From crisis response canines to parish mental health ministries, the faithful are seeking ways to bring healing to the survivors of the deadly Aug. 27 mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school liturgy.
After losing her brother to suicide in 2018, Victoria Rios channeled her grief into action, becoming an instructor for the Diocese of Dallas’ Mental Health First Aid program and creating an art-based foundation to help fund tuition costs for future program participants.
“The Church has always been in spaces with people in extremely fragile situations, always,” said Sister Idília Carneiro, the new superior general of the Sisters Hospitallers; and as global rates of mental illness continue to rise, she insisted that Catholics have an obligation to expand their ministries in addressing the crisis.