Our Message

If you have experienced sexual abuse by a Catholic leader, we are glad you have found your way to this website. We invite you to read our Open Letter to Survivors for a message of apology and support signed by hundreds of Catholics from throughout the United States and beyond.

We are doing our best to listen to the voices and wisdom of survivors as we move forward with this work, but we know we have a lot to learn.  We are grateful to our Survivor Advisory Panel for their important guidance along the way.

If you have ideas for how our group can serve survivors, we would love to hear them. Also, if you see anything on this website or in our work that you find problematic, we would appreciate hearing your constructive criticism.

Most of all, we would be honored to connect with you and hear your experience and perspective. Please reach out to Survivor Care Coordinator Esther Harber at estherharber@awakecommunity.org. We promise to treat any communications with compassion and confidentiality.

At Awake, we recognize that abuse harms the entire community and can have an especially serious impact on the family members of the victim-survivor. Our mission includes walking with not only survivors themselves but also their loved ones.

We hold monthly online gatherings on Wednesday evenings for family of those who have experienced sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. If this is something you might be interested in, please contact Sara Larson at saralarson@awakecommunity.org.