Awake Blog
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Called to the Foot of the Cross: Why the Church Needs a “Catechesis of Survivor Stories”
Today we revisit a post from November 2021 about efforts by a Jesuit priest and researcher to help the Catholic Church heal by making stories from abuse survivors a regular part of Church life. Gerard McGlone, SJ, a Jesuit priest and researcher, believes all Catholics should regularly hear the stories of people who have experienced sexual abuse in the Church.
In Peaceful Mini-Retreat, Awake Reflects at the Doorway of Lent
Last weekend, members of the Awake community gathered for a three-hour mini-retreat to prepare for the season of Lent. Held at the St. Bakhita Catholic Worker House in Milwaukee, the retreat included people who have experienced harm in…
Mike Hoffman
“To be able to share my story, which I kept secret for over 30 years, and still feel safe and loved was such a profound experience.”
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…
What Should I Do If Someone Tells Me They’ve Been Abused? The 5-Step VEEEL Method
This week we revisit this terrific advice from Deborah Rodriguez, MD, who spells out how to respond if someone discloses their abuse to you. It’s helpful for anyone who wants to respond to victim-survivors with healing compassion.
Courageous Conversation: Panel Reveals the Impact of Clergy Sexual Abuse on Families
Awake’s January Courageous Conversation provided an opportunity to listen to a mother, a husband, and a daughter of victim-survivors of abuse. The conversation “Family Matters: How Abuse Wounds the Loved Ones of Victim-Survivors,” featured…
Esther Harber
“That profound understanding that I am not alone takes a great deal of the shame away. ”
Case of Prominent Jesuit Highlights Church Failures Around Abuse of Adults
The case of Fr. Marko Rupnik, a prominent Jesuit priest who has been accused of sexual and spiritual abuse of religious women, suggests that the Church hierarchy remains unwilling to take the abuse of adults seriously. Rupnik, 68,…
Awake’s Top Blog Posts of 2022
As we turn the page on a new year, we at Awake value the chance to look back over the last 12 months to see which posts were read most by the Awake community. This data reveals a…
Holiday How-To: 10 Tips for Talking with Your Family About Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church
It’s the holiday season, a common time for family gatherings—and a chance to engage loved ones in important conversations.
Awake’s Advent Prayer Service Reflects on the Holy Darkness of the Season
Last week, Awake offered a short, moving Advent prayer service titled “Holy Darkness.” It featured four parts based on the four weeks of Advent, including music, readings, questions for reflection, and silent time for prayer and contemplation.
Awake Reflects on Darkness, Light, and Hope in Advent Prayer Service
Last Friday evening the Awake community gathered for an Advent prayer service exploring both darkness and the gift of light.
Interview with Fr. Tom Berg: 3 Ways the Abuse Crisis has Changed Seminary Formation
Fr. Tom Berg has particular insight into the crisis of sexual abuse and cover-up in the Catholic Church. He spent 23 years of religious life, including nine years as an ordained priest, as a member of the Legionaries of Christ. The legion’s founder and director general Marcial Maciel Degollado was forced to step down in 2005, eight years after public allegations by nine former Legionaries that Maciel had sexually abused them as children and young adults.
Awake Announces Newly Expanded Survivor Advisory Panel
Listening to survivors has always been a priority for Awake Milwaukee.
In our earliest days, before we had even chosen the name “Awake,” we gathered in Sara and Mike Larson’s living room in Milwaukee to listen to a woman who was abused by a priest in grade school. This survivor described her hard work to heal and the pain she experienced as an adult, when she faced legalistic Church leaders in her efforts to report her abuser, who remained in ministry. Listening to her was a powerful experience, reinforcing our drive to learn more about the problems of abuse and cover-up in the Church, to work for transformation and healing, and to understand how we might walk with abuse survivors.
5 Things Every Priest Should Know About Sexual Abuse
Below I’ve compiled five things that I have learned since my wife and I began this journey several years ago, five things I wish every priest, seminarian, and tradition-loving Catholic like myself knew as well.
What Is Racism’s Role in the Abuse Crisis?
Last week Awake hosted a thought-provoking Courageous Conversation about the ways racism impacts the problem of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
The panel discussion, “Erased from the Narrative: The Role of Racism in the Abuse Crisis,” featured Fr. Bryan Massingale, a professor of ethics at Fordham University in New York and a priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee; Maka Black Elk, executive director for Truth and Healing at Red Cloud Indian School in South Dakota; and Jeremy Cruz, a professor of theology and religious studies at St. John’s University in New York. The recording of the conversation is available here.
Zac Zepeda
“Years of therapy and support groups have shown me that to heal I must talk about the abuse.”
Hopeful News about the Synod Process — and Awake’s Synod Report
After Awake Milwaukee hosted two synod sessions in June to ensure that abuse survivors, their loved ones, and concerned Catholics had a voice in the global listening initiative of the Catholic Church, we submitted our report to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s synod team. Awake’s complete synod report is available on our website.
Praying the Rosary with and for Abuse Survivors
On Tuesday, October 18, the Feast of St. Luke, a group of 30 lay people and clergy members from across the United States gathered on Zoom to pray a rosary with and for survivors of sexual abuse.
This prayer service used the Glorious Mysteries, inviting participants to reflect on the reality of abuse in light of God’s promise of resurrection and new life. Each decade of the rosary was led by a different survivor of abuse in the Catholic Church, who offered an intention based on their own experience.
Catholics Have Questions About Awake’s Next Step Recommendations. We Offer Answers.
We call the recommendations “Next Steps” because we see them as building on the progress the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has already made to assist survivors and address abuse by church leaders. But we believe more can and should be done. We developed these recommendations carefully over the course of two years by listening deeply to survivors and researching widely accepted best practices already implemented in other dioceses.