Matthew 18
A conversation between a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and a Catholic Bishop
By Bishop Bill Muhm and Carrie Bucalo
Child Abuse and the Gospel Message
Matthew 18 is a heartfelt conversation between Bishop Bill Muhm and Carrie Bucalo, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Their mutual concern for the health and well being of the Church led to an honest dialogue about the deep wounds victims experience, emerging in a fresh, relevant, and hopeful commentary.
Each chapter begins with a selected text from Matthew 18. Bishop Muhm offers theological insights, and Carrie responds with her experiences as a survivor. Together, they reveal that Jesus' words in Matthew 18 are a direct source of healing and guidance for the whole Church during this time of scandal.
Enhanced with Carrie's emotive artwork, this little book shows that the present time of crisis and sadness is also a time of extraordinary grace. "Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more" (Romans 5:20).
About the Authors
Bishop Bill Muhm
Bishop Bill Muhm
Bishop Bill Muhm
Bishop Bill Muhm was raised in Denver, Colorado. He earned a BS in Business Administration from Colorado State University in 1980. He served on active duty in the Navy as a Supply Corps officer, as a civilian accountant, and as part owner of a family pizza business before entering the minor seminary in 1989 to study for the Catholic pries
Bishop Bill Muhm was raised in Denver, Colorado. He earned a BS in Business Administration from Colorado State University in 1980. He served on active duty in the Navy as a Supply Corps officer, as a civilian accountant, and as part owner of a family pizza business before entering the minor seminary in 1989 to study for the Catholic priesthood. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of New York in 1995 by John Cardinal O'Connor. After serving at civilian parishes in Ossining, NY, and Staten Island, NY, he returned to active duty as a Navy Chaplain in 1998. His military assignments included shipboard and shore-based duty in Japan, Iraq, and the USA. Bishop Muhm retired from the Navy in 2018, with the rank of Navy Captain. In 2019, he was ordained an Auxiliary Bishop and Vicar of Europe and Asia for the Archdiocese of Military Services, USA. He currently lives in Germany and shepherds the U.S. Catholic communities at military installations in Europe, Asia, and Guam.
Carrie Bucalo
Bishop Bill Muhm
Bishop Bill Muhm
Carrie Bucalo is an Army wife, mother, watercolor artist, and writer from Albuquerque, New Mexico. After being sexually abused by her biological father, an active lay minister in the Catholic Church, she ran away from home at eighteen years-old, and joined the Carmelites of Santa Fe, New Mexico. There she studied Carmelite prayer and myst
Carrie Bucalo is an Army wife, mother, watercolor artist, and writer from Albuquerque, New Mexico. After being sexually abused by her biological father, an active lay minister in the Catholic Church, she ran away from home at eighteen years-old, and joined the Carmelites of Santa Fe, New Mexico. There she studied Carmelite prayer and mysticism. In 2005, Carrie married Justin Bucalo, who serves in the United States Army. Carrie founded the website Healed By Truth in 2010 to share her essays, The Spiritual Journey of Healing, and to promote faith-healing for abuse survivors and their families. For the past two decades, Carrie has advocated for the spiritual needs of abuse survivors and the wounded in the Catholic Church by speaking, painting, writing, and praying for all survivors of abuse. She currently writes for the bestselling Magnificat.
"Children belong to Christ and to His Church. If there's any way the Church can succeed in inviting them back, we must move heaven and earth to do so."
Bishop Bill Muhm, Matthew 18
