Thank you for this essay. I joined the Church only a year ago, but I think about this a lot. The Catholic Church in England lost most of its assets via Henry VIII, and the French Church via the French Revolution. I think it's possible that most of the US Church infrastructure/assets will be taken away by these scandals and their litigation, plus parishioners closing their wallets and leaving in disgust. Church leaders may or may not be lacking in the courage or faith to admit fault and clean their houses, but for sure their lawyers and others are telling them that they shouldn't do it in order to protect and be a good steward of the Church. "I know that I need Jesus, and I still believe the Church, and Her Sacraments, offer Him to me in a way nothing else in the world can"- That's what we know and have to remember will eventually get the faithful through this time. We want moral and ethical leaders, but meanwhile in the US we are still lucky enough to have freedom to attend and access to the Church and its sacraments.
I teared up reading this and was grateful for Elizabeth finding the right words to express simple emotions about a complex issue.
Years ago, I learned that my parish had such an abuse during a time (1980s) prior to my moving into the community. The details were released several years ago. The most healing words from the Pulpit came from one priest who expressed his own anger over the abuse and his complete understanding that the congregation is upset at the least and furious at the most. He shared how he was struggling to live as a priest knowing there were abusers among him and he asked for our prayers for him and all the good priests because he knew he'd need them in the coming years. Such healing occurred during his masses. The other priests at the parish went the safe route as Elizabeth shared.
Thank you, Claire, for publishing Elizabeth Hansen‘s guest post. And thank you, Elizabeth, for your courageous article. It’s incredibly balanced, voicing clearly your own stance, which I share, but also speaking for those so affected that they leave the Church,, not only by the abuse itself, but by the failure of FUS to be a leader in what it means to be fully transparent: without further coverup when Morrier was indicted in 2018, but then at least after the sentencing. FUS could also have become a leader in the Catholic world that is coming to terms with abuse and coverup, by giving Morrier‘s victim full validation and restorative justice publicly, thus silencing all in the community who are vilifying her to this day.
Thank you Claire for hosting this piece, and thank you Elizabeth for writing it. Since it's Holy Week, memories of Holy Week at Franciscan have been coming up, memories that are now tainted by knowledge that this abuse and coverup were happening while I was on campus. Elizabeth put into words everything that's been on my heart.
Thank you for this essay. I joined the Church only a year ago, but I think about this a lot. The Catholic Church in England lost most of its assets via Henry VIII, and the French Church via the French Revolution. I think it's possible that most of the US Church infrastructure/assets will be taken away by these scandals and their litigation, plus parishioners closing their wallets and leaving in disgust. Church leaders may or may not be lacking in the courage or faith to admit fault and clean their houses, but for sure their lawyers and others are telling them that they shouldn't do it in order to protect and be a good steward of the Church. "I know that I need Jesus, and I still believe the Church, and Her Sacraments, offer Him to me in a way nothing else in the world can"- That's what we know and have to remember will eventually get the faithful through this time. We want moral and ethical leaders, but meanwhile in the US we are still lucky enough to have freedom to attend and access to the Church and its sacraments.
I teared up reading this and was grateful for Elizabeth finding the right words to express simple emotions about a complex issue.
Years ago, I learned that my parish had such an abuse during a time (1980s) prior to my moving into the community. The details were released several years ago. The most healing words from the Pulpit came from one priest who expressed his own anger over the abuse and his complete understanding that the congregation is upset at the least and furious at the most. He shared how he was struggling to live as a priest knowing there were abusers among him and he asked for our prayers for him and all the good priests because he knew he'd need them in the coming years. Such healing occurred during his masses. The other priests at the parish went the safe route as Elizabeth shared.
Great guest feature, Claire!
Thank you, Claire, for publishing Elizabeth Hansen‘s guest post. And thank you, Elizabeth, for your courageous article. It’s incredibly balanced, voicing clearly your own stance, which I share, but also speaking for those so affected that they leave the Church,, not only by the abuse itself, but by the failure of FUS to be a leader in what it means to be fully transparent: without further coverup when Morrier was indicted in 2018, but then at least after the sentencing. FUS could also have become a leader in the Catholic world that is coming to terms with abuse and coverup, by giving Morrier‘s victim full validation and restorative justice publicly, thus silencing all in the community who are vilifying her to this day.
Thank you Claire for hosting this piece, and thank you Elizabeth for writing it. Since it's Holy Week, memories of Holy Week at Franciscan have been coming up, memories that are now tainted by knowledge that this abuse and coverup were happening while I was on campus. Elizabeth put into words everything that's been on my heart.