These freely available and downloadable learning resources are for anyone who wants to understand more about the abuse of power in the Catholic Church and its impact on victims and survivors. It's for anyone who wants to heal the horrendous, ongoing wounds – physical, spiritual, institutional, reputational - of clerical abuse.
​This powerful series seeks positive, lay-led and empowering outcomes to create a safe and just church for all people, especially the most vulnerable.
We hope that you will draw inspiration from the courage of survivors.​
Gerald Arbuckle SM, one of the people who inspired us to develop Stolen Lives and author of 'Abuse and Cover-Up, Refounding the Catholic Church in Trauma', (2019) told us 'It is unique. Nothing like it exists that so clearly articulates the tragedies that survivors have and are experiencing. Yet it is a document of hope. Readers are invited to journey personally and collectively to build a church in which these tragedies do not exist.'
Full report here:-
View & download pdf here:
View & download pdf here:
​​
Sadly there can be a huge distance between what we say we want and what we’re prepared to make happen.
​
We hope that anyone who wants to contribute, in whatever way, to making the Church safe, inclusive and just will find that Stolen Lives helps them to understand the true scale of the issues involved.​
​
IT'S OUR CHURCH, IT'S UP TO US !
​
View and download our second Learning Resource (29 page pdf) and flyer (2 page pdf).
Please circulate and post the flyer around your parishes and contacts.
Maggie Mathews introduction to the launch
'It's our church and it's up to us'
matters to survivors of clerical power abuse ...
​
'...the feeling of being seen, heard and valued, and appreciation of the time and effort that's gone into this resource gives me both hope and a sense of belonging. I look forward to seeing the results being used, to hearing feedback from it and I would be interested to see what kinds of discussions it provokes. Will it change minds and hearts? Will it change people's perceptions of victims & survivors in a positive way? Will clergy take the time to read and use it?'
​
'It might mean that survivors feel others in the church are actually bothered about what has happened to us. If ordinary people in the church spoke up, it would contrast massively with the silence and disbelief that we are used to.'
​
