Child Abuse Prevention Month: A Call to Truth, Justice, and Conversion
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month a time not only for awareness, but for truth.
As Catholics, we speak clearly and passionately about the dignity of human life. We affirm that every person is created in the image and likeness of God and must be protected from conception until natural death. We are willing to engage difficult topics because they matter. But if we are to be consistent in that conviction, then we must also speak with equal clarity about the reality of sexual abuse and the devastation it causes.
Sexual abuse is a grave evil. It is a profound violation of the human person. It takes someone who is infinitely precious in God’s sight and treats them as something to be used. It is a misuse of power and a betrayal of trust. When it occurs within the life of the Church, it becomes a wound in the Body of Christ.
If we are truly a people who defend life, then this cannot be an issue we avoid. To speak about the dignity of life while remaining silent here is not consistent with the Gospel. This is part of our responsibility as Christians.
We must also acknowledge something that is often left unspoken: many who have suffered abuse carry not only the pain of what was done to them, but also the experience of being left alone in it. At times, people have not known what to say, or have chosen to say nothing at all. That silence can deepen the wound.
The Gospel calls us to something different. It calls us to draw near, not to turn away. It calls us to listen, to take seriously what we hear, and to respond with compassion and integrity. It calls us to be a people who do not look the other way when something is wrong.
This also requires honesty from all of us. It asks us to examine our own hearts our assumptions, our discomfort, and even our silence. Conversion in the Church is not abstract. It begins with each of us.
At its core, this is about how we understand authority. In the Church, authority is not about control or reputation it is about service. It is about protecting those who are most vulnerable. When that responsibility is not lived, the consequences are real and lasting.
The Gospel is clear: we are not called to preserve appearances we are called to care for people, especially those who have been wounded.
And yet, even here, there is hope. Christ does not abandon His Church. He calls her to purification, to honesty, and to renewal. He calls us back to what is essential the sacred dignity of every human person.
This month, let us be willing to face the truth. Let us be attentive to those who carry wounds. And let us commit ourselves, together, to being a community where every person is safe, respected, and cared for.
Your Servant in Christ,
Father Jason C. Hage, Pastor
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us!
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Mary, Mother of Our Savior, pray for us!