Awake Blog
Welcome to the Awake Blog! If you’re new to Awake, we recommend you check out these top blog posts from our archive.
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The Power of Pets in Trauma Healing
When Jessica met Josie, she quickly knew they would make a good team. Josie is a goldendoodle that Jessica adopted last summer. “She had just had a bath and was hiding under a chair in their living room…
Jill Monaco
“Experience has taught me that you need to find a tribe of people or even just one person who can hold space for your story and pain.”
Why Do Victim-Survivors Sometimes Forget Their Abuse?
When survivors of sexual abuse share their stories, they sometimes describe forgetting or repressing memories of their abuse for years, even decades, before the memories resurface, usually in the form of painful flashbacks.
Chuck Lovett
"I refuse to let the institution that didn’t stop these horrors dictate how I heal from them.”
Scarlett Faltys-Burr
“My family hopes our story of being exploited due to our vulnerability as immigrants is taken to heart and that our testimony helps bring about change.”
How Do Other Faith Traditions Address Abuse?
How do Jewish, Protestant, and Muslim communities address abuse by religious leaders? What can Catholics learn from these other faith traditions?
Timothy Quigley
“I had a Judas, who betrayed me with a kiss. It felt like Jesus left me. I only found Jesus again by identifying with him, with his passion, with his cross.”
Jennifer-Marie Burchell
”I am finally at a point in my healing journey where I can claim my own story.”
Moral Injury: The Unexpected Wounds of Sexual Abuse in the Church
It’s little surprise to members of the Awake community that the twin crises of sexual abuse and cover-up in the Catholic Church have caused grave wounds, especially for victim-survivors of abuse. But recent research by Catholic moral theologian Marcus Mescher and his colleagues at Xavier University in Cincinnati sheds new light on some of the ways these crises have injured the Church.
John Bellocchio
“I have found that healing grows when the Church sees survivors not as threats to its reputation, but as prophets for its renewal”
What is Institutional Betrayal? And How Does It Relate to Church Abuse?
Institutional betrayal occurs when leaders of an institution fail to protect members from harm or do not respond with support if someone reveals that they’ve been hurt.
Denise Buchanan
“Silence destroys the body of Christ. Protecting survivors and demanding accountability does not attack faith; it is an act of fidelity to it.”
Awake Welcomes Four New Members to Our Survivor Advisory Panel
This week on the blog we welcome four new members to the Awake Survivor Advisory Panel, who introduce themselves to the Awake community.
Nancy Pieffer
“I am so grateful to say that my life is more than my trauma, and in many ways I triumphed in spite of my pain.”
Tim Lennon
“When I first stepped forward, I did so alone, as an individual. Now I step forward as part of a worldwide movement of survivors.”
Awake Delivers Heartfelt Survivor Letters to the Vatican This Week
This week, Awake Executive Director Sara Larson delivered a set of 37 letters—written by abuse survivors to Pope Leo—to the Vatican in Rome.
Alexandra Buchlmayer
“Owning my story, despite the lack of legal action, was a huge part of my healing journey. It broke the bonds of secrecy and shame.”
Survivors Share Their Hopes for the Pontificate of Pope Leo XIV
“I hope Pope Leo will truly listen to survivors, not through carefully managed encounters, but by sitting with them in their raw pain without any defensiveness, aides, or lawyers present.”
Mary O’Day
“Healing my image of God has been incredibly impactful in both healing my trauma and helping me learn to accept love.”
Responding to the Death of Pope Francis—While Remaining Focused on Survivors
Because Awake is a survivor-centered organization, we’re focusing first on how this development impacts the survivors in our community.