[St. Gabriel Parish News] St. Gabriel the Archangel-Special EBlast from Fr. Kirk

[News from St. Gabriel Parish]

[St. Gabriel the Archangel]<http://www.saintgabriel.net/>


Saint Gabriel the Archangel Parish News
August 24, 2018


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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Over the past several weeks the Church has unfortunately found itself once again confronted with the terrible news concerning the moral failure of some of its leaders, in abuse cases spanning back decades.  And we have also seen in the past week several of the responses of Church officials, as our own Bishop Sheridan did in the last issue of the Catholic Herald, and our Holy Father in his letter this week.  As a pastor, I was patiently waiting for their words so that I might find some guidance for myself in reflecting on this ongoing crisis.

Upon hearing about the release of the Pennsylvania grand jury report on child sexual abuse by clerics, I was devastated, saddened and angered.  I was devastated by the fact that such atrocious acts were committed against vulnerable children by clerics, and saddened by the thought of the suffering of those victims.  I was angered that after nearly sixteen years of working toward healing and making our parishes safe, that some in the hierarchy of the Church have ignored, side-stepped, and have even tried to conceal their roles.  They may not have committed the offense, but their actions have certainly perpetuated the evil and further harmed the victims and the Church.

As Christians our anger is righteous, just as Christ’s anger was toward the vendors who had desecrated the temple.  For this anger to not be sinful, however, it must not pursue hatred or revenge, but justice for those who have been harmed, and a determination to eliminate the evil that has apparently lurked in darkness within the Church.

As our Holy Father has asked, we must pray for justice and healing for the victims, conversion of the perpetrators, and for reconciliation.  And beyond that, I believe we must continue to pressure our bishops to be forthcoming and specific about how they intend to eliminate the culture that perpetuates the evil, and hold accountable those whose decisions have led to this continuing scandal.

As a priest, ordained just ten years ago, this issue has been challenging, just as it was when I was a seminarian when the original scandal broke years ago.  It has been challenging because the offenses which cause such harm are completely incompatible with the life that Jesus has called us to.  At the time, knowing that the questioning eye of the public was focused on all priests, guilty or not, I was tempted to abandon my vocation.  But through prayer and reflection, I and so many seminarians and priests that I knew then and now have instead been moved by the Holy Spirit to redouble our efforts to restore trust, and to do our best to be the holy priests that Christ calls us to be, and that you deserve.

In our diocese, there is perhaps no other parish in recent memory that has had to address this issue more intimately than ours.  We have had to heal, forgive and renew our faith.  We’ve made it our mission to live our faith with joy, confidence and zeal.  We’ve created a vibrant and safe place for families to learn and grow.  And we continue looking forward in hope, sharing the good news of Christ!

Please pray for the victims, pray for Holy Father, our bishops, and for our seminarians, priests and deacons.

Your servant in Christ,

[cid:00a429e1-3ed5-4045-a541-bb9206c97658]

Fr. Kirk

To read the Pope’s letter in its entirety, please go to:

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-08/pope-francis-letter-people-of-god-sexual-abuse.html


To read Bishop Sheridan's letter in its entirety, please go to:

http://www.diocs.org/Herald/Article/ArticleID/735/THE-BISHOPS-VOICE-Confronting-evil






Saint Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church
8755 Scarborough Dr.  Colorado Springs, CO 80920
Office: (719) 528-8407
www.saintgabriel.net<http://www.saintgabriel.net/>



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