Spoke today & Newspaper Article
I spoke at the 4 Pm mass this Saturday at ST. Stan's. Wasn't planning to speak today but Father Dan said it would be good to tell my story to all his people. When I got up on the polpet and looked out at all those people I all most Frooze. It took me 30 seconds or so to get going. It was a good warm up for tomorrows, Sundays main event. We got a write up in the Winona paper and an 1 min report on the local Rochter TV sation. The article from Sat. Winona paper is below. The spokeman for the Diocese almost made me threw up.
They do not have one victim on the Review Board so how can it be one bit balanced. Also the reason they had a abuse policy back in the 1980's was because they had big law suits againest them.
Winona Voice of the Faithful asks for church healing
By Darrell Ehrlick | Winona Daily News
A Winona group holds a lofty goal for its Mass of Healing.
Members of Winona Voice of the Faithful hope not only to help heal the victims of clergy sex abuse in their Catholic church, but also mend what they see as the deep wounds within the Diocese of Winona.
The group, along with St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish, will hold a Mass for Healing at 10 a.m. Sunday to pray for healing in the church.
"This has also hurt clergy who have been faithful to their vows. It's absolutely devastating," said Mary Sherman, co-chairwoman of the group. "This is a huge issue here. A lot of Catholics don't know about it, or just want to put it behind them so they can be comfortable. Well, it can't be put behind until things change."
The Rev. Daniel Dernek, who will celebrate the Mass, reached out to the St. Stanislaus congregation in a church-bulletin essay called "Journey of the Wounded Healer."
"You are one with us, we are one with you. Your suffering becomes our suffering. We encourage victims to begin the healing by talking about their woundedness with competent persons. It's a healthy step in the process of healing."
Some Voice of the Faithful members believe that support needs to extend to the diocesan level.
"They refuse to reach out to victims," said Tom Mahowald.
While other dioceses have invited victims forward for healing and reconciliation, the
Diocese of Winona remains closed and distant to victims, he said. It is not enough to acknowledge abuse, the church is morally obligated to reconcile itself, Mahowald said.
Sherman sees the problem as an institutional one.
"It's very intimidating to go against the church, especially one you love," Sherman said. "But the reason I am hanging on is because I love the faith and I want it to change because it's systematic."
Ivan Kubista, communications director for the diocese, said Winona was among the first dioceses to implement a sexual abuse policy in the late 1980s. That policy has been a model for other dioceses, Kubista said.
Diocesan officials also have met several times with Voice of the Faithful members, he said. After those meetings, several changes were made in the way the diocese dealt with victims, including making the diocese Web site more victim-friendly.
"There just isn't much more we can do. I am not sure what Voice of the Faithful wants," Kubista said.
Mahowald said the diocese ought to be doing more for victims, including making it easier for them to get help and being more public about cover-ups. He said the church is rushing to get the scandal behind it.
"They're not doing their Christian duty. If you look at the bishops' charter, it's to reach out and heal and they haven't done that at all," Mahowald said. "They've grossly underestimated the damage done. It never goes away."
Sherman said the scandal has not passed into history, and therefore the diocese and the church itself must continue to address the issue publicly.
"This is not history. They want it to be history, but changes need to be made," Sherman said. "My heart is broken."
She said the group's purpose during the healing process is three-fold: support victims, support priests of integrity and change the structure of the hierarchy.
Kubista said there often are two sides to the sexual abuse cases that have plagued the church in America and abroad.
"We're concerned about the victims, first and foremost. We have to be," Kubista said. "But we have to look at both sides. We have to be fair to all parties. Some accusations out there are not true."
They do not have one victim on the Review Board so how can it be one bit balanced. Also the reason they had a abuse policy back in the 1980's was because they had big law suits againest them.
Winona Voice of the Faithful asks for church healing
By Darrell Ehrlick | Winona Daily News
A Winona group holds a lofty goal for its Mass of Healing.
Members of Winona Voice of the Faithful hope not only to help heal the victims of clergy sex abuse in their Catholic church, but also mend what they see as the deep wounds within the Diocese of Winona.
The group, along with St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish, will hold a Mass for Healing at 10 a.m. Sunday to pray for healing in the church.
"This has also hurt clergy who have been faithful to their vows. It's absolutely devastating," said Mary Sherman, co-chairwoman of the group. "This is a huge issue here. A lot of Catholics don't know about it, or just want to put it behind them so they can be comfortable. Well, it can't be put behind until things change."
The Rev. Daniel Dernek, who will celebrate the Mass, reached out to the St. Stanislaus congregation in a church-bulletin essay called "Journey of the Wounded Healer."
"You are one with us, we are one with you. Your suffering becomes our suffering. We encourage victims to begin the healing by talking about their woundedness with competent persons. It's a healthy step in the process of healing."
Some Voice of the Faithful members believe that support needs to extend to the diocesan level.
"They refuse to reach out to victims," said Tom Mahowald.
While other dioceses have invited victims forward for healing and reconciliation, the
Diocese of Winona remains closed and distant to victims, he said. It is not enough to acknowledge abuse, the church is morally obligated to reconcile itself, Mahowald said.
Sherman sees the problem as an institutional one.
"It's very intimidating to go against the church, especially one you love," Sherman said. "But the reason I am hanging on is because I love the faith and I want it to change because it's systematic."
Ivan Kubista, communications director for the diocese, said Winona was among the first dioceses to implement a sexual abuse policy in the late 1980s. That policy has been a model for other dioceses, Kubista said.
Diocesan officials also have met several times with Voice of the Faithful members, he said. After those meetings, several changes were made in the way the diocese dealt with victims, including making the diocese Web site more victim-friendly.
"There just isn't much more we can do. I am not sure what Voice of the Faithful wants," Kubista said.
Mahowald said the diocese ought to be doing more for victims, including making it easier for them to get help and being more public about cover-ups. He said the church is rushing to get the scandal behind it.
"They're not doing their Christian duty. If you look at the bishops' charter, it's to reach out and heal and they haven't done that at all," Mahowald said. "They've grossly underestimated the damage done. It never goes away."
Sherman said the scandal has not passed into history, and therefore the diocese and the church itself must continue to address the issue publicly.
"This is not history. They want it to be history, but changes need to be made," Sherman said. "My heart is broken."
She said the group's purpose during the healing process is three-fold: support victims, support priests of integrity and change the structure of the hierarchy.
Kubista said there often are two sides to the sexual abuse cases that have plagued the church in America and abroad.
"We're concerned about the victims, first and foremost. We have to be," Kubista said. "But we have to look at both sides. We have to be fair to all parties. Some accusations out there are not true."