Renewal of the Catholic Church in the wake of the sexual abuse scandals must start with prayer.
That’s what the leaders of the Knights of Columbus said in promoting a “Novena for Repentance, Renewal, and Rebuilding” in response to the recent Vatican summit on child protection and the clerical sexual abuse crisis.
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| Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison kneels in prayer with Fr. Scott Emerson, left, priest secretary and master of ceremonies to the bishop, and Msgr. James Bartylla, right, vicar general for the Diocese of Madison, at the start of Mass on September 14. The Mass at the Bishop O’Donnell Holy Name Oratory at Holy Name Heights in Madison was for the Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross and day of reparation for sins of sexual abuse by clergy and the episcopacy. (Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash) | ||
MADISON — “I want to pray today with you for those who have committed terrible sins, sins of sacrilege, sins that cry to heaven for vengeance,” said Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison.
His words came during a Mass on September 14 for the Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross and day of reparation for sins of sexual abuse by clergy and the episcopacy.
The Mass was held in the Bishop O’Donnell Holy Name Oratory at Holy Name Heights in Madison.
After Bishop Morlino processed into Mass, he knelt before the altar, along with concelebrant Msgr. James Bartylla, vicar general for the diocese; Fr. Scott Emerson, priest secretary and master of ceremonies to the bishop; and Deacon Jim Hoegemeier, who later read the Gospel.
Everyone at the Mass knelt in silent prayer with the bishop.
Following this silent prayer, the bishop acknowledged a similar tone to Good Friday, as he was without his episcopal ring and crosier.
He reminded everyone, along with the repentance and sorrow felt for the actions recently come to light committed by priests and bishops, to acknowledge “our sins, not someone else’s.”
During his homily, Bishop Morlino, referenced the Gospel reading — “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him (John 3:17)” and said, “The very sight of the Cross brings healing.”
One of the first things Bishop Robert C. Morlino did after becoming Bishop of Madison was to promulgate a Policy Regarding Abuse of Minors, Sexual Misconduct, and Sexual Harassment on November 6, 2003. It was revised in 2016, and copies of this policy are available on the diocesan website (www.madisondiocese.org).
Bishop Morlino has been vigilant in following the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People issued in 2002. In that document, the bishops reaffirmed the obligation of all involved with the Church to “protect young people and to prevent sexual abuse” since this “flows from the mission and example given to us by Jesus Christ himself.”
We’ve been hearing a lot about incidents of sexual abuse of girls and women this year.
It is a difficult subject to talk about, and I think many people want to avoid discussing it. However, I think we all have a responsibility to deal with this issue, especially in our own families.
It was back in January of 2002 that we learned about the Boston Globe reporting on the scandal of widespread sexual abuse by priests in the Archdiocese of Boston.
It shocked me, as it did many Catholics. We didn’t realize at the time that Boston was the tip of the iceberg and that priests throughout the country — indeed the world — had been involved in abusing children. And what’s more, Church officials often covered up this abuse.
MARSHALL — There aren’t many women in their mid-20s who would give up a teaching career and move to a southern African country to help young women in need — but sometimes all it takes is one person to make a difference.
Twenty-eight year old Marshall native Mary-Kate Martin is one of those women.
The member of Holy Family Parish in Marshall and Waterloo is the founder and executive director of Hosea’s Heart.
There are many challenges facing the Catholic Church today, challenges which the new pope will have to address.
What are the most important challenges? If we only go by secular media reports, the key issues would seem to be the sexual abuse scandal, ordination of women, and same-sex marriage. These are some of the so-called “hot button” issues, but are they the major challenges facing the Church?
Although we lament the horrible instances of sexual abuse of minors by clergy, we can be proud that the Catholic Church in the United States is doing all it can to understand the causes of such abuse and try to prevent it from happening in the future.
The new report released May 18 on the causes and context of sexual abuse should help further that understanding and strengthen the many efforts underway to provide a safe environment for children in the Catholic Church.
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| This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop. |
Dear Friends,
Despite the continued focus on the horrendous crimes of a relatively few priests within the Church, we move forward, a people of faith, cognizant of the fact that our Church is made up of sinners — our priests and bishops included — but that each of us has faith that it is Jesus Christ Himself who founded this Church, for our Salvation, and that He has sent the Holy Spirit to protect His Church from “the gates of hell.”
No matter the sins of Her members, even the terrible sins of a few of Her ministers, the Holy Spirit remains with the Bride of Christ, to care for Her, to reconcile all Her members to Christ, and to grant us everlasting life.
As one Body, each member of the Church is affected when another causes injury. We all feel profoundly the wounds inflicted by a few, and we must do all that we can to bring healing to those wounded. I don’t know that I’ve experienced that empathetic pain in anyone more than in our good priests and bishops. And that brings me to the point of this column.
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| This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop. |
On behalf of all the priests of the Diocese of Madison, and behalf of all my staff, I want to promise our sincere and continued Easter prayers, in this Resurrection season. Each one of you has our prayers for health, safety, and above all, deeper union with Christ. I beg you, too, to offer your Easter prayers for us, because each of us and our Church certainly always stand in need of prayer. I wanted to share with you here a few of the thoughts I offered at the Easter Vigil this year.
We celebrated Easter Sunday this year on April 4th — that day on which Christ was raised from the dead, the day which changed history forever. In some ways I had hoped to see some large signs and advertisements on Easter Sunday about how the Resurrection of Jesus Christ had happened and how we celebrated our new life on April 4. Instead, all the signs told me that April 3 was the launch of iPad! That tells me — and it should tell you — something significant about the mission that Jesus Christ places in our hands this Easter and everyday.
