By Ed Langlois
Catholic Sentinel
March 19, 2009
http://www.sentinel.org/node/9906
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| Quenton and Anne Czuba wear sackcloth patches. Photo by Ed Langlois |
` Some Portland Catholics are returning to sackcloth as a way to repent for sex abuse committed within the church and the world.
In a 21st-century version of an ancient sign of public sorrow, members of The Madeleine and Ascension parishes are creating 2-by-2-inch patches of burlap with a purple ribbon.
In the Old Testament, people donned sackcloth and sat in ashes to signal sorrow for wrongdoing. Purple has become the church’s color of penitence and is used in vestments and liturgical cloths during Lent.
“Now, as we pass through difficult times of sexual abuse, it reminds us that we all — clergy and hierarchy and lay people — are called to repentance,” says Franciscan Father Armando Lopez, the pastor of Ascension in Southeast Portland.
On Ash Wednesday, when patches were offered, Father Lopez preached about the need for a change of heart. The parish plans a workshop on healing the wounds of clergy sex abuse March 28.
The patch project also seeks to shed light on sex abuse that happens elsewhere, most commonly in families.
Prayers associated with the patches have broadened, say the kindly couple who invented the idea last year.
Ann and Quenton Czuba, grandparents of 15, have been married for almost 50 years. They live in a quaint home in Irvington, not far from their beloved Madeleine Church.
Neither they nor anyone in their family has been an abuse victim. The Czubas simply wanted to show that all parts of the church could repent for the sins of a very few, in that way letting victims know they are not the enemy.
The Czubas love the Catholic Church and are ardent supporters of clergy. They belong to the Serra Club, a lay group that fosters and bolsters vocations to priesthood and religious life.
Last year, the Czubas distributed about 500 penance patches at The Madeleine. Ascension gave out around 200. This year, the parishes have about 800 patches ready to go. The couple has heard from parishes in other parts of the country seeking boxes of the symbols. One survivor of abuse from the 1960s told Oregon Public Broadcasting that he thinks the patches are “a good approach,” and urged every Catholic to be involved.
The Czubas, who see their work as an act of compassion, have been attending meetings of sex abuse survivors at Ascension Parish. They found that many people who came were not abused by priests, but by others. That led to the shift of penitence for all sex abuse.
“We want any victims, when they see this, to know that we are sorry for the pain and we are praying for them,” says Ann.
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