In May of 2018, the Catholic Bishops Conference of California published a pastoral letter on caring for those who mental health challenges. Addressed to “all Catholics and people of good will,” the letter seeks to highlight the need to develop communities of care and support both within the church and within society as a whole. It is also a letter committed to action and change as California’s Bishops recognize “the heartbreaking prevalence of mental illness in our society and are taking action to address this tragic form of misery and sorrow.”
Mental health challenges, they write, are “uniquely challenging and burdensome.” These are challenges that hit “deep within the human soul, impacting and influencing a person’s thoughts, emotions and behaviors; thereby affecting all aspects of a person’s life—work and rest, family life and relationships, prayer and one’s relationship with God.”
The Bishops remind us that Christ himself sought out and attended to the needs of those who suffered from mental health challenges in his time quoting from Matthew chapter four “So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics and paralytics, and he healed them,” an account which, in referencing ‘demoniacs’ and ‘epileptics’ is often seen as relating to those who today might be diagnosed with a variety of mental health and neurological challenges. They continue with a call to all Catholics to imitate the hope and healing Christ carried into these situation, by our own active witness of care, accompaniment and compassion.
The letter acknowledges that those who suffer from mental health challenges, as well as their families, often do so in silence, something that does not happen with the same regularity with other physical ailments. “Consider this stark contrast,” the Bishops write, “a person with a medical illness, such as cancer, will usually receive an outpouring of sympathy and support from their parish and community; a person diagnosed with a mental illness – such as depression, crippling anxiety, or bipolar disorder – frequently experiences isolation and inadequate support.” The Bishop’s decry the unjust stigmas surrounding mental health challenges saying “This should not be so in our Catholic communities.”
Recognizing the scope of the issue in our modern world is an essential starting point. Referencing the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) , the Bishops list the prevalence of mental health challenges today (1 in 5 families), as well as the growing opioid crisis, “the epidemic of loneliness,” as well as “the breakdown of families, the fragmentation of social life, and the tendency to compartmentalize our lives and become isolated through the misuse of novel technologies.”
In all of this, the faithful of the Church are called to be missionaries of hope, reminding the world that “that there is always a way forward – there is always hope for every person – no matter how dire the circumstances may appear.”
One path forward is to develop and culture of collaboration between the Church, healthcare professionals and scientific researchers. The letter quotes Pope Saint John Paul II who identified in his pontificate that mental health challenges and spiritual crises most often go hand-in-hand and are “often accompanied by an existential and spiritual crisis that leads to an inability to perceive the meaning of life.”
Another, essential step is in the realm of encounter and accompaniment. Catholic communities and individuals are implored to be proactive as opposed to reactive in their responses. “This needs to be a ministry of presence and accompaniment,” the Bishops write, “an ongoing effort to seek out and engage those who suffer wherever they are found.” Vital here is ensuring that we accompany not merely to care for, but to understand and learn from those who experience these kinds of challenges and to recognize that “persons living with mental illness know better than anyone else what this experience is like.”
The California Bishops conclude with a call to all persons of good will to commit to walking with, caring for, and providing consolation and hope to all who experience mental health challenges. They remind us that the core of our mission is ultimately found in the hope-filled belief that “In eternity with God, every beautiful thing in our lives that is now unfinished will be completed, all the good that is scattered will be gathered together, everything that is lost will be found, all hopes that are now thwarted will be realized and all that is broken will finally be restored.”
Read the full letter here: Hope and Healing – California Catholic Conference
Emmaus Support Mental Health Ministries 