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	Sackcloth and Ashes: Portland Priests and Parishioners Do Penance for Abuse By Virginia Jones The Garden of Roses January 28, 2010 http://web.me.com/virginiajones/Compsassionate_Gathering/The_Garden_of_Roses/Entries/2010/1/28_Sackcloth_and_Ashes__Portland_Priests_and_Parishioners_do_Penance_for_Abuse.html Ann Czuba kept thinking about how the King of Ninevah ordered the people of his kingdom to wear Sack Cloth and Ashes when Jonah told him they had sinned against God. Ann is a gentle, white haired grandmother who attends Madeleine parish in Portland, Oregon. When she read newspaper articles about clergy abuse survivors, she recognized their deep pain and anger. It seemed to her that many survivors felt Catholics didn’t care about them. Ann cared deeply although no member of her family had ever been abused by a priest. Ann prayed about what to do. Inspired by the Book of Jonah, she designed the Sack Cloth Penance Patch -- a two inch square piece of frayed burlap with a brown ribbon sewed to the center and a safety pin sewed to the underside. Burlap was as close as Ann could get to sackcloth. She intended for Catholics to wear the patch as a visible symbol -- a psychological penance rather than a physical one. She also understood that many survivors are uncomfortable identifying themselves in public. She hoped the Penance Patch could reach out to clergy abuse survivors anonymously to say, “I’m sorry we hurt you; I am praying for you.” Fellow parishioners helped Ann make more than 500 patches to hand out at their parish, but Ann’s pastor, Fr. Painter, wanted permission from the Archbishop before proceeding. In March 2007, Ann wrote to the Archbishop of Portland in Oregon, the Most Reverend John Vlazny, “...we, as a church, need to atone for the sins of these priests and to let the victims (of clergy abuse) know that we care about their pain.” Archbishop Vlazny wrote back to Ann and gave his blessings to her Sack Cloth Penance Patch. Then Fr. Painter wanted Ann to find out how clergy abuse survivors felt about the patch, but Ann didn’t know any. A mutual acquaintance knew me and my work with survivors. He gave Ann my phone number. So, in October 2007, I e-mailed copies of Ann’s letter to the survivors I knew. Some felt the Sack Cloth Penance Patch was too symbolic. Others were touched by Ann’s compassion. One wrote back to me, “Ann’s letter left me feeling uplifted.” Next I helped Ann connect to other Catholics in the Portland area who wanted to reach out compassionately to clergy abuse survivors. The pastor of my parish, Ascension Catholic Church, in October 2007, was Franciscan Friar, Fr. Armando Lopez. He started wearing a Penance Patch in November 2007, but we wanted to recruit more Catholics to make and wear patches during Lent in 2008. One of our supporters, a Catholic nun, took the Patch to her parish, St. Andrews, and made and handed out at least 200 there. Another supporter, a parishioner, made and handed out 500 Patches at Holy Redeemer Parish. Altogether more than 1500 patches were handed out in several parishes in Portland, Oregon, during Lent of 2008. The local Catholic Sentinel newspaper carried a story on Ann and her Patch, an article picked up by the Abuse Tracker blog. After that article was published, a priest and a deacon at St. Mary’s Cathedral asked for Patches. The deacon handed out Patches to everyone in his Rite of Catholic Initiation class. After Easter, interest in the Patches waned. Fr. Painter who has supported the Patch so eloquently in the Sentinel article, passed away in May 2008. The new pastor of Madeleine Parish who followed Fr. Painter felt uncomfortable with the focus on clergy abuse and wanted the Patch to symbolize penance for all abuses. We wondered how we hold on. We tried so hard to maintain interest in the Patches and for every two steps forward, it seemed we took one backwards. Fortunately I knew another priest I thought might be helpful. This priest had served as pastor of two parishes previously served by a chronically abusive priest. He supported several survivors and their families through their pain. I sent the priest a Patch in February 2008, but I did not hear from him. Months passed. Finally, in November 2008, I went to Mass at his parish. I waited after Mass until the long line of parishioners who wanted to talk to the priest grew short, and then I approached him. He saw the Patch I wore on my coat. “I’ve been wearing the Patch you sent to me,” he said, “I’ve been wearing it during reconciliation -- when I hear confessions. It puts me into the right frame of mind.” The priest gratefully accepted my materials to take to his parish liturgical committee. His parish gave out kits to make Penance Patches at during Lent of 2009. In 2009, Fr. Armando stepped up into Fr. Painter’s shoes and gave interviews to the Catholic Sentinel and Oregon Public Radio in support of wearing Patches as penance for clergy abuse. However, the Franciscan Order moved our wonderful Fr. Armando to San Francisco last summer. I wondered if our new Franciscan priest, Fr. Ben Innes, would be open to the Patch as well as to the rest of my work with clergy abuse survivors. I gave him space before approaching him, space to get oriented to a new parish. Then I invited him to support the Rosary Retreat. I figured, How can a Catholic priest turn down a retreat to pray for survivors of abuse using the Rosary? And Fr. Ben did support us graciously. Then, after Christmas, I finally got up the courage to ask Fr. Ben if we could hand out Sackcloth Penance Patches at Ascension during Lent 2010. I was afraid that he might prefer a milder version of purpose of the Patch like the new pastor of Madeleine Parish. I gave him an envelope of materials after Mass with information on all the colors of ribbons for various forms of abuse – teal blue for child sex abuse, purple for domestic violence, and royal blue for ordinary child abuse, as well as the Penance Patch. Fr. Ben told me to call him. When we spoke on the phone a few days later, Fr. Ben said, “I am confused, what is it you want to do with all these different colors of ribbon?” I explained that the pastor of Madeleine Catholic Church was uncomfortable with the focus on clergy abuse, and that I wanted to respect his wishes. “Well I think we should wear the Penance Patch for clergy abuse,” Fr. Ben said, “And I think we should have an insert in the bulletin explaining what the Patch means.” That insert will be in a future blog. After speaking with Fr. Ben, I called Ann. I told her that Fr. Ben embraced the Sack Cloth Penance Patch for the purpose she intended it for – as a penance and sign of apology and prayer for clergy abuse. Ann, in her quiet, grandmotherly way, sounded like a schoolgirl in a candy store. She was sooo happy. For more information or to obtain a Sackcloth Penance Patch contact me, Virginia, at compassion500@gmail.com
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