Abuse Crisis Resources for Catechists & Leaders
September 7, 2018 Our Bishop’s response to recent news of sexual abuse by clergy in the USA
Together let’s pray for the victims and the entire Body of Christ.
Guidelines from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
Protecting Minors from Sexual Abuse:
A Call to the Catholic Faithful in Canada for Healing, Reconciliation and Transformation
Click here to read the document: National Guidelines. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) unanimously adopted this document Sept. 27 during the 2018 annual Plenary Assembly of the Catholic bishops of Canada.
First and foremost, the document focuses on minors and vulnerable adults, whom Canada’s bishops wish to protect from sexual violence. In addition to a clear delineation of procedures in cases of sexual abuse, it puts forward 69 recommendations inspired by nine lessons which bishops have learned through their collective experiences over the past quarter century. Chief among these is that victims must come first. The document seeks not only to provide guidance for diocesan/eparchial protocols and policies as well as those for religious communities, but to stimulate a cultural transformation in attitudes about sexual abuse. The new guidelines apply to all Catholic clergy (bishops, priests and deacons), as well as members of religious communities and also lay personnel who are working in Catholic parishes or Church organizations.
Resources on the Sexual Abuse Crisis
BISHOP BARRON’S RESOURCES ON THE SEXUAL ABUSE CRISIS
Thank you to Bishop Robert Barron and Word on Fire ministries for permitting us to share these resources related to sexual abuse in the Church:
- Videos
Why Remain Catholic? (With So Much Scandal)
Q&A about the Sexual Abuse Crisis
The Ben Shapiro Show (starts at 36:55)
Here are four other resources he’s produced on the Church’s sex abuse scandals over the years:
- Videos
- Articles
In addition, the Word on Fire Blog has featured over a dozen reflections on the current crisis:
- Catholics: The Hard Slog of Sanctity Starts Here
- Sanctity or Scandal: An Interview with Fr. Steve Grunow
- Mary: Our Hope in Scandal
- Can the Crisis in the Church Lead Us to Something Wonderful?
- Admist Our Apocalpse, Advent Asks Us to Stay
- There’s No Faith like Rome’s
- Digging my Heals into Light: Why I Won’t Leave the Church
- A Song for the Suffering Body of Christ
- The Imitation of Christ’s Anger
- Praying in Crisis: The Sorrowful Mysteries of This Moment
- The Church and Clergy in Crisis: 7 Practical First Steps We Must Take
- How to Restore a Church in Scandal? Begin with a Collective Confession
- McCarrick, Mary, and Mystery: Seeking Truth in the Moment
Finally, here are some other resources we recommend, which provide light and hope during this dark period:
- Joseph Ratzinger’s “Way of the Cross” meditations and prayers (given in 2005 at the Colosseum in Rome)
- Hours of Eucharistic Adoration in Reparation
- Prayer of Reparation
- Meditation on Reparation and Divine Intimacy
- A Holy Hour of Reparation
Together let’s pray for the victims and the entire Body of Christ.