| Come Again? Recovering from Spiritual Malpractice or Abuse Facilitated by The Most Rev. Bennett D.D. Burke, Bishop of the Liberal Catholic Diocese of Arizona 2nd Tuesday of each month, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Wingspan, 425 E. 7th St, Rustin-Rivera Room Wouldn't it be nice if understanding spiritual malpractice or abuse was as simple as looking it up in the dictionary? Instead, it can be a complex and debilitating syndrome. So how can we recognize “spiritual malpractice or abuse?” Here’s one way to think about it. Spiritual malpractice or abuse can be viewed as manipulation, exploitation, and mistreatment - mentally, emotionally, or physically - in the name of promoting spiritual values. Spiritual malpractice or abuse occurs when religious authorities misuse their power by placing themselves over God's children with intent to further their own personal, political or organizational agendas. They often focus on creating rich and politically powerful organizations, with entirely earthly purposes. Rather than dealing in justice and mercy and faith, abusive leaders often deal in fear and damnation. That often means using seemingly Biblical or Christian lessons to lead people away from Christ-centered compassion, from spiritual freedom, and from loving, caring and welcoming faith communities. If you’ve experienced spiritual malpractice or abuse, you probably know the result – or perhaps you don’t. Those who have suffered from it may not even realize they’ve been victimized. Others react to spiritual malpractice or abuse by questioning their relationship with God, or even the very existence of God. At the very least, many people who suffer from spiritual malpractice or abuse have rejected all forms of communal faith, which seems completely understandable, but often manifests itself later in life as a feeling of having thrown the baby out with the bath water. But there’s hope for victims of spiritual malpractice or abuse. Even though the damage done to your soul may feel profound, it’s not irreversible. Regardless of how badly you’ve been treated by churches or religious leaders in the past, it is possible to feel safe again, and to find God’s love in a nurturing and responsible faith community. Tucson has a number of welcoming, affirming and inclusive congregations. One of them might be just right for you! The Most Reverend Bennett D. D. Burke is Bishop of the Liberal Catholic Diocese of Arizona. +Bennett left the church of his youth as a teenager, then spent much of his adult life studying, exploring and continuing to ask what the proper place for faith was in the conduct of human relationships. Eventually, +Bennett and his family joined a Unitarian Universalist congregation, where he found support for an open exploration of religion. That ultimately led +Bennett to the Liberal Catholic Church, where he was ordained as an independent Catholic priest in 1996. Bishop Bennett is not a licensed therapist, but rather a facilitator who welcomes those who have suffered from spiritual malpractice and abuse back to the circle of faith, through a process of dialogue and discovery of the true message of Christianity – God’s radical love for all. But this group is not about recruiting members for the Liberal Catholic Church. Rather, the Liberal Catholic Church, through its very open and inclusive beliefs, allows +Bennett to reach out to those of any faith – or no faith at all – to assist them in a path of personal spiritual discovery. If that path leads to a desire for spiritual community, +Bennett stands ready to assist participants in “Come Again?” to find one of Tucson’s wonderful and inclusive faith communities, where the spiritual seeker will find a place to practice what Christ told us are the two greatest commandments – to love God, and to love our neighbors. Excerpt from the Liberal Catholic Statement of Principles: “The Liberal Catholic Church is an independent and self-governing body; neither Roman Catholic nor Protestant – but Catholic. It traces its Episcopal Succession to the Old Catholic Church of Holland, and came into existence as the result of a complete re- organization in 1915-16 of the Old Catholic movement in Great Britain. It aims at combining the traditional sacramental form of worship – with its stately ritual, its deep mysticism and its abiding witness to the reality of sacramental grace – with the widest measure of intellectual liberty and respect for the individual conscience. It therefore permits to its members freedom of interpretation of the Scriptures, the Creeds and the Liturgy. Regarding the mind as one of the great avenues to spiritual apprehension, it encourages among its adherents the freest play of scientific and philosophical thought. It welcomes to its altars all who reverently and sincerely approach them, erecting no barriers in the nature of standards of dogmatic belief. It has no wish to proselytize, in the aggressive sense, from among the adherents of any other Church, and as an earnest of this welcomes people to regular and full participation in its services without asking or expecting them to leave their original Church. The Liberal Catholic Church is a living Christian Church – ‘modernist’ in that it maintains that the form of religion should keep pace with human growth and enlightenment; ‘historic’ in that it holds that the Church has handed down a very precious heritage from the Christ Himself. |
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| Our Lady of Peace and Hope, Mission of the Liberal Catholic Church |
