Crisis in the Church | Good Shepherd

We hope you will find these resources helpful.

Bishop Robert Barron’s Video Why Remain Catholic? (With So Much Scandal)

May the below encourage you and offer some things that we all can do to help bring about a renewal in the church. As Ralph Martin said in his letter, ” Jesus is still Lord and will use the current grave problems to bring about good.” Jesus told us he will not abandon us, and the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church.

Here are some other resources, which provide light and hope during this dark period:

Joseph Ratzinger’s “Way of the Cross” meditations and prayers (given in 2005 at the Colosseum in Rome)
Hours of Eucharistic Adoration in Reparation
Prayer of Reparation
Meditation on Reparation and Divine Intimacy
A Holy Hour of Reparation

Additional Prayers:

Together let’s pray for the victims and the entire Body of Christ.
Let’s also pray the rosary daily as Mary requested, for peace in the world and true renewal in the Church.

Our Lady of Sorrows… Pray for us!

what can we do as we continue to pray for the pope and our leaders that God may give them the wisdom and courage to deal with the root of the rot and bring about a real renewal of holiness and evangelization in the Church?

»We need to go about our daily lives, trying to live each day in a way pleasing to God, loving Him and loving our neighbor, including the neighbor in our own families. We need to look to ourselves, lest we fall.

»We need to remember that even though we have this treasure in earthen vessels (or as some translations put it, “cracked pots”), the treasure is no less the treasure. Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater! Baby Jesus is the treasure, and He is still as present as ever and still as ready to receive all who come to Him. And the Mass! Every day, He is willing to come to us in such a special way. Let’s attend daily Mass even more frequently, to offer the sacrifice of Jesus’ death and resurrection to God the Father, in the power of the Holy Spirit, for the salvation of souls and the purification of the Church.

»We need to remember that the Catholic Church is indeed founded by Christ and, despite all problems, has within it the fullness of the means of salvation. Where else can we go? Nowhere; this is indeed our Mother and Home, and she needs our love, our prayers, and our persevering in the way of holiness more than ever.

»We need to remember that there are many truly holy and dedicated bishops and priests, and we must pray for them and support them. They need and deserve our support.

»We need to remember that this isn’t the first time such grave problems have beset the Church. In the fourteenth century, St. Catherine of Siena bemoaned the “stench of sin” coming from the papal court and prophesied that even the demons were disgusted by the homosexual activity he had tempted priests into and the cover up by their superiors! (See chapters 124-125 of Catherine of Siena’s The Dialogue.)

That isn’t to say that we don’t need to take seriously and do all we can in response to the grave scandal we are facing in our time. And yet we need to remember that all this is happening under the providence of God, and He has a plan to bring good out of it. It was even prophesied strongly in Mary’s apparitions in Akita, Japan. Jesus is still Lord and will use the current grave problems to bring about good.

And finally, I’m beginning to see why the Lord has impressed on me so strongly in the past year the urgent need to heed the appeals of Our Lady of Fatima. Indeed, as Mary said,

“Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them.”

Let’s continue to pray and offer sacrifices for the conversion of sinners and as reparation for sin, and let’s pray the rosary daily as Mary requested, for peace in the world and true renewal in the Church.

taken from Letter by Ralph Martin “Dear Troubled Catholics”

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IF YOU HAVE BEEN ABUSED OR VICTIMIZED BY SOMEONE REPRESENTING THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

*Please believe in the possibility for hope and help and healing. We encourage you to come forward and speak out.

If I have been the victim of child sexual abuse by someone representing the Catholic Church, whom should I contact?
Contact the Victim Assistance Coordinator for the Diocese of Lansing, Cheryl Williams-Hecksel, LMSW, 888-308-6252 or cwilliamshecksel@dioceseoflansing.org.

What if I am an adult victim of sexual harassment, abuse, or other types of harassment by someone who works for the Catholic Church?
Contact the Lighthouse Incident Reporting service, 844-446-0009, or Lisa Kutas, Human Resources Director, 517-342-2511 or lkutas@dioceseoflansing.org.