Learning about trauma-informed pastoral care for abuse survivors will continue - after a short break.
October 7th the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops offered a virtual rosary for all of America in this time of pandemic and suffering. For those of our readers who are close to the rosary, here is a link to the YouTube video that features the diversity of the...
Grief is on the mind and heart lately, with a fresh new intensity, as I let go of my dog Finnegan Quinn after his recent death. It occurs to me that grief is the nature of life in a fallen world. It is also the nature of recovery from...
RIP Finnegan Quinn June 22, 2012 to September 4, 2020 17 Pound Force of Chaos Indomitable Clown, Master Cuddling Champ Well Done, Little Beast. I Return Your to Your Creator with Gratitude, Humility, and Grief. Finnegan Quinn, my emotional support dog, died suddenly last week following my first Spirit...
By Rev. Msgr. J. Brian Bransfield A Spirit Fire friend raises the Eucharist to help the agony of betrayal heal. Spirit Fire survivors offer friendship to priests in a mission which cultivates true healing in the Church person to person, heart to heart. We are blessed to encounter priests...
Healing Amidst Coronavirus Crisis 3/22/2020 Michael D. Hoffman, Founder Healing from my wounds of childhood sexual abuse, I take comfort in regular and predictable routines at home, work, socially and at Church. With the Coronavirus, the shelter-in-place order, the near-constant disruption of regular life patterns, and what seems as...
Wina Schaufler, Survivor When asked to write a heartfelt essay on why children shouldn’t endure what we survivors have, the image of the empty tomb popped in my mind. As an early childhood clerical abuse survivor, and now a beyond middle aged woman, I was sent back to that...
By Teresa Pitt Green This is a personal reflection on darkness, light, and media (or, forgiving the colloquial, “press.”) On the one hand, it offers an overview of the spirit behind best practices in organizing prayer services for healing from abuse in the Church. On the other hand, it...
By Teresa Pitt Green In 2019, two survivors of clergy abuse stepped forward to collaborate with the same diocese where they had been abused – and to take the lead on promoting, as quoted in the local diocesan coverage, “healing, hope, and reconciliation for abuse victims, families and friends...
A Healing Retreat for Survivors of Abuse <anonymous> It was a retreat for survivors of abuse. It was an excellent experience and turns out I felt like I was a little further along than most who were there. Then the Lord reminded me that I had many rocks left...