Awake Blog
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Awake Leaders Gather to Plan, Pray, and Celebrate
On May 21, Awake Milwaukee’s leadership team, board of directors, and committed volunteers gathered for an in-person leadership gathering, providing the chance to reflect on the challenges and gifts of the work of awakening our community to the full reality of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
Kathryn Walczyk
“Writing has been a catalyst to health. As a child I didn’t have language for what was happening to me.”
Courageous Conversation: Abuse Survivors Can Heal—and Thrive—in the Aftermath of Trauma
The more our communities understand about trauma, the more likely we are to help survivors of experiences such as clergy sexual abuse achieve healing and post-traumatic growth. Trauma knowledge is also essential for survivors themselves in their recovery…
Awake Synod Sessions Will Ensure that Victim-Survivors and Advocates Are Heard
When Kathy Ann Coll learned about the 2021-2023 Synod on Synodality called by Pope Francis, she was eager to take part.
Michael Koplinka-Loehr
“Talking about these things in a place where you’re profoundly understood is a gift in the healing process.”
Awake Welcomes Five New Members to Its Board of Directors
Awake Milwaukee is pleased to share terrific news: we recently doubled the size of our Board of Directors, welcoming five new directors this spring.
Awake Observes Lent by Walking the Way of the Cross with Survivors
Last week Awake Milwaukee held a moving Way of the Cross that recalled Jesus’s final hours, marking the stations with heartfelt reflections written by victim-survivors of sexual abuse and their loved ones.
Why Do Victim-Survivors Sometimes Forget Their Abuse?
When survivors of sexual abuse share their stories, they sometimes describe forgetting or repressing memories of their abuse for years, even decades, before the memories resurface, usually in the form of painful flashbacks. In an effort to understand…
What Structural Factors Contribute to Abuse in the Catholic Church?
Editor’s Note: This week we revisit our 2022 interview with Australian researcher Stephen de Weger, who offers his personal story of abuse in the Church and his take on the structural factors that he believes set the stage…
Awake is Launching a New Blog Series on Survivor Stories. Here’s Why.
When Awake Milwaukee was established in 2019, we quickly realized how much we had to learn about the experiences of victim-survivors of abuse in the Catholic Church.
Courageous Conversation: Survivors Discuss the Sacred Power of Listening
In the latest installment of Awake Milwaukee’s Courageous Conversations last week, two survivors of clergy sexual abuse offered moving testimony about the power of having others listen deeply to their personal stories.
Why Catholics Need to Hear Survivor Stories (and 5 Ways to Listen Well)
One of Awake Milwaukee’s central missions is a commitment to listening to sexual abuse survivors. Many have carried painful experiences in silence for decades.
7 Tips for Survivors on Sharing Your Story with Journalists and Others
In the 2016 movie Spotlight, there’s a powerful scene in which Boston Globe reporter Michael Rezendes interviews a young man named Patrick McSorley, who was sexually abused at age 12 by a priest.
Courageous Conversation: Understanding Trauma to Build Trauma–Sensitive Parishes
Every parish has members who have experienced sexual abuse or other types of trauma, making it essential to create communities that feel welcoming and safe to victims and survivors, said Stephen Saunders, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Marquette University, during Awake’s latest Courageous Conversation event.
What is Grooming, and How is it Related to Sexual Abuse in the Church?
Discussions of sexual abuse sometimes mention “grooming,” the tactics used by abusers to prepare their victims for abuse. It’s important to recognize grooming behaviors as potential early signs of abuse.
10 Things Never to Say to Survivors of Clergy Sexual Abuse
As the daughter of a clergy abuse victim-survivor and a lay person who works for the Church, I speak often with fellow Catholics about my family’s experience with the abuse crisis.
Awake Offers Guided Meditation on Light and Love
Last week, Awake Milwaukee hosted a winter-themed guided meditation led by our chaplain, Cathy Melesky Dante.
Taking Stock of Wisconsin’s Investigation into Sexual Abuse by Faith Leaders
Last week Sara Larson, executive director of Awake Milwaukee, was interviewed on Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) about the Wisconsin Department of Justice investigation into sexual abuse and cover-up by clergy and other faith leaders…
Spotlight Reading List: Who is Reporting on Clergy Abuse Today?
During Awake Milwaukee’s recent Courageous Conversation about the Boston Globe Spotlight series, panelist Anne Barrett Doyle named multiple journalists currently shining a light on sexual abuse and cover-up in the Catholic Church.