Letter to A Suffering Church

One of the worst crises, if not thee worst crisis, in the Catholic Church over the past two millennia that we are still far from being healed from has been the scourge of the clergy sexual abuse scandal, not once but twice – the first wave being in Boston back in 2002, and then a second wave that hit again last year in 2018 when the news broke in Pennsylvania. These horrific discoveries of abuse have become quite discouraging and shaken many of us to core of our faith. While we must acknowledge the sinful part of the Church on the one side of the coin, the often forgotten about and yet hopeful part (the other side of the coin so to speak) is that Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit is continuing to lead, guide, heal, and bring about a greater good from the sins of the Church, and in these cases, the clergymen. Pope Francis said, “I see the church as a field hospital after battle.” We have been seriously wounded in battle. But we are persevering and slowly being purified (Dn. 12:10, Jm. 4:8,  1Pt. 1:22) and healed from it as a Church Family. All of us have a family that is fallen yet redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ including the Church herself, and it may take a generation or two to recover. At the same time let us always be reminded of the unforgettable Scripture passage: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it” (Mt. 16:18).

If the Church was humanly instituted, it would have fallen nearly 2,000 years ago. But it’s not. It’s supernaturally instituted, and these unimaginably repulsive sins are tragic. But they don’t diminish the legitimacy of the four marks or pillars of the Church: that it rock solidly remains One, Holy, Catholic (universal), and Apostolic. Despite all of the crises it has faced and persevered through over the past 21 centuries of Church History, our beloved Catholic Church may become smaller but stronger because of it. May we continue to have confidence and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus as we learn from and navigate through the darkness of this awful crisis back to the light of Christ.

Many of us have read much and been influenced by watching and reading from a variety of media outlets. There is one particular source that stands out from all of the reading that I have done on this sad and shameful topic. It’s a short, small book entitled, Letter to a Suffering Church: A Bishop Speaks on The Sexual Abuse Crisis, by Bishop Robert Barron, which I was very impressed by. While Bishop Barron fearlessly confronts some of the scandalous and egregious history of a few of the popes from times past, for example, and which might be shocking to some (knowing that so many of them are saints), the book is also incredibly truthful, historical, hopeful, inspiring, and inexpensive (FREE + $5.95 for shipping & handling).

While plenty may ponder about leaving the Church (Bishop Barron says that 37% of Catholics already have), this book helps to acknowledge the sinful actions and cover-ups of those in positions of authority, but at the same time helps to reinvigorate one’s love for Mother Church and to stay and fight for her as well (See Mel Gibson’s Braveheart clip). In addition, the book is over 100 pages long. But in reality, each page is realistically a half page long because of the small size of the book, making it really over 50 pages in length, and it’s a really fast read too. I highly, highly recommend to get your hands on this treasure. It’s one of those books that when you start reading it, you don’t want to put it down.

We definitely continue to pray for all of the victims hurt and scarred by the inexcusable behavior of clerics who committed these evil, hideous, and heinous acts. But we also pray for all of our priests and bishops, for mercy and forgiveness, for a renewal in the priesthood and in our Church today, and for a renewal in our own personal lives that Jesus may cleanse all of our souls to receive the grace of the Holy Spirit – to receive his love through his Mother Mary, whose birthday we celebrated yesterday (Happy Birthday Mom!),  so that we may authentically love the way Jesus intended us to do.

In A Spirit of Healing and Reconciliation rooted in Jesus Christ, Our Divine Physician, +

– Fr. Jeff

Sources:

1. Letter to a Suffering Church: A Bishops Speaks on The Sexual Abuse Crisis, by Bishop Robert Barron.
2. “1 Take Away Homily from the Clergy Abuse Crisis,” – previous blog post.

Author: Fr. Jeff Allan

Biography - Fr. Jeff Allan, was ordained a Catholic priest on June 7th, 2014 for the Archdiocese of Detroit (AOD). He graduated from Adrian College in 2001 with a degree in Business Administration and a minor in Criminal Justice. After working in the pharmaceutical sales industry for almost three years, he felt called to discern the priesthood. Before being ordained a priest, Fr. Jeff was blessed to receive three degrees from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. They include a Bachelor of Philosophy, Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology (STB), and a Master of Divinity (Theology). His assignments in the U.S. have included serving at multiple parishes in the Archdiocese of Detroit as an associate pastor and currently as a weekend assistant. Fr. Jeff is certified as a hospital chaplain through ACPE (Association for Clinical Pastoral Education). He has had the opportunity of serving at three Metro-Detroit Area Hospitals since 2017 where he serves in full-time ministry as a Catholic Priest and Hospital Chaplain. View all posts by Fr. Jeff Allan