After many years of clergy sexual abuse survivors only finding support for their healing outside of the Church community, Good Samaritans within the Church are approaching victims to help them bandage their wounds.

One American group of such Good Samaritans reached out to survivors and hosted several Healing Circles based on Restorative Justice principles. 

In an e-mail interview, Bill Casey, a Restorative Justice practitioner for more than 15 years, provided an explanation of what this group did, the challenges they faced and the good that came out of their efforts.

Bill Casey, a life-long Catholic, felt a call to action after January 2002 upon reading the Boston Globe’s series about the sexual abuse scandal in the Boston Archdiocese. Since then, he has interacted with hundreds of survivors and given presentations at conferences, including Boston College’s “Church in the 21st Century” and the Conference of Major Superiors of Men. Casey has practiced…