrible and overwhelming as that is -- is not the only kind of abuse that Catholic religious have to answer for.
Peace,
--Redemption
They are wrong. They have destroyed religion for millions of people. The Catholic Church has ceased to be an institution of faith, christianity and dignity. They have been exposed as abusers, liars, anti-women/children.
Christianity comes from within, the Catholic Church does not belong in the realm of Christianity, its faithful do, but not the hierarchy or the powers that be of the Church. They have betrayed Catholics and destroyed lives. Forgive them if you must, but never trust them again. Without trust, they have nothing.
It is not faith that abuses, it is people.
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Lord, we thank you for those who have repented of
committing abortions and have resolved to defend
life. We too repent and resolve.
We repent of every instance in which fear has made us
silent when we should have spoken. We repent of the
ongoing bloodshed in our land, and for thinking that
we can deprive the unborn of protection but keep it
for ourselves.
We resolve that we will advance the cause of
righteous candidates for public office, and that we
will be more afraid of offending you by our silence
than of offending others by our speech. We resolve
that we will proclaim your name to the nations,
through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
40 days for Life
May they run to ground all who impose their small-minded superstitions
upon others, and spend their days doing useful things for humankind, rather
than kneeling and fiddling with their beads, or with themselves.
And let the superstitious face some `family difficulties', so they can test their `faith' against
the reality of the outside world.
Touch a tree, so be it... get off our backs.
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"Those of us who have participated in the killing of
unborn children are the Centurions of today. We have
dropped our swords against the unborn child. Now we
must recognize the depth of our guilt and deal with
the ramifications... To revitalize our humanity we
need to forgive and be forgiven, to reconcile and be
healed."
These words come from a brochure of the Society of
Centurions, an organization for former abortion
providers. These words convey in a beautiful and
moving way what is happening across the nation as
hundreds of abortionists and their staff members
experience repentance, conversion, and healing.
How does this conversion begin? Dr. Philip Ney
writes, "The factors that changed their opinion on
performing abortions, in the following order of
frequency, were: evidence of the infant's humanity, a
spiritual experience, personal distress, evidence of
the mother's distress, scientific articles, being
accepted as a person, a personal relationship with a
pro-lifer, pro-life pickets." (The Centurion's
Pathway, p. 77).
The journey is not easy. But the Jesus who heals us
calls us to face the truth of what we've done, make
restitution where possible, and engage in the hard
work of mending relationships. Let's pray for the
Centurions; may their numbers increase!
National Director of Priests for Life...
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DAY 2 INTENTION
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Pray for those who work in the abortion industry, and
for those who have repented of committing abortions
and have resolved to defend life.
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SCRIPTURE
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Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into
your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said
this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing
what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this
was a righteous man."
-- Luke 23:46-47
we seek His will: "A clean heart create for me, O
God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me... Give
me back the joy of your salvation and a willing
spirit sustain in me... O Lord, open my lips, and my
mouth shall proclaim your praise" (Psalm 51:12, 14, 17).
We are called to be God's messengers; or as the
Apostle Paul told the Corinthians: "We are
ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing
through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: be
reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:20).
That is the true message to all we encounter at the
abortion centers and in our communities who have been
deceived by the Culture of Death. We don't bring
condemnation; we bring God's good news.
assembly. Gather the people, notify the congregation.
Assemble the elders; gather the children and the
infants at the breast... Let the priests, the
ministers of the Lord, weep and say, "Spare, O Lord,
your people."
-- Joel 2:15-17
40 days for life