(Photo by Anderson Rian – Unsplash)
By Pamela Walsh
The Way of the Cross, through the Voice of Victims: Supporting Victims of Clergy Sexual Abuse:
Each year during lent many pray the Stations of the Cross, pausing to meditate on how Jesus was lead to his crucifixion and death. In 2018 a writing group produced a Way of the Cross-, that walked the path the stations do, but through the voices of victims. Below are the inviting words from Archbishop Don’s message that is shared at the beginning of the service. Followed by a short part of the introduction.
“This is not an easy way of the cross to participate in, and is not for the feint of heart. It asks us to listen to the voices of victims of clergy sexual abuse, so that we might get at least a glimpse of the darkness experienced there. For Christian believers, the stations of the cross are a traditional way of praying which draws us into the pain and suffering of Jesus, precisely in order to reveal the depth of God’s love. But for victims of clergy sexual abuse, a church can be a very painful place. Where love was to be spoken and hope proclaimed, power was misused, wounds were inflicted, and God’s love was not revealed, but hidden.
I invite you to enter into this service, finding the courage to listen deeply and compassionately to those who were wounded where they should have found love. And to look for the presence of the wounded Jesus, walking in solidarity with the victims, and calling us all to conversion and compassion. “
The truth is that clergy sexual abuse is part of our past and part of our present. The victims of abuse have suffered for years and continue to suffer today. Many suffer alone, in silence, in denial, crippled with varying degrees of guilt, anger, shame, and the constant sense of being betrayed. Many live with the blame the church has placed upon the victims for speaking out.
The friends and families of the victims, in fact all relationships, are also affected by their brokenness, the loss of trust and peace that these betrayals have brought to those they love. Abuse does powerful damage to all relationships, with far reaching consequences.
The church in its broadest sense, the people of God, has also been affected by this horrific plague of abuse. Many have left the church, not reconciled with what has happened to them or their loved ones. Others have been alienated or cast aside by a church that doesn’t understand or acknowledge the abuse. Others still heap blame on the victims for not remaining silent. Those that choose to remain with the church may experience shame, guilt, embarrassment and anger with the institution’s failure to do justice.
We stand broken. All of us.
We invite you, in this meditation, to walk with victims, to listen to the voices as victims speak from within, hearing something of their experience, and to link their experience to that of Jesus.
The pain of clergy sexual abuse sits with all of us. It is not just victims or survivors who are impacted, but everyone. On Friday March 25 at 7pm at St. Cecilia’s parish 5020 7th avenue lets come together in our brokenness to hear the pain of victims and walk with them through the stations that so often many endure on a daily basis. If you are unable to join us in person, please tune in to St. Cecilia’s you tube channel to watch live https://www.youtube.com/stceciliachurchregina or for further information contact [email protected].
