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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This Is Not The Time To Give Up
Thank goodness it’s May. April was long and hard on both my body and my soul. I am guessing that many of you feel the same way.
Announcing the New Mission Statement of Awake Milwaukee
Awake began simply, as a small group of concerned Catholics gathering for conversation in March 2019. Since then, the Awake Leadership Team has been constantly discerning who we want to be as a community, including our mission and the approach we take to this work.
6 Simple Ways You Can Join Awake in Our Mission
The twin crises in our Church—the crisis of sexual abuse and the crisis of leadership failures in responding to that abuse—are large and complex problems.
Survivor Story: A Letter to My Mom
I remember the first time you and Dad told me about your abuse. I told you that I already knew. I don’t know how I knew, other than it was just a child’s intuition.
Awake Questions Update: The Archdiocese Explains the Community Advisory Board
In our effort to better understand how local Church leaders are responding to the issue of sexual abuse in our Church, Awake continues to seek answers to questions we submitted to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in December 2019.
Update: The Archdiocese Answers Awake’s Safe Environment Questions
As we explained in a previous blog post, Awake submitted a list of questions to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in December 2019, in an effort to understand how local Church leaders are responding to the abuse crisis.
Why I Remain Catholic Despite the Sex Abuse Crisis
When the news of the McCarrick scandal hit the headlines, the blow to my family and our faith was devastating. Normally, I am an unabashed enthusiast full of love for the Catholic Church—sharing my faith even with secular friends—but these revelations reduced me to silence.
Survivor Story: Six Things I Wish Catholics Knew About the Abuse Crisis
Patricia Gallagher Marchant, MSW, LCSW, is a psychotherapist in private practice in downtown Milwaukee who has worked for almost 35 years with individuals and couples on issues including anxiety and depression, marital problems, grief, and sexual abuse recovery.
Survivor Voices: How I Found Healing Through Scripture
In 1968 at the age of 19, while in studies for priesthood, I was abused by the priest who was my superior, the individual with the most input in evaluating my suitability to continue.
Update: The Archdiocese of Milwaukee Responds to Awake’s Questions (Part 2)
As we explained in our previous blog post, Awake submitted a list of questions to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in December 2019 and received responses to a shorter list of priority questions in January 2020.
5 Takeaways from the Restorative Justice and Reconciliation Conference in the Twin Cities
In January we attended a Restorative Justice and Reconciliation Conference sponsored by the Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis. The conference was the last requirement of a settlement agreement between the Ramsey County Attorney and the Archdiocese for serious civil and criminal charges in failing to meaningfully respond to numerous reports of sexual abuse of children.
Update: The Archdiocese of Milwaukee Responds to Awake’s Priority Questions
As part of our ongoing effort to understand the abuse crisis at the local level, Awake submitted a list of questions to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in December 2019. (This previous blog post includes our complete list of questions and details about how we developed them.)
Why Catholics Need to Hear Survivor Stories (and 5 Ways to Listen Well)
One of Awake’s central missions is a commitment to listening to sexual abuse survivors. Many have carried painful experiences in silence for decades. And those who have shared their stories have often been doubted, shamed, or ignored by fellow Catholics. In an effort to help change that culture, we’ll begin in coming weeks to post essays from survivors open to sharing their journeys with us.
What Is Vos Estis, and How Is It Related to the Crisis in the Church?
On May 9, 2019, Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter called Vos Estis Lux Mundi, which translates as “You are the Light of the World.” The letter creates new Church law around sexual abuse for the worldwide Church—the Roman Catholic Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches.
Behind the Scenes of Awake’s Open Letter to Survivors
When members of the Awake Leadership Team began meeting in the spring of 2019, we wanted to make sure our first step as an organization clearly conveyed who we are and why we’re undertaking this work. This is how our Open Letter to Survivors was born.
Awake Asks: How is the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Responding to the Abuse Crisis?
Since we began talking with people at community gatherings, listening sessions, and one-on-one meetings, Awake’s leadership team has heard many questions from Milwaukee-area Catholics about how our archdiocese is addressing the abuse crisis. And in learning more about these topics, Awake’s leadership team has developed questions too.
Introducing the Awake Blog
We warmly welcome you to the Awake Blog, a place where Milwaukee-area Catholics can stay informed about the twin crises in our Church—the crisis of sexual abuse and the crisis of leadership failures in responding to that abuse.
Since the Awake organization launched in the summer of 2019, our leadership team has devoted itself to learning about the crises by listening to and talking with a host of people in the Church community, including fellow Catholics in the pews, abuse survivors and people committed to walking alongside them, lay ministers, clergy, and many others. And we’ve heard over and over again about the real need for trustworthy information on these topics.