
Explainer: What Is Restorative Justice, And How Can It Help Heal the Catholic Church?
Restorative justice is often discussed as one of many tools to address the twin crises of sexual abuse and leadership failures in the Catholic Church. Retired Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske, an expert on restorative justice practices, believes strongly that they can be key in healing the Church. Geske (pictured above) was initially skeptical… Read more “Explainer: What Is Restorative Justice, And How Can It Help Heal the Catholic Church?”

Checking the List of Abusive Priests Gave Me a Shock—and a Wake Up Call
One of the questions that I am frequently asked about my involvement with Awake Milwaukee is “Why?” Why does a busy working mom of three boys feel so passionately about waking people up to Read more

To Celebrate the Awake Blog’s First Birthday, Here Are Our 8 Most-Read Posts of 2020
This week we’re happy to mark the first anniversary of the Awake Blog. Since our very first post in January 2020, we’ve published 49 posts exploring different elements of the Read more

Celebrating Prophetic Voices in Today’s Church
During his homily for the second Sunday of Advent, Deacon Steve Przedpelski of the Family of Four Parishes in Milwaukee spoke about the work of prophets: “A prophet does God’s will or speaks God’s message,” he said. “In the process, the prophet tells us who God is and what God wants, and thus, who we… Read more “Celebrating Prophetic Voices in Today’s Church”

Courageous Conversations: First Awake Event Addresses the Harm of “Clerical Culture” in the Church
The twin crises of sexual abuse and leadership failures in the Church are fostered by an “insular clerical culture” that needs transformation, said speaker Fr. Dan Griffith during Awake Milwaukee’s first-ever Courageous Conversations event, held virtually on Thursday, December 10. A recording of the event is available here. “If the Church doesn’t change its culture,… Read more “Courageous Conversations: First Awake Event Addresses the Harm of “Clerical Culture” in the Church”

Update: Dioceses and Parishes Consider Survivor-Centered Approaches to David Haas’s Music
When news broke last summer that dozens of women had accused popular Catholic composer David Haas of sexual abuse, some dioceses responded quickly, directing music ministers to stop using his compositions, which include popular contemporary hymns such as “Blest Are They” and “We Are Called.” The women who made allegations against Haas filed their reports… Read more “Update: Dioceses and Parishes Consider Survivor-Centered Approaches to David Haas’s Music”

3 Tools that Can Help Victim-Survivors Heal
In the aftermath of sexual abuse, many victim-survivors struggle with their mental health, facing problems including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and intimacy issues. As knowledge about trauma recovery has grown, mental health experts have developed Read more

Enablers and Bystanders: Are They Key to Addressing the Sex Abuse Crisis?
What do such people—who are not predators themselves, but allow predators to operate—owe to the victims who are harmed? This is one of the questions considered by Read more

The McCarrick Report: How Are Milwaukee Parishes Responding?
As Catholics grapple with the terrible revelations of the Vatican’s McCarrick Report, released on November 10, some Milwaukee-area parishes and pastors have made efforts to address the report publicly, acknowledging its horrifying details and the strong feelings parishioners may have in response to this news. One of the first responses was from Archbishop Jerome Listecki,… Read more “The McCarrick Report: How Are Milwaukee Parishes Responding?”

The Vatican Releases the McCarrick Report, and Survivors Respond
Today the Vatican finally released its report on former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, once considered one of the most powerful cardinals in the United States. The document is 461 pages long, and will take time to read and digest fully, but here Awake offers some basic Read more
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