Dear Friends,
We enthusiastically invite you to join us in prayer, solidarity and action for the survivors of sexual abuse and for healing of our beloved, suffering church. The clergy sex abuse scandal and subsequent cover-ups have had a devastating effect on our church. We are called to respond. As many of you know, Pope Francis has called a meeting of the presidents of bishops’ conferences from around the world in Rome, February 21st-24th, 2019. This is an unprecedented meeting to focus on the protection of minors. It is the first time that presidents of bishops’ conferences worldwide have been summoned for a meeting on a specific topic.
In mid-Advent a group of Catholic Worker women sent letters to their local US bishops asking for a conference that better represented all the People of God. Like many Catholics, we are deeply concerned by the paucity of women and lay people, especially abuse survivors at the upcoming global conference on clergy sex abuse. We have since sent a letter to Pope Francis (see attached.)
Continuing that witness we are inspired by Dorothy Day who traveled to Rome during the Second Vatican Council to fast and pray for the Church to recognize conscientious objection. In that spirit a delegation of seven Catholic Worker women from the US will travel to Rome for the conference in February. We anticipate our time in Rome will include daily prayer, a daily public presence and participation in some of the events planned by survivors and their advocates. We also hope to address the need for church reform – an end to clericalism, equality for women in ministry, justice for survivors and church transparency.
There are solidarity actions being organized in the US. Encouraged by the example of Sr. Theresa Kane who, in 1979, respectfully challenged Pope John Paul II to open " all ministries of the church to women” we invite you to show your support for the changes we are asking for on our Rome pilgrimage with a witness at your local parish. On February 23, 2019, the night before the last day of the meeting in Rome about the protection of minors, wear a blue armband to the vigil mass at your parish to call for the inclusion of survivors, their families, lay people, especially women, and women theologians in this and all conversations about reform and healing (see below for more information about Banding Together as the People of God.)
Catholic Workers going to Rome are Mary Beth Appel, Maria Bergh, Johanna Berrigan, Alice McGary, Mary Rider, Claire Schaeffer-Duffy and Kim Williams.
Thank you for your prayers and support!!
For more on Sr. Theresa Kane’s address see: