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Acclaim for Hurting in the Church
“Hurting in the Church provides a psychologically wise and spiritually profound path forward for Catholics who have been abused, traumatized, or wounded by other Catholics—especially those in leadership. Father Berg writes out of his own and others’ personal experiences of finding surprising and powerful grace and healing in the darkest of places. Chapter ten, on how to recover one’s belief in and love for the Church, is worth the price of the book alone!”—Sherry Weddell, best-selling author of Forming Intentional Disciples
“An honest and much-needed book that addresses one of the most important problems in the Catholic Church today: the many Catholics who feel marginalized, ignored, hurt, insulted, and even abused by the Church. In his new book, Father Berg, who shares his own painful experiences with the Church, offers moving stories, helpful perspectives and healthy ways forward.”—Father James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage
“Father Berg … writes with astonishing candor about his experience of hurting in the Church and how it brought him to seek to help others who have suffered from the sins of the members of the Mystical Body. Hurting in the Church is poised to become one of the most important works of pastoral theology of the twenty-first century. It is a must-read for Catholics as it shows us how to live up to our identity as a Church that goes out proactively to bring Christ’s healing to those who are wounded—and first among them are those whom we ourselves have harmed.”—Dawn Eden Goldstein, STD, author of Remembering God’s Mercy: Redeem the Past and Free Yourself from Painful Memories
“Here is an unflinching examination of the Church’s brokenness—from insensitive bureaucracy to the deep scars of sexual abuse—along with practical advice and the promise of hope for the challenging path forward. Fearless in his assessment, Father Berg is equally confident that in Jesus and with the help of the Holy Spirit we can move toward healing and wholeness. This is essential reading for a hurting Church.”—Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York
“It took courage for Father Berg to write with such honesty and transparency, including about his personal hurts. And his courage will give you courage—the courage to not only confront the facts of sin and weakness within the Church, but also the courage to give God another chance to allow you to discover him once again within the embrace of Mother Church, despite the failings of her members.”—Father Jonathan Morris, author of The New York Times bestseller The Way of Serenity
“Father Berg offers honest, hopeful, and prophetic insight into the deep pain of past hurts that many in the Church have experienced. The testimonies of real members of the wounded Body of Christ and the pain they have experienced is a loving clarion call to the whole Church to embrace a new revolution—a ‘revolution of tenderness’—as a balm for those that have been hurt.”—Deacon Larry Oney, president, Hope & Purpose Ministries
“In pages that are raw, honest, vulnerable—and at times provocative—Father Berg draws back the curtains on a world of hurt experienced by many Catholics. But naming the pain is not the end of the story. The surrender of memories, the struggle to forgive, the turn toward faith, the rediscovery of God’s powerful love, and the gift of amazing peace—these are the milestones on our journey toward healing, toward deep intimacy with Jesus Christ. Father Berg is a wise and compassionate guide, the kind of priest each of us, in our most difficult moments, longs to find. And so, this book is a must-read for all Catholics, not only because we all need healing, but also because we all need help to help others heal.”—Mary Rice Hasson, director, Catholic Women’s Forum, Ethics and Public Policy Center
“Here is a compelling, refreshingly clear, and honest exposition of our need to enter the healing rays of Christ’s own love. Born of the author’s own pain and suffering, and brought to maturity by the integration of this pain into the mercy of the Christ, Father Berg has given the Church a bracing narrative, leaving the reader and all ecclesial ministers with a resource to lead the Church into a new freedom. This book, which carries ideas saturated in prayer, will itself become a vessel of healing for a Church that humbly seeks to renew itself in the Lord.”—Deacon James Keating, PhD, director of theological formation, Creighton University
“Father Thomas Berg shares the medicine he discovered, and himself took to heal, giving the rest of us hope for the treatment of our own wounds and the wounds of others. He leads us on the path toward the Divine Physician and to the profound Christian catharsis that occurs when we purify our wounds through the redeeming blood that flowed from the wounded good Samaritan.”—Father Roger Landry, national chaplain, Catholic Voices USA
Hurting in the Church
A Way Forward for Wounded Catholics
Father Thomas Berg
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Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C., and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for the United States of America copyright © 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.—Libreria Editrice English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the Editio Typica copyright © 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.—Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
Excerpts from the English translation of Rites of Ordination of Deacons, Priests, and Bishops © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL); all rights reserved. Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, ICEL; all rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2017 by Father Thomas Berg.
Published 2017 by Our Sunday Visitor.
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