Dear Parishioners,

This past week our Diocesan Chancellor, Sr. Barbara Flannery, led an information forum on the current Church scandal around abuse of minors and its handling by Church management. A repeated question from the average concerned Catholic is "what can we do?" My first response is that we can be proud of our own Oakland Diocese; its handling of these cases especially since 1993 has been exemplary. Its networking and working with victims of abuse has been well ahead of most Dioceses. When Cardinal Law referred to this painful mess as a "wake up call" for the Church, he mistakenly included those who have been wide awake for some years. A second response is to attend this Sunday's (May 5th) inaugural event launching a new ministry in our Diocese to victims of sexual abuse. Bishop Cummins will join survivors, their families, advocates, church leaders and parishioners to celebrate three years of dialogue and planning with victims and church leaders. A special dedication takes place at 3:00 pm at the Youth Retreat Center in Lafayette (right next door to Queen of Heaven Cemetery). A third response is support for the "no more secrets" campaign fashioned by survivors of abuse and our Diocesan leadership over the past several years. In the very near future, posters will be available in every parish explaining this ministry and giving phone numbers and a website whereby victims who need care can contact one of our survivors. A fourth response is linking in prayer. One of our parishioners writes: "Studies have shown that critically ill patients do better when they have people praying for them. The mystical body of Christ ,the church of which we are members, has suffered a grievous wound from the events that all are aware of. In an effort to ease the suffering of the mystical body of Christ a prayer group is being formed. For information as to how you can help, please call Joseph Murphy at (925) 356-0435." A fifth response is to address the U.S. Conference of Catholic bishops prior to their June meeting. The draft of a proposed petition is included in today's fold-out.

Despite the pain and problems, we can still say I like being a Catholic:

Your Pastor,
Brian T. Joyce