Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The Easter season continues: Christ is risen, indeed he is risen. Happy Easter!
The 50-day Easter season ends May 19 with the Feast of Pentecost as we commemorate the Holy Spirit descending upon the apostles, sending them forth to share the good news of Jesus Christ, risen from the dead.
As some of you may know, April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, an initiative led by Prevent Child Abuse America and their state chapters. “Building a hopeful future, together,” is the 2024 theme with a focus on “creating a nurturing and supportive environment for children and families across the nation.”
Many participated in the national #wearblue2024 day April 5 to show their support, including our staff at the Central Catholic Offices.
We are blessed to have the MercyOne Siouxland Child Advocacy Center (CAC) to serve children within a 100 mile radius of Sioux City. The CAC pointed out on their website “the number of children who are abused sexually, physically and emotionally in our community is growing…doubling over the last 10 years.”
Families and victims receive legal, emotional, medical and spiritual support from the CAC. The center helps coordinate law enforcement, the judicial system, medical care and therapeutic services with families. The center has served over 25,000 children and was recognized with a leadership award from the Omaha FBI field office for their work.
We are fortunate to have Angela Mack of the CAC serving as our third-party victim assistance coordinator for the diocese. Anyone wishing to report child sexual abuse should call her at 1 (866) 435-4397. The local law enforcement agency should always be contacted.
Msgr. Kevin McCoy, vicar general, was instrumental in helping develop the national church’s first safe environment program in the late 1990s following what he termed last fall in The Lumen as “the devastating revelation of the abuse of children by Catholic clergy.”
Today, Dan Ellis serves as our diocesan safe environment coordinator, helping us to prevent child sexual abuse in our parishes and schools with a the program, “Protecting God’s Children.” This program trains staff and volunteers to help keep children safe by recognizing unsafe situations for children and how to respond.
We are blessed in our diocese to have a “Misconduct Review Board” that takes on the difficult task of investigating allegations of clergy misconduct in our diocese. This board includes a group of dedicated medical and mental health professionals and law enforcement representatives. Dan Ellis, Deacon Mark Prosser (moderator), Father Brad Pelzel, Vicar General, and I are all present at each meeting of the board.
In recognition of the suffering of victims and their families and to extend our support, I will be offering a Mass of Reparation for victims of clergy abuse April 29 at 5:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City. All are welcome to attend. No RSVP is needed and for the privacy of the participants, there will be no photography allowed.
For the remainder of this National Child Abuse Prevention Month, please join me in prayer for victims of abuse and their families and for all that work to serve them and prevent future abuse.
I want all of you to know that I have scheduled much-needed ankle replacement surgery following the June 1 ordination to the transitional diaconate of our seminarian, Jake Rosenmeyer. The recovery will likely take several months, and my travel during that time will be limited. Your prayers for a successful surgery and quick recovery are very much appreciated.
May we all be grateful for a springtime filled with new growth and new life. My prayers continue for you and all your loved ones.
Your brother in Christ,
Bishop Walker Nickless
Diocese of Sioux City