An Invitation for Survivors
In my own journey over the past three and half years, I have been profoundly changed by listening to the voices of abuse survivors, many of whom have entrusted me with their sacred stories in deeply personal ways. Knowing how transformative this listening has been for me, I launched the In Spirit and Truth Survivors’ Voices series in July 2021 as one small way to share the experiences and perspectives of abuse survivors with a wider audience.
Since then, I have published 20 posts featuring survivors’ reflections on topics like Triggers, Meeting with the Bishop, What Has Helped Me Heal, and What I Want to Say to Catholics. These moving reflections have been full of pain and sorrow, healing and hope.
I am deeply grateful to the women and men who are part of the In Spirit and Truth Survivors’ Voices Panel and offer these honest reflections. Some panelists write every month, while others respond only when a topic particularly speaks to them. All share unique stories and perspectives that we need to hear.
If you have experienced any form of abuse by a Catholic leader, I would be honored to include your voice in future posts. This is how that works:
Each month, I send a topic via email to the Survivors’ Voices Panel, inviting all to send me their thoughts and reflections in response to that topic.
I bring these replies together into one or more blog posts on the subject, sharing a variety of responses in an anonymous list.
Panelists are welcome to respond as frequently or rarely as they choose, and they are of course welcome to opt out at any time.
Note: I am always seeking to include insight from people with a variety of perspectives - women and men, young and old, those who were abused as children and those abused as adults, those who have remained Catholic and those who have left the Church (and every grey area in between). My current panel is particularly limited in racial diversity, so I would especially appreciate the opportunity to include more perspectives from survivors of varying racial and ethnic backgrounds.
If you are a survivor who would be willing to share your voice in this way, I would love to hear from you. Just click here to express your interest:
And if you know someone else who might like to participate, please feel free to pass this invitation along to them:
I look forward to including more voices in April’s post! Thank you for reading.
~ Sara