New strategies urged to deal with 'smog' obscuring social mission

Published: 2004-02-26

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- There's a lot of "smog" to deal with these days for those who work in the Catholic Church, even those whose social service-related jobs have nothing to do with how the church handled cases of sexual abuse. How such obstructions are handled takes courage and toughness, according to two speakers at a gathering of Catholic social justice organizations, but the situation also calls for focusing on the people being served and remembering that "faith is not only our belief in God, it's God's belief in us and that we can do his work." Steve Colecchi, director of the Office of Peace and Justice for the Diocese of Richmond, Va., warned that people who work in the church must resist the temptation to turn inward, avoiding the conflicts arising out of the sexual abuse scandal and society's unease about things such as terrorism. He prefaced his remark about faith being God's belief in people by saying those who work for the church "need to root our work in deep prayer. We need to stay focused on faith." Joan Harper, of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles' Office for Peace and Justice, said the smog analogy is especially apt for Southern California church workers, who are used to having days when distant mountains are obscured by air pollution and other days when the skies are bright and clear. And they've also been through a series of dark days in their work, she said.

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