SAN DIEGO — A local project is using tree-planting as part of the process of healing from sexual abuse.
“The Planting Hope project is supported by the Diocese of San Diego as part of its ongoing commitment to outreach to victim/survivors of clergy abuse and offering healing opportunities,” said Mary Acosta, the diocese’s Victim Assistance Coordinator.
The project was launched in 2024 as an outreach activity of Friends for the Journey, a supportive group of survivors of clergy abuse working with the diocese since 2020 to offer accompaniment and healing opportunities to others harmed by abuse as children.
Participants in the project choose from a selection of donated trees. They plant their chosen tree with members of Friends for the Journey and dedicate that tree in honor of an abused loved one. Group members pray with them and bless the tree, reminding all of the importance of staying connected to Jesus like branches to the vine (John 15:1-9).
Acosta said that the project is “a tangible symbol of hope, healing and the potential of growth.”
“It is a sign that the Church and survivors within it care about their well-being and desire for restoration and wholeness,” she said.
April is “National Child Abuse Prevention Month.”
The Diocese of San Diego promotes the month with a social media campaign and by encouraging parishes to raise awareness in their own communities.
This month, Acosta said, provides “an opportunity to highlight the ongoing efforts in child protection and safe environment happening every day in parishes across the country” and “to recommit ourselves to these efforts.”
But, for the diocese, protecting children from abuse isn’t confined to one month. It’s a year-round commitment. In 2024, some 33,697 children and 13,301 adults received training on how to report abuse, and 3,226 diocesan employees and 9,876 volunteers underwent background checks.
Citing statistics from the National Children’s Alliance and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she said that about 558,899 children were victims of abuse and neglect in 2022 and an estimated 1,990 children died from abuse and neglect that year.
“Preventing child abuse is everyone’s concern,” said Acosta. “Raising awareness about the problem helps individuals in all our Catholic communities to look for the signs and act to stop abuse when they suspect it’s happening.”
For more information, call (858) 490-8353 or email macosta@sdcatholic.org.
