VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service
By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Just as Jesus commanded pastors to leave their flock to find the lost sheep, the church must set out in search of all those who have been abused by clergy and offer them help, said one abuse survivor.
Victims of abuse should be the focus of a new pastoral ministry since they are isolated, hurting, vulnerable to self-harm and suicide, and in need of Christ’s true healing, said Mark Vincent Healy, one of the six abuse survivors who met Pope Francis at the Vatican July 7.
In his private meeting with the pope, Healy said, “I needed to tell His Holiness just how awful it is when there is no justice, no one listening on a humanitarian level,” and how all that isolation and guilt push people to suicide or self-harm and addictions.
He also told the pope how much spiritual help both survivors and the church need. Healy spoke with Catholic News Service by telephone from Ireland July 25.
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