Parish Conversation about the Crisis of Abuse and Coverup in the Church

On Sunday, March 3 at 1:00 pm in the Social Center we continued our parish conversation by hosting Mr. Dan Cellucci.  Dan is the CEO of Catholic Leadership Institute, spoke to a group of parishioners and guests from neighboring parishes about the present state of the Church.  The statistics he presented regarding current sacramental participation and projected shifts in demographics within the US Catholic Church were indeed sobering.  

At the same time, he was hopeful about the future of the Church and gave us 5 things that we can do.  

I summarize:

1. Say: “I believe.”  2. Speak the truth in love.  3. Do succession planning.  4. Support courageous leaders.  5. Stay close to the Lord.  

On October 7, Dr. Patricia Kelly led about 60 parishioners in a difficult but meaningful conversation about the scandal and coverup. I believe it helped us express the pain, confusion, and frustration that we are feeling. It helped us to listen to and try to support each other. This crisis affects us deeply and in many different ways. We will be dealing with this for a long time.  My hope is that it makes us a more compassionate, more caring church. 

Below are several links to various reports/websites that may be of interest:

For the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report, please click here: https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/report/

For information on what St. Norbert Parish (in Paoli) is doing in response to the crisis,  please click here: http://parish.stnorbert.org/news-events/st--norbert-parish-news/12-12-2018-response-to-church-crisis