Sitting in a circle of metal folding chairs, a group recites the 12-Step prayer in unison. It could be any night in any church basement.
But then everyone listens to a Scripture reading from the upcoming Sunday Mass. Before long, a man we’ll call Tony discusses his consecration to Mary and how it helped get him through a rocky week.
The meeting closes with the Prayer of St. Francis and the sign of the cross.
Catholic in Recovery is a national program launched in 2016 by Scott Weeman, a California Catholic who overcame drug and alcohol addiction a decade ago.
Weeman believes the Catholic Church could do better by people with addiction, and he hopes the organization moves the church forward into a more active role in recovery.
“Addiction is an agony and a dominance that takes over lives,” Jesuit Father Gary Smith told the Catholic Sentinel of Portland in 2018. For decades, the Portland priest has ministered to those grappling with addiction.
“As St. Paul writes, those with addictions ‘do what they don’t want to do,’” Father Smith told the newspaper, paraphrasing Romans 7:14.
The priest believes one of the most effective parts of the 12-Step model is being among people who have experienced a similar pain and will walk with you through it.
Father Smith added that the sacrament of the Eucharist is key for Catholics in addiction recovery. “It nurtures us and helps us grow,” he told the Sentinel. “And it brings us nose-to-nose” with God.
Almost everyone deals with addiction, compulsion or an unhealthy attachment.
Catholic in Recovery is trying to bring the power of faith to bear on such matters, whether it’s alcoholism, drug dependency, overeating, gambling, sexual misbehavior or something else.
Catholic in Recovery groups meet at four Portland-area parishes, including Sacred Heart, the church adjacent to Sacred Heart Villa, a Catholic Charities housing site for seniors in Southeast Portland. There is one meeting at a parish in Eugene. (See schedule of all Oregon meetings below).
“The church has these beautiful ministries,” says Margaret, an organizer of Catholics in Recovery who deals with overeating. She established the Sacred Heart group.
“When times were tough, I thought first of the refrigerator, not the tabernacle,” says Margaret. “I didn’t believe God was big enough. I thought God wouldn’t want to help me and that I didn’t deserve it. That false belief was pushing my behavior.”
She says Catholic in Recovery addresses her false thinking.
Recovery groups are needed now more than ever, says Margaret, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a lot of problems for people with addiction, as routines were torpedoed and in-person support meetings halted. Catholic in Recovery switched quickly to online but found that not everyone is comfortable using a computer.
“And that’s not as powerful as a face-to-face meeting,” says Margaret. Meetings are again in person.
Margaret makes it clear that Catholic in Recovery doesn’t replace Alcoholics Anonymous but supplements it with language and images that are powerful and effective for Catholics.
She has observed that some people in AA don’t go for religion or God. But for a Catholic, the link to faith reveals that God wants our healing and wellbeing.
“In a CIR meeting, we can talk about Jesus, we can talk about sacraments,” says Margaret. “We can discuss confession. We can use more tools.”
Kay, who attends Catholic in Recovery, said she had to overcome stigma about addiction and that bringing Catholicism into the conversation helped.
“I was always asking myself, ‘If I was close to God, why was I still suffering? Why did I put up a roadblock?’” Kay explains. “I was feeling a huge amount of guilt. I thought I wasn’t praying hard enough. I asked if I was I being honest enough. And I blamed others. Catholic in Recovery takes that away.”
Kay has learned from the program that recovery is about establishing connections. “Any sort of habit or compulsion or addiction — you are doing it in isolation,” she says. “It not only cuts you off from the spiritual world but from the ones who love you. Getting into recovery helped me get closer to God and then I was able to help other people.”
Still, Kay can fall into a trap of believing she’s the odd one out, even in church. “I can sit I there and think all these other people are perfect,” she says. In addition, Kay was burdened by the belief that she had to do all the work as opposed to yielding to God’s healing.
Kay wraps up the clear thinking of Catholic in Recovery like this: “The grace of God available to us all.”
Margaret has her own summation when it comes to addiction, compulsion and unhealthy attachments: “I am not God. I am broken. I need help. I need to listen. I need to go to meetings.”
Catholic In Recovery holds retreats at Our Lady of Peace Retreat House in Beaverton. A men’s retreat is set for March 28-30 [REGISTER HERE] and a women’s retreat for April 11-13 [REGISTER HERE]. Scholarships are available.
CATHOLIC IN RECOVERY: MEETINGS AND CONTACTS
Ascension Parish
743 SE 76th Ave.
Portland, OR 97215
Saturdays 10 a.m.
Contact: Korin K., 971-380-8904
Our Lady of the Lake Parish
650 A Ave.
Lake Oswego, OR 97034
Thursdays 5:30 p.m. (women only)
Contact: Nicole D., 347-866-4630
Sacred Heart Parish
3910 SE 11th Ave.
Portland, OR 97202
Fridays 6 p.m.
Contact: Michael W., 503-332-2484
St. Matthew Parish
475 SE 3rd Ave.
Hillsboro, OR 97123
Saturdays 9 a.m. (in English and Spanish)
Contact: Jean J., 503-913-5434
St. Paul Parish
1201 Satre St.
Eugene, OR 97401
Tuesdays 7 p.m. (hybrid)
Contact: Jermey S., 541-915-5601
LEARN MORE ABOUT CATHOLIC IN RECOVERY HERE.
SEE A VIDEO HERE.