The need for prayer

     The day following the release of the PA Grand Jury Report on child abuse by priests and the Church's failures, while we were all still speechless and shocked, a wonderful group of the faithful gathered on August 15th with Bishop Malesic on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin to celebrate their Faith, to honor the Mother of God on the day of her entry into heaven, and to be fed with the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist as we sang the praises of the Father of all.  Mary, under the title of the Assumption, is the patroness of our diocese.   That night, as we gathered, darkness descended upon us.  The fright of that darkness was dispelled that night by the light of our Faith, the light of the many candles carried in procession, and the strength of trust and redemption as we placed ourselves within the healing power of God and the gentle love of his mother, Mary.  It was a much needed moment of hope for the future.   I have included a number of pictures of the evening taken by the diocesan photographers who sought to capture the beauty of that evening.  And I thank God for the families who witnessed to their undying love of this gift of the Family of God.

A Break in the Clouds

     This past weekend I was called upon to "help out" at the Church of Saint Paul in Greensburg.  I celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Saturday afternoon and was moved in the frailty of the human condition by the humble trust that people express in the mercy of God that comes through that sacrament.  As the guy behind the curtain or in the opposite chair I am always keenly aware of my own frailty and sinfulness and the grace of the Sacrament that uses an unworthy vessel to bring the forgiveness of the Lord and of his Church to the repentant sinner.  As usual, I was truly graced this past Saturday afternoon.
     Later in the afternoon I led the people in prayer as we celebrated the Eucharist.  In my homily I spoke of the storm clouds surrounding the Church, especially in the last week and a half following the PA Grand Jury Report publication.  I shared that this was probably the darkest hour of my priesthood and some of the most challenging days in the life of the Church in my lifetime.  The Scriptures reminded us of the inspired words of Peter when Jesus asked the Twelve if they, like so many other followers who could not face the hard times, would depart from him.  Peter said: "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."  And in the Hebrew Scriptures of the day, the words of the leaders of the people of God: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."   The evil one, like a roaring lion, goes about seeking someone to devourer.  He is having a field day with the Church in her sinfulness and in the push on the part of some to bring her down.  But we are built upon the Rock of Peter and we have been established by Christ.
     I had a dozen or so people make a point of thanking me for encouraging words in the midst of this conflict.  Our Bishop shared a homily the previous Sunday which began the process of healing and strengthening so needed in the Church of our day.

     But on Sunday morning at the 9:00am Mass, I had the joy of celebrating a baptism with the community.  When the family came into Church with their child, grandma reminded me that many years ago in this same church I had baptized the baby's mom, Allison.  She and her husband, along with a large number of family and friends, joined with me and the three to four hundred in attendance in welcoming Elliot Edward Lutz as a Child of God into the Church community.   The community continues to gather as family to celebrate the Sacred Mysteries and to welcome a new member of a new generation who will continue the living out of the Faith, even in a flawed Church.  For me, as I returned home that morning, it was like a break in the storm clouds and a glimpse of hope that we continue our mission of proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord.

     

A Sign of Hope IV

     As I bring this short series of posts to a close, I would like to focus a little on the outstanding work that the diocese and our parishes do in ministering to the people of this area.

     Faith is a gift given to us by God.  Our mission is to share that faith.  We do so in living out and proclaiming the message of the Gospel and by worshiping the Lord and being a strong community of believers.  We do so by sharing our time, talent and treasure with communities both local and international.  We help meet the spiritual and material needs of the poor throughout the world.

     Service organizations like the St. Vincent de Paul Society with their volunteers and stores, the Knights of Columbus, the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, the Scouting programs, parish food pantries and food banks are just a few.  We visit the sick, the homebound and those in prison.  

    And our Catholic Charities reaches to all four counties of the Diocese in providing counseling and assistance on numerous levels. Charities answers nearly 20,000 call yearly; has distributed $1.27 million in direct material assistance to folks in the last 19 years through their annual fundraiser - the Salt & Light Dinner; helped 66 families last year with furnace and hot water heaters after weather disasters to the amount of $200,000.  Charities helps 1,000 families a year with utility bills and distributed $400,000 from the Poverty Relief Fund since 2009.  This is just from Catholic Charities ... parishes and parish groups do much more in their local communities.

