From Crisis to Hope
Posted by Suzanne Sadler on August 15, 2009 · 8 Comments
Suzanne Sadler has a mind and spirit that I would not want to venture into alone. It isn’t safe! It isn’t safe, at least, if by “safe” one means riding out a storm by hunkering down in the nearest protected harbor. No, that’s just not Suzanne. Living by the motto, “When the going gets tough, the tough launch a blog,” Suzanne responded to the perfect storm of bad press about Catholic priests by stepping right smack into the deluge.
It was one year ago this week on the solemnity of the Assumption that Suzanne published her first blog post launching Priests in Crisis. It was one day after the Church honors the martyrdom of St. Maximilian Kolbe. It came as no surprise to me that Suzanne is a member of the Militia of the Immaculata, a movement founded by Fr. Maximilian before he was imprisoned at Auschwitz. He pointed everyone he met to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It is no mystery why Priests in Crisis entrusts wounded priests “to Mary their Mother.”
I don’t think most people can readily grasp how important the apostolate of Priests in Crisis has been for me. The most difficult aspect of being a priest in prison is that I am virtually silenced. The shouts of the mob vilifying me and others who have been accused have long since stifled our efforts to speak truth. From my prison cell over the years, I have written thousands of letters to hundreds of priests, bishops and Catholic lay leaders. Earning but $2 a day in prison labor, everything I had went to postage, paper and typing ribbons. I was relentless in my writing for years. Ninety-five percent of those I wrote to never responded. I wrote pleading for fairness for accused priests, but it mostly fell upon deaf ears. One priest sent my letter back to me with a terse note instructing me never to write to him again.
Those who did answer over the years, however, stand out as people who speak and write with the authority of truth. Among these were two very special men who became my lifeline for communication with our Church. They were Cardinal Avery Dulles and Fr. Richard John Neuhaus. They encouraged me to write and to never stop writing. Then, suddenly, within months of each other in 2008, they were gone. I have read many tributes to them both, and I know that many miss them. I believe that I miss them most of all for without them, I was silenced again.
A few months ago, at the end of a particularly difficult day in prison, I offered the day in prayer for Fr. Neuhaus. I asked him to please remember me in the Presence of our Lord. Days later, I was contacted by Suzanne Sadler, seemingly out of the blue. She asked that I post a comment for Pentecost on Priests in Crisis. My first post, “Kill the Priest!” made the rounds in the Catholic blog-o-sphere, and led down a short but winding path to the launching of my own blog, These Stone Walls: Musings from Prison of a Priest Falsely Accused. Just months ago, I could never have envisioned this. Suzanne Sadler and the readers of Priests in Crisis made this happen by giving me a voice again. Actually, Fr. Neuhaus and Cardinal Dulles made it happen. They were dear friends to each other on earth, and now they conspire together. I know that they would both approve of Priests in Crisis.
George Weigel was also a dear friend of Fr. Neuhaus. In his challenging book, “The Courage to be Catholic,” Mr. Weigel wrote, “The path from crisis to reform is the path along which the entire Church rediscovers the great adventure of fidelity and Catholic orthodoxy.” (The Courage to be Catholic, Basic Books, 2002, p. 230). Fr. Neuhaus called the priesthood crisis “the long Lent of 2002,” and once wrote to me that the path from this crisis is marked by three signposts: “Fidelity, fidelity and fidelity.”
This is precisely why Suzanne Sadler’s apostolate along with the readers of Priests in Crisis is so important. While the voices of some of the self-described “faithful,” are using the crisis to foment dissent Suzanne and her readers practice a quiet but dignified fidelity to the Church. This is, in fact, the path to reform. It is also the path to hope.
Fr. Maximilian Kolbe would also approve of Priests in Crisis. In my first blog post on These Stone Walls (St. Maximilian Kolbe and the Man in the Mirror), I described an image of Fr. Maximilian that is now on the shaving mirror of my prison cell.
He is clothed in both his Franciscan habit and his prison uniform. It is difficult to see in the image, but he is holding a book with Japanese characters symbolic of his ministry to the people of Japan before his return to Poland to face imprisonment at Auschwitz. The Japanese characters are pronounced, “seibo no Kishi,” and the literal meaning is “the knights belong to the Blessed Mother.”
