ALL UPCOMING EVENTS
ARE CANCELED AT THIS TIME.  Keep checking the website for updates.
ABOUT US
WATCH (We Are The Church) is a group formed as a result of the sexual abuse crisis in the Church, comprised of parishioners and clergy dedicated to collaboration in addressing the full scope of issues around the abuse crisis as well as the abuse of power within the Church. We aim to guide the parish in ways to rectify past wrongs and work towards a just solution for all affected by abuse.  We are comprised of five task forces dedicated to the following areas: Lay Leadership & Networking; Education of the Laity; Victims' Healing & Prayer; Parish Financial Action; and Legislative Action. Please click on the "Task Forces" link for further information on these working groups.
Fr Hans Zollner speaks at Villanova on Global Perspectives on the Sex Abuse Crisis On January 29, Fr. Hans Zollner presented his views on the Sex Abuse Crisis to an audience on the Villanova  campus that included many clergy such as Fr. Peter as well as students, STV parishioners, and interested  community members.  Fr. Zollner is President of the Centre for Child Protection of the Pontifica University  Gregoriana in Rome and is considered to be one of the world's leading experts on this topic. He spoke about  the history of this issue, the different phases of the Church response, and the way forward.  The lecture was  taped and will be available on YouTube soon.  

Reimagining the Church
Reflections on the Bridge Dialogues

On four Tuesday evenings this fall, the Lay Leadership Task Force of WATCH hosted a program called the Bridge Dialogues. Thirteen lay people and three members of the clergy met to engage in conversation about the Church today. Drawn together by shared distress over the current state of affairs in the Church, as well as a desire to move forward in healing, this group addressed a variety of issues using a set curriculum. Acknowledging that the Church today is a far cry from the Gospel, participants engaged in respectful discussion by sharing opinions, concerns, hopes, and emotions. The group realized that, because of the complexities of an enormous, centuries-old institution, systemic change within the Catholic Church will be slow. However, there was emphasis on the phrase “think globally, act locally.”  There is much we can do right now within our parish of St. Thomas of Villanova. Some of the key take-aways from the discussion are:

1) The need for education of the laity. Most lay people are unaware both of their rights and responsibilities conferred on them through Baptism. Additionally, for most people, religious education ends after Confirmation. There is a need to try to engage church goers more fully in their faith life beyond Sunday Mass.
                                                                    
 2) The need for the laity and the ordained to recognize, confront, and unlearn clericalism. Attitudes among clergy must shift from “set apart from” or “above” lay people to an attitude of servant leadership.  The laity, while remaining respectful of clerics, must abandon a deferential attitude toward them.

3) The need for a greater role of women within Church ministries and leadership. This issue was one of the most frequently discussed and agreed-upon points throughout the discussions. The Church would be so much richer if it allowed women’s voices to be heard, in preaching and in leadership roles.

4) The need to engage young people in the Church. This is a most serious consideration regarding the future of the Church. (All participants in the Bridge Dialogues were older than 50 years of age.)

5) The need for full transparency from the hierarchy regarding Church governance, particularly disclosure regarding the abuse crisis and regarding finances.

6)The need for healthier psycho-sexual development of seminarians.  
7)Most importantly, the need to pray daily for our Church, realizing that it is only through the Holy Spirit that our Church will be renewed.