Catholic Church Lacks Genuine Help For Rape Victims From Catholic Prospective

[Jermosh]

I would not really worry about emails, they get dropped, filtered out, or looked at and held for later. You should give the benefit of the doubt if possible.

The Church does offer help, there are ministries held by laity and religious orders, in Mass there was a Annie house that helped domestic abuse and rape victims, it was funded by the diocese and ran by a order of nuns and laity. I am not sure if you will ever find a official Church wide ministry for any specific issue though, I am a victim of both rape at a young age and the dramatic loss of a child of which resulted in PTSD.

While the Church and priest were helpful, they lacked true psychiatric help that I needed through therapy. I went through an a EMDR treatment and it worked wonders, no panic attacks, no swampy pond smells, no breaking down at the sight of a child near the water. I still am prone to depression though, sure Christ can help me with that, but I am only mortal and far from perfect.

In the end, everyone who has not experienced something as dramatic as you or I have been through and lacks training and experience will have that “I am not sure what to do” look in their eyes. They tend to always say things that make our blood boil as well, I swear if I heard one more person tell me that my Jimmy was in a “better place”, I was going to put them there myself [/mild sarcasm]. But as again they have not a clue, or understanding of what we were going through.

Don’t give up, just be open to find a door that you did not think was there, or get discouraged by not finding one you wanted.

 

[centurionguard]

**COMMUNIQUE ON PAPAL MEETING WITH IRISH BISHOPS

[Bold emphasis added]

VATICAN CITY, 16 FEB 2010 (VIS) - Given below is the communique released this morning after the Holy Father’s meeting of yesterday and today with the Bishops of the Irish Bishops’ Conference.

“On 15 and 16 February 2010, the Holy Father met the Irish Bishops and senior members of the Roman Curia to discuss the serious situation which has emerged in the Church in Ireland. Together they examined the failure of Irish Church authorities for many years to act effectively in dealing with cases involving the sexual abuse of young people by some Irish clergy and religious. All those present recognized that this grave crisis has led to a breakdown in trust in the Church’s leadership and has damaged her witness to the Gospel and its moral teaching.”

“The meeting took place in a spirit of prayer and collegial fraternity, and its frank and open atmosphere provided guidance and support to the Bishops in their efforts to address the situation in their respective Dioceses.”

“On the morning of 15 February, following a brief introduction by the Holy Father, each of the Irish Bishops offered his own observations and suggestions. The Bishops spoke frankly of the sense of pain and anger, betrayal, scandal, and shame expressed to them on numerous occasions by those who had been abused. There was a similar sense of outrage reflected by laity, priests and religious in this regard.”

“The Bishops likewise described the support at present being provided by thousands of trained and dedicated lay volunteers at parish level to ensure the safety of children in all Church activities, and stressed that, while there is no doubt that errors of judgment and omissions stand at the heart of the crisis, significant measures have now been taken to ensure the safety of children and young people. They also emphasized their commitment to cooperation with the statutory authorities in Ireland - North and South - and with the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland to guarantee that the Church’s standards, policies, and procedures represent best practice in this area.”

“For his part, the Holy Father observed that the sexual abuse of children and young people is not only a heinous crime, but also a grave sin which offends God and wounds the dignity of the human person created in his image. While realizing that the current painful situation will not be resolved quickly, he challenged the Bishops to address the problems of the past with determination and resolve, and to face the present crisis with honesty and courage. He also expressed the hope that the present meeting would help to unify the Bishops and enable them to speak with one voice in identifying concrete steps aimed at bringing healing to those who had been abused, encouraging a renewal of faith in Christ and restoring the Church’s spiritual and moral credibility.”**

 

[centurionguard]

I would not really worry about emails, they get dropped, filtered out, or looked at and held for later. You should give the benefit of the doubt if possible.

The Church does offer help, there are ministries held by laity and religious orders, in Mass there was a Annie house that helped domestic abuse and rape victims, it was funded by the diocese and ran by a order of nuns and laity. I am not sure if you will ever find a official Church wide ministry for any specific issue though, I am a victim of both rape at a young age and the dramatic loss of a child of which resulted in PTSD.

While the Church and priest were helpful, they lacked true psychiatric help that I needed through therapy. I went through an a EMDR treatment and it worked wonders, no panic attacks, no swampy pond smells, no breaking down at the sight of a child near the water. I still am prone to depression though, sure Christ can help me with that, but I am only mortal and far from perfect.

In the end, everyone who has not experienced something as dramatic as you or I have been through and lacks training and experience will have that “I am not sure what to do” look in their eyes. They tend to always say things that make our blood boil as well, I swear if I heard one more person tell me that my Jimmy was in a “better place”, I was going to put them there myself [/mild sarcasm]. But as again they have not a clue, or understanding of what we were going through.

Don’t give up, just be open to find a door that you did not think was there, or get discouraged by not finding one you wanted.

Jermosh; My sincere appreciation for your support.
Fraternally
In the Peace of Christ
Chris

P.S. Perhaps when the Catholic Church truly understands the torture of Rape they’ll be better disposed to help.

centurionguard57.blogspot.com/2008/10/psychological-torture-of-rape.html