Author: John Carter

What Is Catholic in Recovery, and What Might a Catholic In Recovery Look Like?

I would watch episode after episode of a life where I stopped blaming the people in my past or present and intentionally walked with God to become all I was created to be. In the future, you’ll be able to “pay it forward” by inviting and paying for another person to have full access to CIR+ as well. You can also join CIR+ for free to access and trial limited resources available on the membership website.

1. CIR offers a place to feel connected without judgment or expectation, connected to a new and indescribable hope.
2. CIR weekly meeting reflections are read, and women are encouraged to share their experience, strength, and hope with others.
3. You will also benefit from resources to nourish and sustain you on your recovery and spiritual journeys.
4. We welcome all Catholics who are interested in recovery from addiction and deepening their relationship with Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church.
5. God is so good, and Catholic In Recovery is a very applicable, life-changing byproduct of that goodness.
6. We take your privacy seriously and we’ll never share your email address.

Find hope and healing from any type of addiction, compulsion, or unhealthy attachment (alcoholism, drug addiction, compulsive overeating, disordered eating, gambling, lust, codependency, and others). CIR weekly meeting reflections are read, and participants are encouraged to share their experience, strength, and hope with each other. The organization was started by the passion of Scott Weeman as he found healing and new life through the help of twelve-step recovery and the sacramental love and mercy provided by the Catholic Church. We support parishes and communities with group resources that draw people closer to these two powerful sources of grace. It is the aim of Catholic in Recovery to share the Good News that God can bring about healing and recovery, even in the most hopeless of cases. Women find hope and healing from any type of addiction (alcoholism, drug abuse, compulsive overeating, disordered eating, lust, codependency, and many others).

If the broader definition of addiction and the above list stir up any awareness or conviction, it is a good thing. In recovery, the 12-step solution always takes us to a far better place. Addiction of any kind will separate us from God in our isolation or strengthen our faith when we ask for help. As a Catholic, have you ever wondered what it might be like in purgatory? I might envision it as a period where time stands still and God asks me to look at what could have been. The process of cleansing and purifying my soul could begin with a movie reel featuring my unhealthy, free-will choices and the effect they have had on my life and others.

Any many traditional Catholic activities like retreats and prayer are being directed at psychological problems. When I started doing research on the subject in the late 1990s, the first thing that came up in a Google search of the term ‘Catholic psychology’ was Thomas Aquinas, whose most recent book was published in 1274! Other things that came up a little later in the same search were diatribes against psychology written by traditional Catholics. One reason for this was that, following Freud, the first century of clinical psychology was overwhelmingly hostile to Catholicism and other religious faiths. A number of popes and segments of the Catholic Church returned the favor by being adamantly opposed to psychology, psychiatry, and ‘modernity’ in almost all their forms. Things started to change in the 1970s, but the practice of Christian mental health is still just becoming better known.

Thursday Meetings

Alcoholics Anonymous, the original recovery program (which just passed its 84th  birthday), is still going strong and has probably saved thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of lives. Through a series of blessings, Fort Wayne started its first CIR meeting in September of 2022. A third meeting will begin on Monday, June 5, at St. Pius X in Granger. While we have Bishop Rhoades’ blessing and continue to ask God’s guidance, there are no people or places in charge. My human pride, manifested in all of the unhealthy choices I make outside of God’s will, could be the measure of my sins. But do I have to wait to experience the fullness of life God has designed for me?

The goal of CIR+ is to help nourish and sustain CIR members on their recovery and spiritual journeys by offering life-saving content and resources, opportunities for deeper fellowship, and courses, videos, and written materials related to recovery and the Catholic faith. Women find support in meeting and sharing with other women who are experiencing similar problems with family members addicted to pornography, compulsive sexual behaviors, and adultery. Women begin to heal by openly sharing, praying, and listening to fellows in the group. In this year long program we will use Jim Harbaugh, S.J., A 12-Step Approach to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, Seed and Ward, 1997, in hope and healing from any type of addiction, compulsion, or unhealthy attachments. Michael Murphy, Ed.D., writes as a Catholic psychologist with more than three decades of experience combining clinical psychology and the Catholic faith. He writes regularly for CIR on topics related to addiction recovery, mental health, and Catholicism.

Virtual meetings of all types are available daily at catholicinrecovery.com. Catholic In Recovery has found its way to the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend and we are humbled to witness God’s tender and intentional guidance as it takes root. CIR’s founder, Scott Weeman, started a personal blog entitled Catholic in Recovery in his early years of sobriety. He used it as a means to voice the importance of his 12-step recovery and how he saw it weaving together beautifully with his Catholic faith. You must register for CIR+ to access the membership website’s resources and benefits, including free resources such as limited video series, a customizable meeting calendar, and CIR weekly reflections.

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church

However, to access all of the many benefits and resources available requires joining CIR+ Premium for $12/month or $120/year. Family members of those with addictions find support by meeting and sharing with others who are or have been in a similar situation. By sharing openly about solutions that have helped, family members of addicts learn new tools to take care of themselves while navigating the often challenging waters of family addiction. Join West Coast Catholic in Recovery members to pray, read Daily Mass Readings, reflect and share for first half-hour.

Men recovering from pornography addiction, compulsive sexual behaviors, and/or adultery find healing by sharing experience, strength, and hope with others. Group members pray together, relate to the experience of others, and stay connected to the Catholic liturgy with a weekly meeting reflection. Catholic in Recovery is a nonprofit ministry that seeks to serve those suffering from addiction and unhealthy attachments. Grow closer to Christ on your recovery and spiritual journey by reflecting on the daily Mass readings through a Catholic and recovery perspective. The CIR daily reflections are meant to accompany you to deepen your recovery and relationship with Jesus Christ, one day at a time. In recovery rooms, there is an undeniable power when one person shares their story of hope with another who feels hopeless.

Learn how you can support Catholic in Recovery with a monthly donation and/or one-time donation. You can manage your donations and access donation history on CIR+. My spouse’s alcoholism was crushing me both emotionally and physically.

Monday Meetings

Participants gather to pray the Rosary using short meditations. Using the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous and Catholic in Recovery principles we will examine our lives, program, and recovery through the double lens of the Big Book and CIR. The first formal Step Four a recovering person makes can be likened to the preparation for a “general Confession” made by a Catholic who has returned to the Church after being away or been received into the Church for the first time. We take your privacy seriously and we’ll never share your email address.

Join other men to find hope and healing from any type of addiction, compulsion, or unhealthy attachment (alcoholism, drug addiction, compulsive overeating, disordered eating, gambling, lust, codependency, and others). CIR weekly meeting reflections are read and participants are encouraged to share their experience, strength, and hope with each other. We supplement our personal recovery while growing in a sacramental relationship with Jesus Christ.

Find a Meeting

CIR weekly meeting reflections are read, and women are encouraged to share their experience, strength, and hope with others. Catholic in Recovery is a nonprofit organization less than 10 years old. It seeks to serve those suffering from addictions, compulsions, and unhealthy attachments. This group will read through The Catholic in Recovery Workbook. By joining CIR+, you’ll be part of a community committed to recovery and the sacramental life of the Catholic Church. You will also benefit from resources to nourish and sustain you on your recovery and spiritual journeys.

Christians have practiced psychology (unofficially) for thousands of years but officially for only about fifty. St Paul’s writings were heavily psychological (see Romans 7, for example) and over the intervening two millennia, many of the faith’s leading theologians like Augustine and Aquinas have written extensively about psychology. It would then be followed by a binge watching of what God and I might have accomplished together. A life where I hadn’t been so proud, so secretive, so determined to fix everything myself.