The Body of Christ once again is suffering very deeply. This past Monday, Pope Francis issued a letter to the universal Church, which comes after the release of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury’s disclosure last week about the crimes of sexual abuse by priests and consecrated religious and the sins of abuse of power.
To put his thoughts into words, he quoted St. Paul’s profound insight, that “if one member [of the Body of Christ] suffers, all suffer together” (1 COR 12:26).
And it truly resonates. The pain of the victims and the betrayal of trust is felt by every single
Catholic. We live within the wounds of Christ when we are confronted with all that’s happened, and it brings up the pain of all that’s been endured. As the Pope writes, “Looking back to the past, no effort to beg pardon and to seek to repair the harm done will ever be sufficient. Looking ahead to the future, no effort must be spared to create a culture able to prevent such situations from happening, but also to prevent the possibility of their being covered up and perpetuated.”
When I entered the seminary in 2002, it was in the midst of all we began to hear about the
Sexual abuse by priests here in Chicago. My former pastor was removed from ministry at that time, and we felt the betrayal of a Church that is meant to love and unify us and bring us to Christ.
In the midst of a dark time, I held onto what I feel God was calling me to do, believing in Jesus Christ who desires communion with all who come to him and desire to serve through goodness. The Eucharist, which we share, is about communion with the Body of Christ—the body that suffers and the body that needs to heal and be restored. And we pray for justice.
--Fr. Mike
A Thank You Note from our Friends at St. Aloysius Thank you to all the parishioners of St. Hubert for your presence and a great time at the Sharing Parish Picnic. The weather was perfect! The
children and the adults enjoyed the games as well as the Bingo. A special thanks for hosting the picnic on the beautiful grounds. There was delicious food, fun games and awesome prizes, and for all of this we are grateful.