     The Church is more than her failures, more than that described in the Grand Jury Report in all of its revulsion, more than what is found in the justifiable anger and hurt coming from the victims of abuse, more than the sense of betrayal and confusion found in so many of the faithful.  The Church is founded by Jesus Christ who pledged that he will remain with us always, gracing us with healing and love in the darkest moments and strengthening us with hope and love so that we may renew, rebuild and refresh the Church on our journey to holiness.  It is this vision of Church that is our Sign of Hope.

Our day of darkness

     Since the last post, the Grand Jury Report on the sexual abuse of children in Pennsylvania over the last seventy years was released.  It is a time of darkness for the Church, a day of sorrow, scandal and disgust.  For those who are the victims of abuse through these priests, it hopefully is a time of vindication and a moment of healing grace.  The Diocese of Greensburg had twenty priests listed as abusers.  Reading what they did, in some cases a few times to multiple sins and crimes, was devastating and disgusting.  I am embarrassed for the Church and filled with concern for my brothers who through the grace of God have remained faithful to our call.  But most of all, my heart goes out to those who were harmed by these priests.

     As I mentioned in the beginning of this series of posts "A Sign of Hope", this is the scandal of the Cross that Jesus was preparing him followers for when he took them to the mountain top and was transfigured before them, giving them a glimpse of his glory which would see them through their dark hour.   The report of "Higher Standards" of our diocese that I am sharing allows us to see the Church of the Grand Jury Report as not being today's Catholic Church.  We have made strides over the last thirty years that help us to better protect God's children and be vigilant in our effort to correct the failures of the past.

     All of our priests, employees and volunteers who work with children in the Diocese for the past fifteen years, more than 15,000, must go through these procedures.  They must have background checks: a PA Criminal Background check ... a PA Child Abuse History clearance ... a FBI Fingerprint check ... they must read and sign the Pastoral Code of Conduct for the Diocese of Greensburg ... they attend the PA Mandated Reporter Training Course ... they must take part in VIRTUS (the National Catholic online training program to combat child abuse).  A Bishop's Delegate is available to hear and accept reports of abuse and Childline is also available for reporting.  Their numbers and the encouragement to report abuse are regularly publicized in the diocesan paper and in all of the parish bulletins.

     We do more than any other organization for Child Abuse Survivors by offering counseling no matter when, where or by whom it occurred.

     Can this make up for the crimes of the past?  Obviously not.  Is this enough for the moment?  No, but it is a beginning that has been in place for years and continues to be evaluated and updated.  Will this solve the problem?  Probably not completely, but we hope and pray so.  The last reported incident occurred  twenty-five years ago.  May there never be another in the future of this Diocese.

     As Bishop Malesic says in his introduction to the Diocesan Report on Higher Standards: "We believe that we will get through this time of suffering if we remain in Jesus and allow him to remain in us.  Apart from Him, we can do nothing.  With Him, even the impossible becomes doable."

A Sign of Hope III

      Looking at the Church of Greensburg today as we await the Statewide Grand Jury Report on the abuse of children by a number of priests over the last seventy years, I would like to focus in this post on the Mission of Faith Formation and Catholic School Education.   Given the tremendous crimes and sins experienced by young victims of which we are all sorry and ashamed, it bears noting that the mission of the Church to care for our young people continues with renewed efforts at protection and strengthening the quality of education and growth.

     In the Diocese of Greensburg today we find 2,300 students in 11 elementary schools and 2 junior-senior high schools.  The parents of these children have committed to the high standards and the quality of education in our schools and despite high tuition costs have placed their trust in our schools.  The academic excellence found there is combined with the teachings of the Catholic Church and the teaching of moral values.  Our schools provide a safe environment and benefit from tremendous faculties that share knowledge as well as the value of service to others.

     And when I speak of academic excellence, consider these stats: our 2018 graduates from high school were offered $10,117,919 in scholarships and grants ... and in a college-in-high school program those graduates earned 886 college credits while in high school.

