These are a pilgrim’s reflections. They come from my own experiences and learning as a seminarian, pastor, jail minister, attorney, and Capuchin Franciscan provincial, including conversations with survivors of sexual abuse by clergy and religious, offenders, victim assistance coordinators, experts in the field, and others involved and affected.
For a Church that has healing and reconciliation at the core of our mission, the overreliance on litigation to resolve allegations and help victims and survivors should strike us as odd, even a scandal and a sign of failure. Is there an alternative?
In this reflection I hope to offer an alternative framework to promote justice, healing, and reconciliation; to make the Church a safer place; and to help us become truer to our mission. This framework is already part of our Catholic tradition: the spiritual works of mercy.
