In this video, Sr. Theresa Aletheia talks about clericalism not as an attitude but as a structure—one that shapes relationships, expectations, and the conditions where abuse can occur. If you want to go deeper into these topics, we invite you to listen to Descent Into Light, our audio documentary about how adult abuse happens in spiritual settings and how we can prevent it with courage, clarity, and real hope.

In this video, Sr. Theresa Aletheia reflects on women’s participation in the Catholic Church. Drawing on John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis, she explores why feminine genius isn’t just a poetic phrase—it’s essential to authentic reform, especially in the wake of the abuse crisis.If you're wrestling with questions about reform, leadership, gender, or the future of Catholic life, we hope this conversation brings both clarity and hope.If you haven’t yet, please listen to the Sisters of the Little Way's new eight-part audio documentary Descent Into Light, where we share our story of spiritual abuse and the deeper work of healing and prevention. It’s raw, honest, and grounded in real hope.Search Descent Into Light wherever you get your podcasts or visit SistersOfTheLittleWay.com.00:00 From Atheism to Catholicism01:09 Women's Role in Society02:21 Historical Perspectives on Women in the Church06:30 Women's Role07:23 Pope Francis and the Feminine Genius08:56 Avoiding Gender Essentialism10:35 Future Role of Women in the Church

In this video, Sr. Theresa Aletheia talks about how grooming quietly unfolds in spiritual settings, especially when trust, admiration, and spiritual authority are involved. Grooming rarely looks dramatic—it’s subtle, relational, and often wrapped in spiritual language. Those early signs can be easy to dismiss, but our instincts matter. To help others understand how these patterns work so we can prevent them together, we have produced an audio documentary, Descent Into Light, where we explore adult abuse in spiritual settings with honesty, depth, and hope. You can find it at SistersoftheLittleWay.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

During college, beauty in sacred spaces helped draw Sr. Danielle Victoria back to the Catholic faith. But on a recent trip to Rome, she had one of the most unsettling experiences of her life inside a chapel covered floor-to-ceiling in Marko Rupnik’s mosaics. Marko Rupnik is a Slovenian priest and artist who has been accused by many adult consecrated women of psychological and sexual abuse. In this video, Sr. Danielle Victoria shares why she believes the artistic process matters and why many survivors believe Rupnik's work should no longer be displayed as sacred art.To learn more about adult abuse in the Church, listen to our audio documentary Descent Into Light. Search Descent Into Light wherever you get your podcasts or visit SistersOfTheLittleWay.com.00:00 A Journey Back to Faith01:09 A Surreal Experience02:44 Marco Ivan Rupnik04:26 The Dark Side05:40 The Sacredness of Art08:41 Proposals for Healing

When the Sisters of the Little Way listen to survivors and experts, one truth becomes impossible to ignore—adult abuse in spiritual settings cannot be understood without a clear look at power and how it shapes relationships. In this video, Sr. Theresa Aletheia talks about something essential to preventing harm in the Church: the role of power. She explores why power differentials matter, why spiritual authority must never be misused, and how acknowledging these realities can help us build a more Christ-like and trustworthy Church.If this conversation resonates, we invite you to listen to Descent Into Light, our new audio documentary exploring how adult spiritual abuse happens and how we can prevent it with hope, courage, and honesty.

In this video, Sr. Danielle Victoria reflects why safeguards are necessary but they can never give us absolute protection. Policies and protocols matter but when they create a false sense of security, people stop paying attention—and that’s where real harm can take root. This is why vigilance, courage, and personal responsibility are essential in the Church’s effort to prevent abuse.To learn more, we hope you’ll join us for our new eight-part audio documentary, Descent Into Light, where we explore how adult spiritual abuse happens and how real hope is forged in darkness. You can listen at SistersoftheLittleWay.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode, Sr. Theresa Aletheia reflects on what true Church reform really requires—through the lens of St. Hildegard’s prophetic vision, Benedict XVI’s hard words about abuse, and the insights of media theorist Marshall McLuhan. She explores why our digital age creates a kind of spiritual numbness, how “self-made reform” often fails, and why the Church desperately needs wonderers, artists, and especially survivors who see reality more clearly than most of us dare. To explore the topic of abuse in the Church further, listen to our new 8-part audio documentary Descent Into Light, where we open up about spiritual abuse, grief, and the hard but beautiful path toward renewal.Search Descent Into Light wherever you get your podcasts or visit sistersofthelittleway.com*This video was originally given as a talk at Notre Dame for the "True Genius: The Mission of Women in Church and Culture" conference in March of 2025. 00:00 St. Hildegard's Vision01:51 Pope Benedict XVI's Reflection03:36 Exploring Authentic Reform03:55 Ratzinger's Concept of Reform07:03 The Digital Age and Church Reform08:23 McLuhan's Theory of Amputation12:30 Double Amputation and Numbness15:20 The Role of Artists and Wonderers18:20 Personal Kenosis and Reform

