A time for prayer and fasting

The cascading reports of clergy abuse and coverups within our beloved Church have affected Catholics differently. It has caused righteous anger, visceral disgust as well as shame.
 
Undoubtedly it has opened past wounds for many who have suffered the trauma of abuse at the hands of trusted pastoral leaders or others who should have been their protectors. It has not left any of us unmoved. For those of us who lived through what one commentator called “the long Lent of 2002” it has been a déjà vu experience. Can we really be going through this again? It was in 2002 that what first seemed to be a local scandal in Boston exploded into a national and ultimately a global crisis for the Catholic Church.
 
Once the bishops of the United States became convinced of the scale of evil and harm that was being inflicted on so many children, young people and families through abuse committed by clergy, they authorized and enacted the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
 
They committed themselves to a series of measures for screening, training, monitoring and reporting that has been, in fact, remarkably successful in reducing dramatically the number of new abuse allegations involving the Catholic Church. That said, even one instance of abuse of one of God’s little ones is unacceptable.
 
For many who have come of age in the Church since 2002 and did not live through the pain of that “long Lent,” the shock and disgust evoked by the reports of the past few months are perhaps something new. I hope we never lose our ability to feel outrage at such reprehensible, sinful and criminal behavior.
 
As your bishop, I want to speak on behalf of our priests and deacons to express our deep sorrow to everyone who has ever been affected by abuse themselves or through the abuse of a loved one at the hands of anyone associated with the Catholic Church, whether a member of the clergy or a lay person.
 
I want to reassure you of our commitment to strengthen and uphold the highest moral and ethical standards that will promote safe environments within the Church, so that every person will be treated with respect and dignity as a beloved child of God. We are committed to repentance, reform, healing and justice. This commitment includes even greater measures of transparency and accountability.
 
As I have previously announced, we are in the process of conducting a review of priests’ files with the help of independent investigators for the sake of transparency. I realize that the credibility of bishops and priests and the trust that you ought to be able to place in us has been shaken. My aim is to regain your trust. I am very proud of our priests. The sins and crimes of a few ought not to undermine the reputation of all. But, the sins of these few members have, in fact, injured the whole body of Christ.
 
We need to review our policies and procedures and strengthen them where necessary. But, we need more than that. We are engaged in a spiritual battle. We must employ spiritual weapons as well as these other tools to respond to this great challenge and to right these wrongs.
 
“Your opponent the devil is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, solid in your faith.” These words from 1Peter 5:8 are part of the Church’s Night Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours. They are a call to vigilance. They are a call to arms. In confronting such threats, we have to employ spiritual weapons. “This kind can only be driven out by prayer and fasting (Mk 9:29).”
 
To more fully engage our spiritual resources, I am asking all parishes to include the Prayer to Saint Michael at each Mass to implore protection for the Church during this time of spiritual and pastoral crisis. I encourage the use of this prayer by all the faithful in their daily prayer even apart from Mass. Other specific forms of prayer for protection and/or reparation may be substituted or added to this.
 
In addition, I am asking all Catholics in the archdiocese to consider observing the first Friday of every month as a day of fasting and abstinence in reparation for sins of abuse, involving the Catholic Church. The latter is not a mandate, but an invitation.
 
Let us all join in prayer and fasting.