Catholics don’t typically want to turn a self-protective blind eye to the suffering around us, but we all struggle how to respond in situations where people in crisis need immediate help — especially if we aren’t able to do more than cross paths. Traveling between cities with my ministry...
As Catholics struggle with finding a way forward through the current trials, here is a reprint of two articles, published together, by a Victim Assistance Coordinator and a Clergy-Abuse Survivor — and how they met, learned and grew together through listening and collaboration. Opening the Door To A Relationship...
Paul Ashton People wonder sometimes about disclosures. When victims come forward to report that someone sexually abused 30 years ago, there often is a question in people’s minds of “what took them so long to report this?” They ask questions such as, why do people wait so long to...
Survivors of abuse – and those who love them – need to create a patchwork of support, including therapists and pastoral care, but also trauma-informed health care providers, friends and others. Each patchwork is unique to an individual’s needs and is uniquely each individual’s responsibility. No one can create...
Teresa Pitt Green, Co-Founder As another in the series about loved ones seeking to support survivors, this article considers the wisdom available in groups which support secondary victims of different but related traumas. One renowned group dedicated to secondary victims is the Alanon Family Groups program. Alanon grew out...
Kathy O’Connell, Co-Founder Yes, I was a victim of abuse, in the home and later on in the Church. And now I can call myself a survivor, though my story, tucked so deep in my heart, belongs to me alone. Survivors share many experiences, but, like every survivor’s story,...
Teresa Pitt Green, Co-Founder “Secondary trauma” is a term that only recently started to appear in psychological research referring to professionals, such as mental health care providers, first responders, ministers and others who work regularly with multiple traumatized people. Professionals had been experiencing a high rate of burnout when offering...
Michael D. Hoffman From the Oxford dictionary, Advent is defined as the “arrival of a notable person or thing.” As Christians, we wait in anticipation of Jesus’ arrival and the peace, comfort and joy in our hearts which that brings. I believe this with all my heart. However, the...
By Sooz Jeson Last December I lost a close friend who had suffered from Lupus for years. Last July I had to say goodbye to a dear friend who moved to the other side of our continent. A day later, I laid down my beautiful sweet cat Lily for...
By Kathy O’Connell My support group is fewer than those of others. It consists of the Victim Assistance Coordinator of our diocese, a few dear priests, my therapist and my dear friends at The Healing Voices Magazine. However, although there are few people in my support system, they are...
