Where we go from here: Remaining firm in our faith

We are never comfortable talking about dark moments in our lives. Sometimes we are at a loss for words. I could have chosen a host of other topics to cover; it would have been easier. But in order to move forward, we must not be afraid to talk, to ask questions, to share our concerns.

In his letter last month, Bishop Daniel E. Flores expressed the sorrow of the Church for the sexual abuse of minors and abuse of power in the Church reported from different parts of the country. He provided us with guidance and hope during these dark days as the Church undergoes a cleansing for sins of the past. He asked us all “to pray and do penance for the harm that so many have suffered, and for the renewal of a spirit of humility, service and evangelical life among all the bishops and priests of the country.”

Bishop Flores also provided us with an important reminder. “It is necessary that we all continue with the mission that the Lord has entrusted us.”

“We cannot be paralyzed,” he told reporters during a press conference during the national V Encuentro Sept. 20-23 in Grapevine, Texas. “There is work to do,” he said.

During the V Encuentro gathering, more than 3,500 Hispanic/Latino Catholics showed how we move forward.

The joy of our faith resonated throughout each moment and a day of the Encuentro. La alegría de nuestra fe vive. The joy of our faith stands firm in the love of Christ, and our faith, centered in Christ, helps us from letting any crisis take us off center.

After reading the bishop’s letter, many have shared their response to his request for prayer and penance. Some religious communities are spending dedicated time before the Blessed Sacrament every Friday for nine weeks; others are fasting on Fridays. Some Catholic schools are praying together. Others are praying the Rosary.

How are you responding?

As we pray, we must also take additional steps. As parents, tías, tíos, grandparents — we must remain vigilant in our homes and beyond our casitas. Bishop Flores stressed in his letter the importance of continuing to follow through with the ongoing “Protecting God’s Children” program required of all laypersons and clergy who work with youth and vulnerable adults. The training provided through the program opens our eyes and provides us with a greater awareness of what we can each do to protect our children. We are in this together. Yes, it does take a village. The effectiveness of these programs put in place to protect children has helped decrease the number of cases nationwide.

Mark M. Gray, a survey researcher for The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), highlights some important details and provides some context in “Pain Never Disappears from Unhealed Wounds,” a piece he wrote for the center’s blog on Aug. 28. (http://nineteensixty-four.blogspot.com/2018/08/pain-never-disappears-from-unhealed.html).

He notes, “No new wave of abuse has emerged in the United States.” He adds, “The clergy sex abuse scandal unfolding in the news today is the same public scandal that erupted with the national media reports in 2002...Just as then, the abuse in the headlines most often occurred in the 1960s through the 1980s.”

Gray includes figures of cases reported since 2004 and the year the alleged abuse began, which shows a decrease. However, as he notes, “Nothing is acceptable other than zero.”

To get to zero, it will take all of us working together. At the closing Mass for the Encuentro, Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles reminded us of the role we have as lay people. Citing St. Juan Diego as an example, he said, “Jesus entrusted the mission of his Church in the New World to a lay person.

“I believe that this moment in the Church — is the hour of the laity. It is the time for saints. In the spirit of St. Juan Diego, I believe the Lord is calling each of you to ‘go to the bishops.’ He is calling the lay faithful to work together with the bishops to renew and rebuild his Church.”

Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Silller of San Antonio expressed a similar point on the opening day of the Encuentro. As he acknowledged our pain and heartbreak “by the faults” of our shepherds, and the need “to do everything we can for the healing for all victims of these abuses,” he also reminded us not to be afraid and to allow the Holy Spirit “to inflame our hearts.”

“In these times,” he said, “only parrhesia, the courage of the baptized, will return the Church, the Body of Christ, her moral authority.”

Indeed, this is our time to continue carrying out the mission of the Church. We cannot run away. We have a responsibility to confront the ugly realities of the past, and to walk together, to acompañar, as Bishop Flores tell us, our brothers in sisters who are hurting. We must remain centered in Christ, for Jesus is our light and our salvation in times of darkness (Psalm 27:1).

(Originally published in October 2018 edition of The Valley Catholic newspaper)