How Laity Can Step Up Their Response to the Clergy Sexual Abuse Crisis in the Diocese of Buffalo
A chilling portrait of the toxic culture which allowed the clergy sexual abuse crisis to flourish. Can we laity do anything to combat this culture to produce lasting reform? YES. Keep reading.
A practical action guide for laity to get involved in the battle for the soul of our diocese.
This free e-book is divided into six chapters with an introduction. AUDIO version, read by the author, is embedded in each chapter, each running approximately 20 minutes. Note that all individuals are presumed innocent unless proven otherwise.
How laity can step up their response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Diocese of Buffalo. INTRODUCTION: A Call to Conversion.
(AUDIO read by author) This 6-part series explores the dark corners of this diocese in how it handles the clergy sexual abuse crisis. There really is much we laity can do to help create lasting reform. It starts with conversion. We may not be able to fix the clergy in the hierarchy, but we laity can certainly change the way laity operate, particularly the way laity represent us and our needs in this diocese.
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How laity can step up their response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Diocese of Buffalo. PART ONE: Recognizing toxic diocesan culture
(AUDIO read by author) This six-part series walks you through dark corners of the Diocese of Buffalo in which we explored areas of moral depravity laced with chilling aloofness and missed opportunities as we examine the the intersection of laity with the clergy sexual abuse crisis. To fix this system, we have to fix the…
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How laity can step up their response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Diocese of Buffalo PART TWO: Accountability is a fundamental expectation.
(AUDIO read by author) If we do not have faith in the integrity of people within the system, how can we have faith in the system itself and what it produces? Transformation of diocesan culture begins with a personal gut-check of every individual who agrees to the enormous responsibility he or she assumes on behalf…
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How laity can step up their response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Diocese of Buffalo PART THREE: Enabling is a product of toxic diocesan culture.
(AUDIO read by author) To combat the clergy sexual abuse crisis, it is not enough to address the abusers. We have to change the look-the-other-way culture that allowed the abusers to flourish. We examine more dark corners of the diocese to watch how this enabling culture plays out and what laity can do to root…
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How laity can step up their response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Diocese of Buffalo. PART FOUR: Loss of Objectivity is a product of toxic diocesan culture.
(AUDIO read by author) We explore indications that the Diocese of Buffalo, over the course of many years, groomed a tight-knit circle of lay advisors in a system that effectively compromised their objectivity. Lose that, and you can easily get duped.
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How laity can step up their response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Diocese of Buffalo. PART FIVE: Principles for Reform
(AUDIO read by author) Sexually abusive clergy and their abuse-facilitators in chancery offices operate off principles. Throughout this series, we saw their chief principle in action: Keeping a lid on the exchange of information and squashing dissent at every opportunity. We laity have principles we work off of too. In this post we look at…
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How Laity can step up their response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Diocese of Buffalo PART SIX: Concrete Reform Recommendations based on revelations in this series
(AUDIO read by author) This final post details concrete reform recommendations for laity to regain relevancy in their advisory roles in this diocese. Long-time Buffalo-area advisors working for their FIFTH or SIXTH bishop are not appropriate for this task, as demonstrated throughout this series. Included is a practical action guide for laity to get involved…
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