     Add to all of this the thousands of youngsters in our parish Religious Education Programs who have the faith shared with them by catechists and aides who, like our school teachers, have their background clearances and who have been thoroughly trained in the protection of God's children.  

    

     Our children are our most important concern.  The failures of the past, whatever the number (let me say that one is too many) will find no acceptance in the Church today.  Our efforts and policies for the past thirty years are striving to root out this terrible evil and provide a safe environment for all of God's children.

A Sign of Hope II

     In my last post I spoke of the hope given to Peter, James and John when Jesus was revealed to them in his divinity, preparing them for the difficult days ahead.  I mentioned that the pending publishing of the Grand Jury Report of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania regarding child abuse by priests and the handling of such cases by the Church will paint a picture of the Church that will challenge the faith of many.  The sins and crimes of the few priests over these last seventy years and the response of those in authority will show a Church that is not the Church of today.  I would like to give you a glimpse of the Church of Greensburg today, and present this as a sign of hope that the Lord's message is being lived and shared in wonderful ways.  The next few posts will attempt to do that.

    Bishop Malesic shared these words in a message to the people of the Diocese of Greensburg.  "Today's Catholic Church is committed to higher standards.  The people of the Diocese of Greensburg should know that we have learned from the mistakes made in the past.  Our Catholic Church is a good Church.  We have taken care of the sick.  We have helped the poor.  We have preached the Gospel.  The Lord has given much success to the work of our hands.  I can assure you that the Church in the Diocese of Greensburg today has evolved far beyond the Church described in media reports."

     Who are we as a diocese?

     The Diocese of Greensburg was established on March 10, 1951.  It covers 3,334 square miles in four counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania.  The total Catholic population is currently 137,641, served in 78 parishes by 51 active diocesan priests, 14 Religious Order priests and 14 International priests.  There are 35 retired diocesan priests and 258 Women Religious.  We live in a part of the nation that has an aging population and in an area of the Commonwealth that is economically challenged. Our parishes and population have decreased over the years because of these factors.  We are facing these changing demographics in creative and confident ways.  We are a vibrant Church.

     Today our Diocese issued a report that shares this message of hope to help us weather the storm.  I will attempt to share some of this info in the next few posts, but the full report can be found on the Diocesan website: www.dioceseofgreensburg.org  
     Until the next post, find strength and encouragement in the fact that we are responding to the Lord's call to live out the Gospel and to grow in holiness and grace.

A Sign of Hope

     Yesterday, August 6th, was the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord.  As the gospel tells us, Jesus, just before the darkest hour that he and the early Church had to face, takes Peter, James and John to the mountain top to pray.  He was transfigured before their eyes.  He appeared to them in all of his glory, along with Moses and Elijah (the law and the prophets), to reveal that their glory resided in their unity with him and that he is their hope, their light in the darkest of moments.  He had chosen them to be his friends and to do his work, and they were his beloved.  Darkness and sin and despair would not overwhelm or destroy them.   They could place their trust in him.

     There is an appropriateness to this feast falling where it does at this moment of time within the Church.  Within the next week we will be confronted with the sins of a number of priests over the past seventy years and be enveloped in the darkness of shame and confusion and anger and despair at a level that we have not experienced in a long time.  This will be presented in the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Grand Jury investigation report of the last two years that is about to be announced.  The Church will be accused of cover-ups and selfish intents and condemned by so many.  This will be a time of darkness that I am not looking forward to.

    Before these challenging moments and the raising of hatred and persecution  from many for the Church, with Evil rejoicing in the undermining of the Faith of God's People, I find it necessary to take a moment and see the goodness of the vast majority of our priests and leaders, the deep faith of the laity who see the frailty of the human condition and who have experienced the tender mercy and compassion of our loving God, and the truth that the Church, an imperfect human institution, has been established by Jesus and empowered by his Spirit to proclaim the Good News and to build up the Kingdom of God.  It is he that calls us to holiness.  It is he that challenges us to turn away from sin and to believe in the Gospel.  It is he that embraces us in our repentance and restores us to grace in his love.   This imperfect institution is growing in grace and mercy in our unity with him and reflects the glory of God even in our tarnished moments.  This vision is a sign of hope for me as I hope it is for you.