Awake Blog
Welcome to the Awake Blog! If you’re new to Awake, we recommend you check out these top blog posts from our archive.
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The Top 10 Questions We Hear About Awake
Since we recently changed our name and unveiled a new logo and website, many new people have contacted us with questions about who we are, what we do, and whether they belong.
Paige Eppenstein Anderson
“I decided to share my story because it’s not the typical story you hear about abuse in the Church.”
Awake Unveils A New Name and New Look
Members of the Awake community have likely noticed some buzz in the air. This week, we’re finally ready to share the news.
Courageous Conversation: How Immigrant Voices are Silenced in Church Abuse
Awake’s latest Courageous Conversation explored important questions of how the abuse crisis has affected immigrant communities.
Professor and Students Examine the Crisis of Church Abuse in New Course
Marie Griffith, a religion professor at Washington University in St. Louis, thought she’d probably get eight or nine students signed up for her course, “The Abuse Crisis in Modern Christianity.” She was shocked when it filled up instantly, with a long list of students hoping to get in.
Awake’s Top 10 Blog Posts of 2023
To mark the arrival of 2024, we take a look back over the Awake Blog in 2023, a busy year of growth for Awake. Here are the ten blog posts that were read and shared the most often.
Carl Huber
“I believe in the power of storytelling as a means for people to feel validated, to feel heard, and it’s been a big part of my own healing.”
Awake Welcomes Five New Leaders
As Awake continues to grow, we are pleased to welcome two new members to the Awake Leadership Team and three new members to the Board of Directors. All five people have been engaged with Awake in a variety…
Awake Community Pauses to Breathe and Pray in Advent Mini-Retreat
This week, Awake hosted a peaceful Advent mini-retreat based on the work of writer, poet, and liturgist Cole Arthur Riley (pictured above), author of This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories that Make Us. A 48-minute-long recording…
Holiday How-To: 10 Tips for Talking with Your Family About Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church
Editor’s Note: As we prepare for Advent and the holiday season, we revisit this popular 2021 post designed to help you raise the topic of the abuse crisis while spending time with loved ones. It’s the holiday season,…
What Structural Factors Contribute to Abuse in the Catholic Church?
Editor’s Note: This week we revisit our 2022 interview with Australian researcher Stephen de Weger, who offers his personal story of abuse in the Church and his take on the structural factors that he believes set the stage…
Polyvictimization: Why Many Victim-Survivors of Church Abuse Have Suffered Previous Trauma
When victim-survivors of sexual abuse by Church leaders share their stories, some mention that they experienced previous abuse or trauma even before they were harmed in the Church. Trauma researchers report that this is not uncommon. People who…
Courageous Conversation: Sharing Faith with Children in the Wake of the Abuse Crisis
Last week Awake welcomed three panelists who shared both professional and personal insights into the hopes, concerns, and challenges for parents and others aiming to share the Catholic faith with children while building a…
Awake Welcomes 6 New Members to Our Survivor Advisory Panel
Awake considers listening to and learning from victim-survivors of abuse to be central to our work as an organization, which makes our Survivor Advisory Panel a valuable part of our community. This diverse group of survivors is invested…
Meet Awake’s New Patron Saints
In a special prayer service this week, Awake introduced a group of patron saints recently chosen for our community, and launched a novena calling on the intercession of these saints. A recording of the service, just 16 minutes…
John Heffernan
“It’s a surprise that opening up about being a survivor has allowed me to love my family, friends, and community more deeply and to be loved more fully.”
What Does Grooming Look Like in the Sexual Abuse of Adults?
As we grapple with the problem of sexual abuse of adults in the Catholic Church, it’s important to acknowledge the role of grooming, the tactics some abusive people use to gain access to their victims and avoid getting…
As Historic Synod Begins in Rome, Awake Asks Delegates to Remember Victim-Survivors
This is an important week for the Catholic Church, as clergy and lay leaders gather in Rome for a three-week meeting that is the next step of the Synod on Synodality. Called by Pope Francis in 2020, the…
Courageous Conversation: Survivor Panel Describes the Spiritual Impacts of Sexual Abuse
Awake’s first Courageous Conversation of the 2023-24 season featured four victim-survivors who shared powerful stories of how they came to connect with God and to courageously undertake a long journey of healing. “Spiritual Trauma:…
Kathleen Klamka
“If I was the only victim I don’t think I could keep going. But I think of someone else’s story and that keeps me motivated.”