April 3, 2022 - "Child Abuse Protection Month"

April is Child Abuse Protection Month.  The Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has prepared a very nice resource booklet of which I am going to make use for my column today.
 
Pope Francis has called upon all people to reflect on synodality.  We are being asked to journey together, to listen and learn from each other, and to discern together what the will of the Holy Spirit is. During this Child Abuse Protection Month, let us listen carefully to the words of the wounded.  Let us walk together on this journey of healing and building trust.  The Holy Spirit will light the way through the darkness of evil.  But we must take time to listen, to heed the guidance as we draw the map to our journey to wholeness.  In the meantime, let’s consider the following:
 
Did you know…Child abuse comes in many forms?   Most people identify child abuse as physically hitting a child.  Neglect is also a form of abuse.  Failing to provide a child with proper nutrition, housing, and supervision can cause irreparable harm.  Expectations that a child be an active participant in the care of the home and the family, or even age-appropriate jobs is a part of healthy development.  But excessive demands can cross into a form of servitude that is beyond the societal norms.  Child pornography is a form of sexual abuse, with real victims in every image.  The viewing of these images is an offence against the human dignity.
 
Did you know…Child abuse can occur in every culture and every socio-economic demographic? Peer reviewed research--especially that of the past thirty years--repeatedly shows this to be true.  This same research indicates that the vast majority of child abuse occurs at the hands of someone known to the victim.  Those who seek to do harm to children will pursue opportunities that provide access to children and may even ingratiate themselves into the home.  We can protect children by respecting the safe environment protocols established at youth serving organization.  More importantly, we can implement many of these protocols in our homes and be ever observant and vigilant in all public and private settings.
 
Did you know…Hope is rising?  Throughout scripture there is evidence that we are called to be ambassadors of hope and healing.  Did you know children of abuse long to hear this message of hope?  Victims of crime, their family and loved ones need to know that their voices are heard.  Organizations throughout the nation are striving to share the message that He has risen and there is hope.  Each of us has a unique ability to support individuals who are hurting, to promote healthy relationships and to build communities that are safe from those who may want to do us harm.  How has he called us to be ambassadors of hope and healing?

Let me close with this thought from Pope Francis:  “It is essential that we, as a Church, be able to acknowledge and condemn, with sorrow and shame, the atrocities perpetrated by consecrated persons, clerics, and all those entrusted with the mission of watching over and care for those most vulnerable.”
 
Until next week,
Fr. John