Letter to a Suffering Church – Chapter 5
What’s the way forward after scandal?
This is the fifth and final video in our study of Bishop Robert Barron’s new book, Letter to a Suffering Church, which we’ve been reading as a parish.
The book closes with an important question: What’s the way forward?
According to Bishop Barron, we need three things. First, we need institutional reforms, building upon the changes put in place in 2002, which have reduced cases of sexual abuse down to a trickle.
Second, we need a deep and abiding spiritual reform, beginning with the priesthood but including lay men and women.
Third, we need movements of renewal and reform—new orders, new groups, and new works of the Spirit.
As Bishop Barron concludes, “I know many Catholics are sorely tempted just to give up on the Church, to join another religious group, or perhaps to become one of the religiously unaffiliated. But this is not the time to leave; it is the time to stay and fight.”
Watch this short video to find out why:
Questions:
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What about institutional reforms? What progress has been made since the Dallas protocols in 2002?
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Why is a spiritual reform of the priesthood needed?
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What’s the laity’s role in the solution?
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How should we stay in the Church and fight?