The Catholic Church in the United States remains in a state of turmoil despite attempts to assign the clergy sexual abuse crisis to "history."

In this holy season of Lent, we hear Scripture's call to reform our lives, to ponder Jesus' sacrifice, and to dwell on repentance, reparation and atonement. In this spirit, Voice of the Faithful asks the U.S. Bishops, individually and collectively, to look deep into their hearts for the courage to face their responsibility for the Church's current crisis.

In recent months, Catholics have seen the Archbishop of Cincinnati exposed as concealing knowledge of and transferring an abusive priest; the Archbishop of Seattle's dismissal of a lay review board; and other Bishops attempting to weaken the commitments of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

Legal settlements totaling many millions of dollars have been announced in several dioceses - some have filed for bankruptcy protection; parishes are being closed; the Church's work is suffering; and Catholic community is at risk.

Notoriously abusive priests have been convicted of raping young people. Documents prove that Bishops failed to remove those priests from service and yet these Bishops continue to lead American dioceses.

We believe that the office of the Bishop must be restored to its place of respect and dignity in the Church. We believe that the Church will not heal until profound acts of conscience are demonstrated by our Bishops. As we near Holy Week, we believe there must be a soul searching that effects positive actions for the Church.

We ask - what can you as a Bishop do that will make a difference in these times of crisis? What will make reparation, repentance and atonement true in our day? We ask, from our hearts, that our Bishops join us in a spiritual pilgrimage that could, we pray, lead us through crisis to a resurrection of trust worthy of our Redeemer's sacrifice.