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Towards Healing A Catholic Church Response to Clerical/Religious Abuse

This resource aims to provide a Catholic Church response to the issue of clerical/religious abuse by listening to survivors and offering necessary support and healing. It discusses survivors' experiences, their needs, and the dos and don'ts for church representatives. The focus is on compassion, acknowledgement, and practical measures to assist survivors in their journey towards healing.

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Towards Healing A Catholic Church Response to Clerical/Religious Abuse

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  1. Towards Healing A Catholic Church Response to Clerical/Religious Abuse 18 Years of Listening to Survivors

  2. Trust Irrational Thoughts Irrational Expectations Rage/depression Low self Esteem Disregulation Thought Bubble Church is seen as one “unit” Walking on egg shells 6th sense: Looking for something to go wrong to prove they are right: “they ARE all bad” Working with a ticking time Bomb!

  3. What Survivors Ask For • Listened to and believed, a place to tell their story with compassion • Apology & Acknowledgement • Counselling/Support • Assured of Safeguarding • Compensation for harm • Normalizing their reaction to harm (Groups)

  4. Don’ts • Do not get defensive/Legalistic • Do not back away from rage, pain, depression • Do not see the “full and finale settlement” as a closed case: continue to offer pastoral support • Do not use the word “psychotherapy”; they may find this scary; “you are crazy” • Do not forget survivors are human, just hurt

  5. DO’s • DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU WILL DO/TELL THEM WHAT YOU ARE DOING • Do meet face to face, not over telephone • Do check out where the survivor is comfortable to meet (therapist’s rooms/meeting room) • Do check if it is OK to wear clerical clothing, respect if it is not • Let client know if you are a member of the Religious • Continuous Communication/Timely Manner/Keep in touch/ regular updates • Give information for Support (Towards Healing/Towards Peace) • Listen, Really Listen • Do understand it is a process, at one point the survivor may be too full of rage to engage, this might change, welcome them to have contact if and when they are ready • Understand the rage and pain is a normal response (do not take it personally) • Keep the communication simple/plain English/user friendly • Continue to offer funding for support service • Get support for yourself: Debrief even if you think you do not need to! • Resource people to do the difficult job of outreach • Work with civil authorities (Gardi/HSE): Follow up

  6. Questions & Answers

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