In this reflection, Sr. Danielle Victoria shares what we’ve learned while walking closely with people who have suffered abuse, betrayal, and spiritual harm within the Church. Over the past two years, our mission has taken us to the margins—listening to survivors, studying safeguarding in Rome, and confronting the painful realities of institutional betrayal. Through all of this, our understanding of hope has changed. Hope is not a feeling or optimism; it’s a courageous way of living the Gospel in the light of Christ.Drawing from Pope Benedict XVI’s images of the true philosopher, the Good Shepherd, and the Good Samaritan, she explores how authentic Christian witness calls us into vulnerability, into protecting the wounded, and into allowing Christ’s light to reach the darkest corners of human experience. This reflection also flows from the same journey that shaped our audio documentary Descent Into Light, where we share our personal story of spiritual abuse, the shock and grief that followed, and the unexpected emergence of a deeper hope. If you’ve ever wrestled with trust, faith, or darkness in places that were supposed to be safe, this series was created with you in mind. You can listen by searching Descent Into Light wherever you get your podcasts.*Originally given as a talk to the Blanquerna Observatory on Media, Religion and Culture.00:00 Journey to Rome01:32 Digital Evangelization02:20 The True Philosopher and Good Shepherd06:05 The Good Samaritan's Example07:54 The Digital Age

If you’ve ever felt unsure about the role of Catholic influencers today or wondered how faith can still be communicated with integrity, this conversation offers a hopeful and grounded path forward.In this video, Sr. Theresa Aletheia reflects on her years inside Catholic influencer culture and why real evangelization must begin with vulnerability, not metrics or polished images. After witnessing how digital platforms shape not only what we say but who we become, she shares why effectiveness in ministry requires honesty, moral awareness, and a willingness to look directly at the wounds within our Church.She also shares why the Church’s history with media, the exposure of clergy abuse, and the pressures of online performance all demand a new paradigm—one rooted in recognizing and responding to vulnerability. If you want to dive deeper into our story of spiritual abuse, healing, and the kind of hope that’s forged in darkness, listen to our audio documentary Descent Into Light wherever you get podcasts.*This was originally given as a talk at the Catholic Media Influencer Summit at Notre Dame in November of 2024 and was revised for the Nexus Journal of Loyola University Chicago.00:00 Personal Journey and Early Media Work02:28 Founding a New Religious Community03:13 Historical Context of the Church and Media06:49 Digital Evangelization and Its Challenges08:40 The Role of Vulnerability in Evangelization14:30 Ethics and Moral Blindness in the Church19:20 Practical Applications and Final Thoughts

Over the past two years, Sr. Theresa Aletheia and Sr. Danielle Victoria worked on creating an audio documentary about abuse in the Church—what we lived, what we learned, and what we had to face that we never expected. In this conversation, we look back at the behind-the-scenes journey: recording in makeshift studios, studying safeguarding in Rome, wrestling with our own stories, and discovering how God kept inviting us deeper into honesty, courage, and communion with survivors. What the sisters share is tender, real, and a reminder that healing and truth-telling are both personal and communal. You can listen to Descent Into Light wherever you listen to podcasts.00:00 Reflecting on Two Years of Hard Work03:18 Journey to Rome06:31 Returning to the US: Intensive Editing Phase09:39 Connecting with Experts and Building a Network10:51 Understanding Abuse11:43 The Emotional Impact13:19 Finding God14:00 The Paradox of Truth18:15 Creating the Audio Documentary20:52 Honoring Survivors24:53 The Journey