An Open Letter to Catholic Children—of all ages. What must you be thinking?

I’ve asked myself that question numerous times over the last several years about my young adult children and their friends. At a time in their lives when they are seeing the world for themselves and not through their parents’ eyes, when they are forming their view of right and wrong as adults and not through the prism of what their parents have been teaching them, and when they are being bombarded with secular influences, clashing opinions amid Catholic political leaders, opposing irreligious attitudes from college professors—even in Catholic universities—and wrongdoings within the Church with scandals being unveiled repetitively, what could be going through their minds?

People not of our faith—and even more aggressively, people who once were—can’t understand why we remain faithful to our Church. I know that you have questioned it yourselves, especially when there is a new report about abuse by those human beings who were supposed to be above sinful acts.

The release and Oscar nod for the movie Spotlight, and the dark movie, Calvary, opened appalling wounds that had not yet healed for those of us who are Catholic. Once again, we were faced with the fact that our Church—our Holy Mother Church—is flawed by human beings who have perpetrated acts against children, either by abusing those children or by failing them and endangering them in order to protect the reputation of the Church.

I can only imagine what you must be thinking, you young adults. You may not have the experience of loving our faith for a lifetime, as we who are older have. Most of you look at your faith-filled parents and know what the Church means to us. It is as much a part of who we are as the color of our hair and eyes, the nationalities of our ancestors, and the families from which we come. But how do we reconcile ourselves—intelligent, contemporary people, many of us professionals and well-educated—to this confusion and disgrace?

The truth is that most of us have been deeply involved in the Church for all of our lives. As children, we attended Catholic schools, Dad was an altar boy, Mom sang in the choir. We were lectors, Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist, Religious Ed teachers, and committee volunteers. Some of us used to earn money “babysitting” the rectory in our parishes when the priests were out. We worked for the parish or volunteered throughout our lives. Thank God, the majority of us were exposed to good, holy priests and sisters, and we were never made to feel sexually uncomfortable or abused.

Our Church was our home, too, just as certainly as our family homes. As adults, we haven’t always agreed with Church rulings, but we always knew that there were reasons for those teachings and guidelines. When we looked more deeply into the reasons behind those documents, when we educated ourselves, we found answers.

Some married men have given the rest of their lives to our Church as Deacons. That is how strongly they feel about our faith and the future of our Church. And we, their wives, support them and are proud of them. Some good and holy young men are entering the seminary, and their parents are watching them go with pride and fear in their hearts knowing their lives will not always be ideal, especially now, with suspicion upon them.

Although it isn’t easy, we will stand shoulder to shoulder with other Catholics to defend and rebuild the reputation of our precious Church, simply because it is so much more—so much bigger and more beautiful—than the people who have tried to defile Her, who would bring Her down through their sinfulness, and the others who would tell the world, “We’re Catholic, but we don’t have to agree and follow her teachings—even about abortion.”

Holy Mother Church will survive as it has through all sorts of scandal and corruption simply because Christ, our Lord, said, “I will establish my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”(Matt., 16:18).

And so we ask you, our Catholic children, don’t turn from the Church. Don’t let anyone else steal your faith from you. If you do, evil has won. True Catholics, people like us, will hold up her foundation and when we become old and tired, we need more true and holy Catholics to take our places. Those good priests who are the lifeblood of the Church (and their numbers are much higher than the offenders), the Deacons, the holy sisters and brothers, and the faithful laity will prove the Catholic Church worthy of our love, our respect, our devotion. It won’t always be easy, but the truth and beauty of what our church really is will prevail.

We need you who are the present and the future of our Church more than ever.

Are you courageous enough to stand with us, your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles? Can you hold up your heads and admit to being Catholic knowing that the Church—that means all of us—is good and holy? It will not be easy unless you know that you are the Church and you won’t let anyone rob you of that truth.

People who do not know what it is like to be Catholic will mock you and call you ill-advised and may even say if you are a part of the Church then you must be “like the wicked people” within it. Be strong, because you are not. Be proud, because we will triumph over evil. Be Catholic, because that is what you are. You are being called to defend her, to heal her, to love her unconditionally if for no better reason than the Church is you with Christ as your head.

Here is something else we must remember. By staying strong in our faith, we are not turning our backs on those who were hurt. We will show a united front that they are also the Church, and they belong within this Church’s loving arms, with us, beside us. They are us, and we are them, and as such, we love them and want to protect them and have them protect us and our children with their wisdom. If we allow the Church to falter, we are failing the victims of abuse.

Stand strong...stand proud...stand united in the love and peace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and His Church.