A Response to Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report

The past week has been a difficult time for the Universal Church. Like you, I have felt frustration and anger as news of painful and sinful deeds has resurfaced along with new news about the way the leadership of the Church failed in its own response. While these events have not happened in “our parish”, they have in “our Church.”

These sins of commission and omission have sent the Church we love, the Church we serve, the Church some of us have consecrated our lives to, and the Church that Jesus Christ established - into sadness, not just in the United States, but in Canada, Europe, Latin America and elsewhere.

Our Bishop, has written a Letter which he asked be made available at all Masses in the parishes of the Diocese of Hamilton this weekend. St Mary of the Visitation Parish stands in unity with this official statement which is available at the Welcome Desk this weekend.

We pledge our prayers for victims of child abuse and their families. We renew our commitment to maintain the highest possible standards of safety for all of our children in all of our programs and adhere to all that is prescribed by our Diocese, requiring a “safe environment”, no matter ones role or vocation in the Church. 

While policies and best practices are necessary, we will never be able to create, as T.S. Eliot once put it, “systems so perfect that no one will need to be good.” Nothing can replace the need for each of us to strive for personal holiness and to live with moral integrity.

Both the enormity and the depravity of the recent revelations provoke an array of responses. From Anger, to sadness, to confusion, to hurt, to betrayal to embarrassment and shame. I have experienced them all. I have encountered, and individually met a myriad of people who are sensing these feelings too. What should and can we do, as men and women who both put our hope and trust in the Lord and are confused to say the least?

While I don’t claim to have the answers, I certainly have been praying a lot and sought solace rooted in our Scriptures of this Lord’s Day.

You may recall our Summer Message began with a simple reminder - to keep Christ First.  Over the summer the message has led us to repeat "Jesus is enough." And to neither swerve nor sway from the serenity that comes from carrying the scent of being a Child of God.

This weekend Our Gospel concludes with the statement that in all - the gift of the Eucharist is what remains with us… the abiding presence of Jesus in our midst is the manifestation of His promise to never leave us.

The Church exists as the People of God who are nourished and drawn together by the Eucharist, and it is the Bread of Life that gives us Hope… Jesus Himself!

In the Gospel (John 6:60-69) we are reminded that many gave up on Jesus because they had enough! But the disciples recognised what Jesus offered them—as He (and He alone) offers to us— a gift we can find nowhere else: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68-69). - keep Christ First

It is in communion with Jesus, and in unity with one another, as a believing body together worshipping Him and Him alone, that we find the peace which leads to eternal life - to keep Christ First

Father Michael Schmitts, who serves in the United States in Campus Ministry, and whom many of our youth and young adult are familiar with through his You Tube videos put it well… “this is not a time to leave, it is a time to lead  the Church”. Your presence and perseverance in the wake of these painful times is a great witness.

I want to thank you for your faith in Jesus and in not giving up on that faith. Your presence and perseverance in the wake of these painful times is a great witness.

The institution of the Church is human. The institution needs to find ways to be transformed, but the presence of Jesus always remains. His promise stands unshaken. And in this crisis we must never lose the focus to know that to be the Church is to strive to be holy and saints ourselves – for holiness is what we need most right now -  to keep Christ First

In the midst of our anger (as justified as it is) and our tears (as real as they are), let us not lose sight of this precious gift. That we lead the church by our holiness – and the church needs your holiness, - our holiness. The Church has sinners. What the Church needs now more than ever is people committed to being saints! -  to keep Christ First

 St. John Paul II wrote in 2002 these words of encouragement:

We must be confident that this time of trial will bring

a purification of the entire Catholic community, a purification

that is urgently needed if the Church is to

preach more effectively the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all

its liberating force. Now you must ensure that where sin

increased, grace will all the more abound. So much

pain, so much sorrow must lead to a holier priesthood,

a holier episcopate, and a holier Church.

Let make sure to pray for each other. Let us be committed to grow in holiness together. Let us vow to walk beside side each other, for some among us may be hurting more than others. Prayer alone will not solve the problems we face, but prayer will help us keep our hearts centered on the Lord.

To that end, on Friday, September 7 we will offer a Day of Prayer. Following morning Mass - the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed in our Church for Eucharistic Adoration from 9:00am to 6:00 pm in the Church, with the opportunity for Sacramental Reconciliation during this time, including with the presence of visiting priests, and the reciting of the Litany of Divine Mercy at 3:00pm.  We will conclude the day at 6:00pm with the reciting of the Rosary.

I invite you to come, at some point during the day, and sit with the Lord, to offer some time of prayer for healing, and for God’s mercy to guide the Church forward.  

If you know someone who is struggling, offer this time of prayer for them, or even invite them to join you to pray together.  All of us on the parish team will be participating in taking an hour before the Lord on this special First Friday.

If any feel that they need to speak privately or personally regarding these events, know that I am available to you, and that our parish team is here to aide you, pray with you and walk beside you.

Let us pray, first and foremost for all vulnerable members of our society, especially those who in the past have been hurt. Let us pray for our Church, its leaders and let us strive, determine and resolve in a steadfast manner, to return our flock to be a communion of saints.