Keeping faith despite the worst kind of sins

It is easy to despair when news of another incidence of sexual abuse arrives, but our faith transcends sin.

I immediately felt welcome to Michigan State University. My journalism professors gave me the tools I needed to be successful in my profession and I made great friends. I even found a beautiful Catholic church within walking distance of the campus - St. John Church and Student Center, part of the parish of St. Thomas Aquinas in the diocese of Lansing. I enjoyed going to mass every weekend to mentally relax from my hectic college curriculum.

But my Spartan pride diminished when he learned of the terrible sins committed by Larry Nassar, a former MSU osteopathic doctor and former doctor of the American gymnastics national team. Nassar is serving a 60-year federal prison sentence for child pornography. He was also convicted of up to 175 years in state prison for molesting 300 young girls, including high-profile gymnasts at the Olympics, on the pretext of his medical practice as early as 1992. Despite years of accusations, administrators of my soul mothers were complicit in Nassar's actions and contributed to the wounding of hundreds of people.

And I was even more troubled when I learned that Nassar also served as Eucharistic minister in the church of St. John, the place where I and other Spartan Catholics go to feel safe and spiritually fed in East Lansing.

Larry Nassar knowingly served the precious body and blood of Christ to the parishioners. Not only that, he was also a middle school catechist in the nearby parish of St. Thomas Aquinas.

I can't say for sure if Nassar and I crossed paths in St. John, but there is a good chance we did it.

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time I've encountered abuse in church. I made friends with someone in the parish that I attended as a student at the University of Valparaiso after I met in a church retreat and took a couple of lessons together. That is, until I found out that he had been arrested for sexually harassing his cousin. I felt the same anger and disgust then. And of course I know the scandals over the sexual abuse of the priests who plagued the Catholic Church. Yet I continue to go to mass and build relationships with my parishioners.

Why do Catholics continue to follow the faith with every report on the atrocious sins committed by some priests and parishioners?

Let's go to mass to celebrate the Eucharist and the forgiveness of sins, the heart of our faith. The celebration is not a private devotion, but something shared with our Catholic community. Jesus is not only present in his body and blood that we consume during the Eucharist, but in the word of God which transcends all of us. This is why we are devastated when we learn that someone in our community has deliberately ignored its meaning and sinned without repentance.

I admit that my faith sometimes weakens and I feel overwhelmed when I read new cases of church sexual abuse. But I am also heartened by the people and organizations who intervene to support survivors and prevent future episodes of abuse. For example, the diocese of Brooklyn founded the Office of Victim Assistance, which provides support groups, counseling and therapeutic references for victims of sexual abuse. Nicholas DiMarzio, bishop of the diocese of Brooklyn, celebrates a mass of hope and healing for anyone who is a victim of sexual abuse every year in April, the national month of prevention of child abuse.

The United States Bishops' Conference has a list of victim assistance coordinators, their contact information, and the diocese they represent online. U.S. bishops advise victims' parents to call the local police or services department. "Reassure your son that he did nothing wrong and that he did the right thing by telling you," they stress.

Instead of getting bogged down in our grief over abuse issues, parishes need to come together to support people who have been sexually abused. Create a weekly support group for victims; implement child protection policies and safety awareness training for schools and parochial programs that go beyond the guidelines established by the USCCB Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People; create a fundraiser for security cameras to be installed around your church; distribute information brochures on available resources or include them in the church's weekly bulletin; initiate a dialogue between parishioners that addresses questions and concerns; donate money to organizations that support victims of sexual violence in your local community; reassure the victims who have done nothing wrong and who support them wholeheartedly through their healing process. The list of possibilities continues.

I love MSU, but in the end I am faithful to Christ before the Spartan nation. I still look at my master's degree with a sense of accomplishment, despite the negative press that MSU has gained over the past 18 months. Still, I know that Christ wants me to push my energy towards more important matters, such as what I can personally do to help make the world a better place and build a stronger connection with God. Lent came at the perfect time for that. self-reflection and discernment.

It will be 40 long but very necessary days.