The mission of Priests in Crisis – to entrust priests to Mary, Our Mother – is inspired and deeply meaningful. It is a road map to hope. In the August/September issue of Homiletic and Pastoral Review, Fr. Kenneth Baker, S.J. has an excellent article, “The Sacred Heart and the Catholic Priest.” Fr. Baker writes (quoting Pope Pius XII in Menti Nostrae), “Priests can be called by a very special title, ‘sons of Mary.’ “Fr. Baker added, “Our Blessed Mother is also the mother of all priests. “ St. Maximilian and Suzanne Sadler are on the same page here. They know that despite all of the dents in our armor, we seek refuge in the Mother of our Lord.
A few days ago, Charlene Duline, mailed me a page printed from the CatholicAnswers.com forum. It was a posting by Suzanne Sadler, and there was a wonderful quote from the Venerable John Henry Newman: “And the truth is passed on by the small, fervent band of the few. Not by the many, but by the dauntless, resolute, dedicated few.”
Psychiatrist and author, Viktor Frankl named Fr. Maximilian Kolbe as his model of sacrifice at Auschwitz (Man’s Search for Meaning, p. 179). Dr. Frankl added, “At times of great crisis, decent people form a minority. More than that, they will always be a minority. And yet I see therein the very challenge to join the minority.”
Thank you, Suzanne, and the readers and contributors of Priests in Crisis. Thank you for being the very decent people the Church needs, the dauntless, resolute and dedicated voice of the faithful who show us who are broken the way to hope.
From Crisis to Hope by Fr. Gordon MacRae
It was one year ago this week on the solemnity of the Assumption that Suzanne published her first blog post launching Priests in Crisis. It was one day after the Church honors the martyrdom of St. Maximilian Kolbe. It came as no surprise to me that Suzanne is a member of the Militia of the Immaculata, a movement founded by Fr. Maximilian before he was imprisoned at Auschwitz. He pointed everyone he met to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It is no mystery why Priests in Crisis entrusts wounded priests “to Mary their Mother.”
I don’t think most people can readily grasp how important the apostolate of Priests in Crisis has been for me.
The most difficult aspect of being a priest in prison is that I am virtually silenced. The shouts of the mob vilifying me and others who have been accused have long since stifled our efforts to speak truth. From my prison cell over the years, I have written thousands of letters to hundreds of priests, bishops and Catholic lay leaders. Earning but $2 a day in prison labor, everything I had went to postage, paper and typing ribbons. I was relentless in my writing for years. Ninety-five percent of those I wrote to never responded. I wrote pleading for fairness for accused priests, but it mostly fell upon deaf ears. One priest sent my letter back to me with a terse note instructing me never to write to him again.
Those who did answer over the years, however, stand out as people who speak and write with the authority of truth. Among these were two very special men who became my lifeline for communication with our Church. They were Cardinal Avery Dulles and Fr. Richard John Neuhaus. They encouraged me to write and to never stop writing. Then, suddenly, within months of each other in 2008, they were gone. I have read many tributes to them both, and I know that many miss them. I believe that I miss them most of all for without them, I was silenced again.
A few months ago, at the end of a particularly difficult day in prison, I offered the day in prayer for Fr. Neuhaus. I asked him to please remember me in the Presence of our Lord. Days later, I was contacted by Suzanne, seemingly out of the blue. She asked that I post a comment for Pentecost on Priests in Crisis.
My first post, “Kill the Priest!” made the rounds in the Catholic blog-o-sphere, and led down a short but winding path to the launching of my own blog, These Stone Walls: Musings from Prison of a Priest Falsely Accused.
Just months ago, I could never have envisioned this. Suzanne and the readers of Priests in Crisis made this happen by giving me a voice again. Actually, Fr. Neuhaus and Cardinal Dulles made it happen. They were dear friends to each other on earth, and now they conspire together. I know that they would both approve of Priests in Crisis.
George Weigel was also a dear friend of Fr. Neuhaus. In his challenging book, “The Courage to be Catholic,” Mr. Weigel wrote,
“The path from crisis to reform is the path along which the entire Church rediscovers the great adventure of fidelity and Catholic orthodoxy.” (The Courage to be Catholic, Basic Books, 2002, p. 230).
