PHOENIX — According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2020, more than twice as many people will die by their own hands in 2020 than by someone else, and the annual suicide rate will increase between 2019 and 2020. It actually declined in 2018. Available — rates have risen sharply since 2000.

Suicide, once considered a mortal sin that could cost someone’s salvation, is viewed in a much more moderate way in today’s churches.

And with that development, clergy, clinicians, and advocates are calling to bring suicide to light in hopes of doing more to reduce it and help those left behind. .

On Sunday, September 4, the Diocese of Phoenix took an important step toward both of these steps, becoming the latest among a growing number of parishes across the nation to create an office dedicated to the Department of Mental Health. rice field.

The announcement came from a person familiar with the matter during the parish’s first Suicide Victims Memorial Mass.

Phoenix Bishop John P. Dolan, who lost both his brother and sister to suicide in separate incidents more than a decade ago – Plans for Catholic Ministry of Mental Health New Offices Towards End of Standing-Standing Congregation preaching In Ss who revealed. Simon & Jude Cathedral in Phoenix.

In a post-Mass interview, Dolan said a parish office dedicated to mental health had been his goal since his installment on Aug. Facilitated by a gift from the G. Piper Charitable Trust. We support local religious and secular projects.

Shortly after the bishop’s remarks, members of the congregation who have lost someone to suicide place one carnation for each deceased individual in a basket in front of the cathedral shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron of the diocese. I was asked to

“Our Lady accompany us in prayer, accompany our brothers and sisters who have gone before us, ask the Lord to hold our brothers and sisters in His palms,” he said.

Dolan said he and other parish leaders expect online and in-person floral requests from about 100 to 120 people. The final number was about 1,200.

“A lot of people are hurt,” he said.

The bishop said the new office would serve three purposes: education, accompaniment to those in need, and advocacy for better policies and funding from the government and other sources.

“To educate fellow Catholic brothers and sisters who may not fully understand the depth of mental health. Don’t get lost, but make sure they know they have a place at the table. And we accompany those who have suffered the loss of suicide. Dear ones, I hope the Church is here to reach out to you and let you know that you are loved and that your loved ones are not forgotten.”

Each of the parish’s 15 deans hosts regular gatherings where people can share their stories and help each other.

“Finally, the Secretariat promotes a spirit of advocacy, provides a voice to those struggling with mental health, and urges leaders, especially our governments, to ensure that mental health is always at the forefront of all our debates. I ask you to confirm that it is in,” Dolan said.

The parish will provide priests and deacons with mental health “first aid kits” and guide them in responding to public requests for help.

“Often our priests don’t have[the answers]. They don’t have the resources they need right away,” he explained.

Another important function is to inform the congregation how the church’s position on suicide and mental health has evolved over the years.

“It’s not a lack of will. It’s a mental disorder. It’s something we have to consider as we look ahead and continue our Catholic mental health ministry,” he said.

For decades, the church did not celebrate a funeral Mass for someone who took their own life because of the belief that murder is a sin.

“The Church has become wiser … and now understands that profound psychological anxiety can undermine our ability to make decisions and our moral responsibility for those choices.” Service, 2021 article.

The reaction outside the church has also changed.

For example, mental health professionals may be considered the first line of symptom recognition, but recent research has shown that your family doctor or primary care physician can identify the symptoms.

A clinical official with a Catholic charity in Arizona said the agency has seen a surge in requests for help in recent years.

“The outbreak of COVID has increased the need and visibility of mental health services, impacting counseling services, particularly in the areas of grief, anxiety and depression. , including individuals struggling to find services,” Anna Smith, senior program manager at The Catholic Charity, wrote in an email.

The Diocese of Phoenix is ​​not alone in breaking new ground in mental health.

“There are about 190 parishes in this country. National Laity Association to assist parishes and parishes in the establishment of ministries.

Schooner’s daughter committed suicide at the age of 29.

Many of the congregation at the Memorial Mass were overjoyed at the plan to open an office for the Department of Mental Health.

“I’m so excited,” said Laura Redlinger, 30, who moved to Phoenix from San Diego a few months ago. Mr. Dolan attended masses for suicide victims that he regularly celebrated as an auxiliary bishop in the San Diego Diocese.

Redlinger lost his brother to suicide ten years ago when he was 20.

“You need support groups. There aren’t many in the Catholic Church. You can join a grief support group, but you can’t just go to someone who has lost someone to suicide,” she explained.

“I almost feel like there is stigma within the Catholic Church. There is,” she added.

Nancy Hannah, 81, of St. Elizabeth Seton Church in Sun City, lost her husband, Gerald, 80. She is his caregiver and is still looking for someone to talk “candidly about it.”

“I just need it; some healing. I need some closure, but I can’t seem to find it,” she said.

“A lot of people are hurting,” said Anne Vargas-Leveriza, who is helping set up the new office, which will go live on Jan. 1.

“It’s time to put this at the forefront,” she said. “We need to be aware of it and talk about it.”

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Grant writes for The Catholic Sun, the news agency of the Diocese of Phoenix.