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)
