“Sometimes you just have to turn the page to realize there is more to your book of life than the page you’re stuck on.”

That is part of a larger quote that was sent to me by a friend. There is truth in it to a point. Realizing that you’re stuck on a, “page”, in your book of life does not automatically translate into the ability to get un-stuck. There are some things that have been written on the pages of an individuals book, may-be entire chapters, that an individual would never have wanted to be written. Who wants a page about abusive parents or abusive clergy? No one. Once we admit or confront those abuses it still does not translate into moving forward, at least not in a productive way. To move forward in a productive way takes healing from God.

I was e-mailed an article about what the Church is doing to stop sexually abusive priests, (there are other kinds of abuse too). The article seemed to me to be the Church patting themselves on the back about how wonderful they are/have handled this horror. Not one mention of victims was mentioned or even alluded too. I completely understand that the scope of the article may not have been such that the healing of the victims of clergy sexual abuse could be addressed. That puzzles me. In my crazy, mixed-up world anyone harmed in this way would be a prime candidate for the loving, Christ centered Church to aid in healing the wounded. That has not happened. (I’m not counting what courts are mandating because the courts should not have to mandate anything. The reason being that those mandates should have already been put into practice/action by the Church herself.) It clearly appears that the men running the Catholic Church do not have their center in Christ and the only thing they seem to love is money…and not using any to help victims.

One poor, unfortunate soul responded to this article by blaming the victims. He did this by talking of the supposed sexual sophistication of children and teenagers today. I responded with what the Church clearly teaches, all unmarried individuals are to refrain from sexual relations of any kind…homosexual and heterosexual. That is just one of the reasons clergy sexual misconduct and criminality is so horrifying. The Catholic Church should be in the forefront of helping and healing all those who have suffered abuse in their lives not just those victims of clergy abuse. It is what Christ would want from his Church.