Before helping start Awake, Larson had worked in Catholic parish ministry, running programs like vacation Bible school and mom’s groups. She was familiar with the safety protocols the church has put in place to protect children. But until she read stories about Theodore McCarrick, a former cardinal credibly accused of abusing seminarians, she had not realized adults could be at risk when those in spiritual authority use their influence to pressure or manipulate them.
“It’s very clear that these are situations in which we can’t talk about consent,” she said. “As if you can ever consent to a sexual relationship with someone who has heard your confession, or is serving as a spiritual director or is giving you marriage counseling.”
Larson said adult survivors of abuse often are met with disbelief and shame from both church leaders and their fellow laypeople, for “leading a holy man astray.” Even if they are believed, all the focus shifts to the accused spiritual leader and how to deal with that person, leaving survivors forgotten.
At Awake, she said, the focus is on supporting survivors, walking with them and listening to their stories. Larson draws inspiration from the New Testament Book of First Corinthians, which describes the church as a body, where if “one part suffers all the parts suffer with it.”
“How can we become a church that when one person is suffering the whole body notices and cares and rushes to support them?” she said.
This article originally appeared here.
