The Valley Catholic
in the church
like good shepherd, Church must seek out,
help abused, says survivor
By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Just as Jesus
commanded pastors to leave their flock
to find the lost sheep, the Church must
set out in search of all those who have
been abused by clergy and offer them
help, said one abuse survivor.
Victims of abuse should be the focus
of a new pastoral ministry since they are
isolated, hurting, vulnerable to self-harm
and suicide, and in need of Christ’s true
healing, said Mark Vincent Healy, one
of the six abuse survivors who met Pope
Francis at the Vatican in July.
In his private meeting with the pope,
Healy said, “I needed to tell His Holiness
just how awful it is when there is no justice, no one listening on a humanitarian
level,” and how all that isolation and guilt
push people to suicide or self-harm and
addictions.
He also said he told the pope how
much spiritual help both survivors and
the Church need. The Church needs a
new evangelization “and a new mission
based on Matthew 18, verse 12,” -- the
Parable of the Lost Sheep, in which Jesus
tells his disciples to seek those who are
lost, he said.
The Church is “to be a light and is
supposed to shine this light” where there
is darkness, not passively expect those in
need to “come into the light” and seek
help, Healy said.
It is even more imperative for