Bishop holds mass for survivors but didn’t invite them…

I was surprised to find out that Bishop Bambera of the Diocese of Scranton held a Healing Mass for Survivors of Abuse. At this mass, “he acknowledged and again apologized for the pain of survivors of sexual abuse.” Wow, what a guy!

I have a couple of questions for the audience in general and survivors in specific. Did anyone know about this in advance? Were any survivors invited? I did not get an invitation, email, letter, phone call, or text. No carrier pigeon alighted on to my Virginia window sill. Hmm, it must have been an oversight.

If there were no survivors in attendance, to whom did he acknowledge and apologize? April 8, 2021, was a Thursday. Survivors of sexual abuse don’t rate recognition or a meaningful, sincere act of contrition from the Bishop during a Sunday Mass in the Cathedral at the Diocese of Scranton. We are relegated to a Thursday matinee stunt. That seems to sum up the quality of the Bishop’s resolve in addressing the raping of children and vulnerable adults by priests and other diocesan employees.

I fired off an email to Mary Beth Pacuska, the Victims Assistance Coordinator for the Diocese, to ask for an explanation on why survivors were not invited. As of this writing, there has been no reply. Shocking, I know.

The Diocese is touting this mass as a heartfelt expression of the Bishop’s empathy and sorrow for the pain caused by cases of sexual child abuse in his Diocese. It is a public relations farce that tries to fool parishioners into believing their shepherd looks after all of his lambs: even those hurt by the negligence of bishops and the chancery. I am sure he spoke from the heart about the amount of money made available to victims. Again, what he has failed to do is be honest and offer a meaningful act of contrition.

The flock may be buying this false narrative. His Excellency is playing you all for fools.