On Monday February 25 Bishop Nickless published a list of 28 priests who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors between 1948 and 1995 in the Diocese of Sioux City.  There have been no credible accusations since 1995.  In many cases, the accusers have not come forward until after 2002.  In the case of Jerry Coyle, who served at Holy Angels 1974-1977, when Bishop Soens learned of his abuse in 1985, Bishop Soens immediately removed Jerry from all priestly ministry, and it was not until last fall that a few of his accusers came forward and his case became public.  When one studies the list and other documents that was released yesterday, one will also see documents that explain why names were made public now, how these allegations were investigated, and what we are doing now.  You will notice twelve [12] of the priests on the list served in one or more of the parishes of CTKCC: Arcadia, Breda, Mount Carmel, Maple River, Glidden, Roselle, Halbur, and Templeton.  At this point I am aware that of the eleven, only Jerry Coyle abused ten boys at Roselle.  I am not aware of any accusations against any of the other eleven [11] while they served these parishes.  In addition, the list shows that seven [7] of the accused have accusations of abusing minors either before or after they served in these parishes.  With the release of this list there will be many questions and derogatory comments along with other accusations, including the accusation that this abuse issue is the reason for Mass attendance being down, donations being down, and participation at parish events being down.  I believe there are many factors and reasons why we are experiencing issues in our parishes including smaller families and parishioners moving to larger towns.  I also believe we are all in this together and need to step up to help make our Church, Diocese, and parishes holier, faithful, and stronger.   Most importantly, in whatever our reaction and response is, we need to act in a Christ-like manner including showing patience and compassion for all involved.  The reason #WhyIStay is because Jesus is with us in the Eucharist to help us through thick and thin.  Thank you for your support and prayers for our parishes. -Fr. Mark