Sharon O’Brien, co-founder of Catholics for Family Peace, which is based at NCSSS, was interviewed for an America Magazine story on how the Church can help women in abusive marriages.
... Not all parishes have a family services office to call, or 15 seminarians and a truck to spare. In some smaller, poorer or more rural regions, the diocese can barely keep the lights on, much less pay for a full-time social services coordinator. But the simple words of a priest can make all the difference.
“There are still priests who don’t get it,” said Sharon O’Brien, co-founder of Catholics for Family Peace. The organization’s mission, in cooperation with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is to educate priests and parishes to recognize abuse, to respond to it and to know where to refer people who are experiencing and initiating it. ...
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