I was asked to write a reflection of my experience as a survivor of sexual abuse by clergy. This Lent, just as last year, I read from two diaries; the first was that of St. Faustina and the second was The Diary of Anne Frank.

Since the latter half of 2018, and throughout 2019, I have been taking part in Listening Sessions throughout the diocese, as a member of a panel.   The focus of these listening sessions has been the sexual abuse crisis in the Church. These sessions have been nothing less than challenging. Yet in the midst of taking on a topic which has been so profoundly hurtful for so many, somehow as only God makes happen, His presence is felt.

Being the parent and caregiver to a beautiful daughter with special medical needs made attending Mass challenging over a five-year span. I would go with my sons when I could before dropping them off at CCD.

Increasing enrollment while remaining on solid financial footing is the enigmatic challenge faced by Catholic school leaders across the nation. While many are resolved to the idea that Catholic schools can no longer survive, let alone thrive, the potential still exists to prove otherwise. What to do? Three initial steps would serve to jump start a renewal.

This may seem strange, but I now thank God for the obstacle of my student loans. Without this obstacle, I would’ve probably entered the convent quietly and very few people would know about God’s work in my little life.

So many New Yorkers continue to mourn the state legislature’s enactment of the most permissive abortion policy in the country. I share your grief.

Sitting on the couch of a therapist’s office all those years ago, I never imagined I would be happy with the possibility of having a published list of names that includes my own abuser. In fact, I was adamant that there would never be any form of confrontation or public revelation: this was a private matter.

In the midst of the current crisis in our church – with a once-admired cardinal accused of heinous acts, bishops widely judged incapable of policing themselves, investigators poring through church archives and ordinary Catholics in fits of anger and despair – Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, asked a very brave question recently: Where might the Holy Spirit be leading us?

A bitterly cold late January Friday evening found me outdoors at dusk on an “Owl Prowl” in northwestern Connecticut. A few weeks prior, I had arranged with my friend and fellow (though ‘expert’) birder, Ken, to search out the wintering, yet active, nocturnal large birds.