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Confronting the Catholic Church’s Role in Native American Boarding Schools
We revisit our 2023 interview with Maka Black Elk, who is committed to hearing the stories of Native people hurt in boarding schools run by Catholic religious orders. As a Catholic and member of the Oglala-Sioux tribe, he shares how he has grappled with the Church’s role in this harm.
Grappling with the Church’s History as a “Perpetrator Institution”
As Executive Director for Truth and Healing at Red Cloud School in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, Maka Black Elk holds a complex set of identities. He is a member of the Oglala-Sioux Tribe, the son and grandson of people who attended an Indian boarding school, and a survivor of childhood sexual abuse…
After Pope Francis’s Apology to Indigenous People in Canada, What Happens Next?
Last week Pope Francis made a six-day apostolic visit to Canada, where he met with leaders of Indigenous communities and apologized for the Catholic Church’s role in federally funded residential schools…
Exploring the Impact of Clergy Abuse on Black Communities
The experience of African Americans has been largely erased from the history of sexual abuse in the U.S. Catholic Church, according to three panelists who spoke at an event at Fordham University in April….
Starting the Conversation About Clergy Abuse in Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities
The Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities in the Catholic Church are just beginning to grapple with the issue of sexual abuse by Church leaders, due in part to shame and stigma that limit open conversation about sexuality, according to an expert panel at Fordham University….
Fordham Panel Explores Clergy Abuse in Native American Communities
Indigenous students suffered sexual, emotional, and physical abuse as well as the loss of culture and family while living in boarding schools run by the Catholic Church, according to a panel of experts who spoke at a virtual event on February 25, hosted by Fordham University through their initiative, Taking Responsibility: Jesuit Institutions Confront the Causes and Legacy of Clergy Sexual Abuse….
Understanding Clergy Abuse in Latinx Communities
Discomfort with discussing sexuality and a focus on the family over the individual are two cultural factors that affect how the clergy abuse crisis has unfolded in Latinx Catholic communities, according to expert panelists at a Fordham University event held virtually on January 28….