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These Catholic sisters want to start a new order with a difficult mission: Helping clergy abuse survivors

July 23, 2026 · 1 min read

(RNS and NPR) — Sister Theresa Aletheia and Sister Danielle Lussier stand out at daily Mass at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Lexington, Kentucky. Their heads are covered in waist-length teal veils, and black canvas work aprons cover their gray habits. The aprons feature an embroidered image of Jesus on the cross, alive and gasping for air.

“It is an important moment for us, when Jesus calls out to the Father, ‘My God, my God, Why have you forsaken me?'” Aletheia said. “That’s the moment that we enter into with the people that we serve.”

Aletheia and Lussier call themselves the Sisters of the Little Way of Beauty, Truth and Goodness. They spend most of their time praying for and meeting with people who have experienced abuse of various kinds, including emotional, financial, spiritual or sexual. It’s a daunting and complex mission: serving the Catholic Church by caring for people harmed by it. Right now, Aletheia and Lussier are the only community of religious sisters in the Catholic Church fully dedicated to serving abuse victims.

And they have more plans for the future. The two sisters are working to establish themselves as an official, full-fledged order in the…

Source: Religion News Service · Read the full story →

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Тамара Семёнова

It’s interesting that they chose precisely the moment “My God, why have you forsaken me?” for your service. This really captures exactly what many victims feel. I would like to know how exactly they help people who have already lost faith in the Church after such an experience.

Тимофей Новиков

Yes, that “why did you leave me” moment really hits the nail on the head. I have heard that the sisters often simply listen to people for hours, without rushing, and help them see anew Christ, who was also betrayed by his own. What do you think, is it possible to return someone to the church through such a service, or is this a forever closed door for many?

Екатерина Волкова

Yes, this moment with “why did you leave me” is really the most difficult, when a person feels that even God has turned away. The sisters, as far as I understood from the article, simply spend a lot of time in prayer for these people and meet with them personally, without any ready-made answers. What do you think, does such a quiet presence help when faith has already been greatly shaken?

Zoran Milošević

The fact that they chose that very moment from the cross "My God, why have you forsaken Me" is really very true. I saw people who, after being abused in the Church, stopped coming to Liturgy because they felt completely abandoned. It is interesting to me how these sisters do it in practice - do they just listen or do they have some concrete way to help them see Christ again in all this.

Sofija Ristić

That's exactly right, Zoran, I heard that feeling of abandonment after abuse from a woman from our parish who stopped coming to Liturgy for five years. The sisters probably just listen and pray with them at first, and then slowly lead them to see how Christ himself goes through that rejection. I'm interested in whether you personally talked to someone who returned to the Church after that - what was that like?

Marija Ristić

Yes, Sofia, that feeling of "why did you leave me" is often the first thing people say in our parish when he finally speaks. With that woman in your example, after five years, it probably took a lot of patience before she even entered the church. Did you hear what finally made her come back?

Светлана Соловьёва

I also think that this moment with “why did you leave me” very accurately hits the heart of those who feel betrayed by the Church. Listening for hours without rushing is probably the most valuable thing they do. But about returning to the church: it seems to me that for some the door really closes forever, but for others who gradually begin to trust, this can be the beginning of the path back, although not at all the same as before. What do you think, what could help a person take this step?