Every parish has members who have experienced sexual abuse or other types of trauma, making it essential to create communities that feel welcoming and safe to victims and survivors, said Stephen Read more
Tag: trauma
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
Survivor Story: After My Experience with David Haas, I Can’t Sing His Music
Margaret Hillman was 12 years old when she joined the choir at her parish in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Within a few years, she began serving as a cantor, leading the congregation during Mass. And liturgical music became a family affair; Hillman’s mother soon joined the choir Read more
6 Ways Clergy and Church Leaders Can Build Trauma-Sensitive Parishes
Some trauma experts now suggest that every parish needs clergy and church staff who are trained to recognize trauma in the people they serve, to acknowledge their wounds, and to Read more
Why Catholics Need to Hear Survivor Stories (and 5 Ways to Listen Well)
Today on the blog we pause to revisit one of our earliest posts, from February of this year, which focuses on the sacred work of listening to…… Read more “Why Catholics Need to Hear Survivor Stories (and 5 Ways to Listen Well)”
Survivor Story: My Husband Kept His Abuse Secret for 33 Years of Our Marriage
Ken gave the basics of a story he had never before shared: In 1958, at age 12, he became an altar boy at a Catholic parish on Milwaukee’s South Side, where a much-loved priest was famous for his brief Saturday evening Masses. Read more
Why Do Victim-Survivors Sometimes Forget Their Abuse?
When survivors of sexual abuse share their stories, they sometimes describe forgetting or repressing memories of their abuse for years, even decades, before the memories resurface, usually…… Read more “Why Do Victim-Survivors Sometimes Forget Their Abuse?”
Why Catholics Need to Hear Survivor Stories (and 5 Ways to Listen Well)
ne of Awake’s central missions is a commitment to listening to sexual abuse survivors. Many have carried painful experiences in silence for decades. And those who have shared their stories have often been doubted, shamed, or ignored by fellow Catholics. Read more