Fr. Neuhaus called the priesthood crisis “the long Lent of 2002,” and once wrote to me that the path from this crisis is marked by three signposts:
“Fidelity, fidelity and fidelity.”
This is precisely why Suzanne’s apostolate along with the readers of Priests in Crisis is so important. While the voices of some of the self-described “faithful,” are using the crisis to foment dissent Suzanne and her readers practice a quiet but dignified fidelity to the Church. This is, in fact, the path to reform. It is also the path to hope.
Fr. Maximilian Kolbe would also approve of Priests in Crisis. In my first blog post on These Stone Walls (St. Maximilian Kolbe and the Man in the Mirror), I described an image of Fr. Maximilian that is now on the shaving mirror of my prison cell. He is clothed in both his Franciscan habit and his prison uniform.
It is difficult to see in the image, but he is holding a book with Japanese characters symbolic of his ministry to the people of Japan before his return to Poland to face imprisonment at Auschwitz. The Japanese characters are pronounced, “seibo no Kishi,” and the literal meaning is “the knights belong to the Blessed Mother.”
The mission of Priests in Crisis – to entrust priests to Mary, Our Mother – is inspired and deeply meaningful. It is a road map to hope. In the August/September issue of Homiletic and Pastoral Review, Fr. Kenneth Baker, S.J. has an excellent article, “The Sacred Heart and the Catholic Priest.” Fr. Baker writes (quoting Pope Pius XII in Menti Nostrae),
“Priests can be called by a very special title, ‘sons of Mary.’ “Fr. Baker added, “Our Blessed Mother is also the mother of all priests.“
St. Maximilian and Suzanne are on the same page here. They know that despite all of the dents in our armor, we seek refuge in the Mother of our Lord. A few days ago, Charlene Duline, mailed me a page printed from the Catholic Answers forum. It was a posting by Suzanne, and there was a wonderful quote from the Venerable John Henry Newman:
“And the truth is passed on by the small, fervent band of the few. Not by the many, but by the dauntless, resolute, dedicated few.”
Psychiatrist and author, Viktor Frankl named Fr. Maximilian Kolbe as his model of sacrifice at Auschwitz (Man’s Search for Meaning, p. 179). Dr. Frankl added,
“At times of great crisis, decent people form a minority. More than that, they will always be a minority. And yet I see therein the very challenge to join the minority.”
Thank you, Suzanne, and the readers and contributors of Priests in Crisis. Thank you for being the very decent people the Church needs, the dauntless, resolute and dedicated voice of the faithful who show us who are broken the way to hope.
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Filed under Abuse Scandal · Tagged with catholic answers, Catholic Answers Forum, catholic priest, falsely accused, George Weigel, Gordon MacRae, Hope, john henry newman, Mary, priests in crisis, Richard John Neuhaus, Silenced, These Stone Walls, www.thesestonewalls.com
Father MacRae,
I cannot even allow myself to imagine the sense of betrayal that your heart feels or has felt in all these years…It takes great courage and immense faith to continue to believe and to speak of Christ when you’re in your situation. But what I want you to know is that as difficult as your situation might be, Our Lord wants you there to bring to him His children.
You are like a shepherd watching a sheep drowning in mud. One would never walk away in fear of dirtying his clothes. He will reach out to spare the life of his flock.That’s what the LORD wants you to do.
Find courage and strength!
May every day be for you another to bring those around you to Christ.
May Saint Therese continue to pick for you each and every day a rose from the heavenly garden to bring you consolation. And may Our Blessed Mother keep you under her mantle.
I pray for you! Our LORD would not abandon you!
Dear FatherGordon MacRae,
In compliance with “Priests in Crisis” ‘recommendation I humbly entrust you to Mary. I have recently blessed with the honor to have my name among “Priests wrongly accused of minors’molestation” The ordeal lasted six months. Only six months, dear Fr Gordon!, with no stone walls around, no fetters of any kind to limit my freedom. Yet in retrospect I still feel it last like an eternity.
