Thank you for this beautiful essay on survivorship.It should be taken universally because it describes so well how one has to continue to choose to live after personal and or institutional trauma and abuse. And some, far too many cannot carry on with the burden. Trauma and abuse are forever events. The hardness is one fights and I mean fights to fully know self peace. One can intellectualize that one is still a good person, still worth dignity and honor, but the memories of the abuse and or trauma still rise and rise even though at times they fall.
One of the helpful things to deal with trauma is ritual. This has been taken away by the powers that be in the RC. Instead of sanctuary there is re traumatization. And it goes on with the help of our legal system. The great break the the victim strategies of legal counsels not only hired by the RC but with so many mostly male offenders with wealth and power behind them.
I think they the male clergy and others have co- opted Mary as well.