House of Grace Catholic Worker, Kensington
In Case you missed Mary Beth Appel and Johanna Berrigan’s letter re the Pilgrimage we have excerpts below:
Catholic Worker Prayer Pilgrimage to Rome
Dear Friends,
February 2019
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…
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…
Catholic Workers going to Rome are Mary Beth Appel, Maria Bergh, Johanna Berrigan, Alice McGary, Mary Ryder, Claire Schaeffer-Duffy and Kim Williams. Thank you for your prayers and support!!
Mary Beth Appel and Johanna Berrigan
Catholic Worker Prayer Pilgrimage Participants Statement February 24, 2019
Our group affirms Pope Francis placing the spotlight on the global sexual abuse. This is good and crucial.
As Catholic Workers, people who have seen violence in so many forms, we resonate with his understanding that abuse of power is the root cause of the problem here, the stimulus of clericalism.
But where are the concrete processes to guide the bishops in assuring accountability, transparency, and responsibility upon their return? If women had been at the table, there would have been.
In his final statement Pope Francis recognized that the outrage on the street with regard to sex abuse reflected the “wrath of God.”
So there’s the mission, for the People of God to be that “wrath” until the violence of clergy sex abuse and cover-up is eradicated.
March 2019