The experience teaches me commune with priests like you. I love you, I respect you, I pray for you. My relief came on Assumption day. Suzanne told me the date was not a coincidence. Yes, Mary will deliver you from the lions’den, as she has delivered me.
Today I write to invite you to join me celebrating her Assumption. In earlier days, at the Fifth Glorious mystery, I use to muse, ” My Mother in heaven is sitting in a glorious throne, surrounded by saints and angels. She deserves the highest appreciation from God. She is full of grace. She is smiling from stisfaction, radiant in her glory…” How naive I was!
No! She is still a simple mother, the second woman of the Genesis, and the mother of Jesus who would crush the serpent’s head. Hanging on the Cross Jesus asked her to save the Church which was in disarray. Judas had sold his Master. Peter had denied his Master.
Next to his Mother stood
1/ his aunt Salome, the Zebedee’s wife and the mother of Jame and John,
2/ his other aunt, Mary of Clopas aka Alphaeus, the mother of Jame the Lesser , and the other Judas aka Thaddaeus both apostles, plus Joset and Simon.
3/ and then Mary of Magdala his most dedicated female disciple.
All these three ladies last LOST THEIR FAITH in the Messiah. Why dare I say so? Because on Sunday, they would go to the tomb in order to annoint a corpse, and would be rebuked by the angel. John himself had also lost faith, and would recover it only when he saw the shrouds lying flat without a body, At that precise critical moment, Jesus identifying John with his CHURCH, has solemny recommeded John to his Mother, “WOMAN, this is your SON!”
From this time, dear Father Gordon you and I have become two tiny cells in Mary’s womb! We have been born her umbilical sons. From heaven, Mary still looks down to protect all her sons and daughters, member of HER Church. She is not basking in her glory! She is still our General leading her soldiers against the forces of EVIL. The bark of St Peter with Mary at the helm would never sink.
You, o Father MacRae, yes yourself will not be abandoned by the Blessed Virgin. She has received a mandate from Our Lord to take care of you. You are wrapped in her embrace waiting for an honorable exit from the Stone Walls.
A beautifully written tribute to Suzanne’s work , the Blessed Mother and a reminder that we don’t lose our friends in death they are merely out of sight and like true friends ever willing to lend a hand if we but ask.I have no doubt that your love for the Blessed Mother has helped you endure your suffering and not despair.God bless Suzanne and all that work and pray for priests in crisis.
I also want to say thank you, Suzanne, for your wonderful work and dedication to all priests in crisis. I will be a dedicated follower from now on… God bless you.
I can only echo what Elizabeth has said. I remember how disappointed I felt in the priests, how let down by those who had truly done heinous crimes but I did not stop to take the time to pray for the good priests, pray for the priests falsely accused… in fact, I had no idea there were priests behind bars that were actually innocent.
Please forgive me, Father, and help me to see things anew.
I will link to you and to Priests in Crisis on my blog and start reading- reading and learning.
Take care Father- may God bless you richly- and I know that there is always meaning behind suffering, even if we can’t see it right now.
Oh, my! I am not even sure how I happened to come across this blog, but what an eye opener! I am not in any militia or even in the know about much of anything. I guess I am a member of the unwashed majority, but I will follow this and related blogs, see what I can manage to describe, recommend, and link on my own blog (after spending some time distilling and learning).
As for action being taken, I will follow the threads and learn.
I know God is with you; that is the most important. But I assume that prayers are also welcome .
This is absolutely beautiful, and I truly have no words. So instead of leaving a pithy comment, I’ll like this post to my blog to ensure that more people read it and pray. Please keep writing, Father…it matters, probably more than any of us will ever know. God bless you. I’ll remember you this afternoon during my Holy Hour at 3 pm. Blessed Solemnity of Mary!
Dear Father,
I too thank Suzanne for her courage and determination in starting this blog. I also am a member of the Militia Immaculata so will join my prayers and efforts for suffering priests like yourself with hers and all if the members of the MI.
On this the Solemnity of the Assumption of our Lady, I will entrust her to you once again and pray for her mantle of loving protection cover you.
As for Fr. Neuhaus and Cardinal Dulles, yes I do believe they are conspiring on your behalf and can do far more now than they could here, although they are sorely missed by you and many others.
Prayers and Blessings!