Shadow of Hope: Life Inside a Catholic Covenant Community

Thank you so much for objectively discussing all of the goings on of The People of Hope. I was a child born in 1982 and raised in the community. There was so much I didn’t understand as a child and so much I struggle with as an adult. This podcast is helping me understand and heal. The message of apologizing without amends is not enough is very true and important for people involved at whatever level need to understand. There is so much suffering going on - some of my family and friends as they have now grown into adults. Sweeping the mistakes and wrong doings under the carpet with a pretty apology just isn’t enough. Thank you for this podcast. It has meant a lot to me.

There is a lot to like about this subject matter, a deep dive into the history of a specific covenant community. However, there are moments where I found myself shaking my head at the odd editorial choices made. Case in point, to explain the experience of a charismatic encounter to a wider audience, they chose to quote from a memoir of a former priest / now-anti-Catholic crusader. Of all the Catholic charismatic resources at one’s disposal, they chose a testimony of one whose charismatic experience led him from the Church? Towards the end of the podcast they made a general list of all the accused clergy who were associated with the People of Hope, but this list was entirely of those outside this community, but were involved in other groups—one of whom was chosen to lead a short-lived alternative to the PoH. Of course Cardinal McCarrick was listed, as if his actions had any notice from those under his jurisdiction. Missing from the list was Fr James LeBar, who was one of PoH’s chief critics. What remains is a snapshot in time for many of the former community members, particularly those raised in this environment who had (justifiably) bad experiences. There is a plug for a movie made by one of its members based on his experiences, (but currently has an IMDb rating of 3.4, despite a decent cast). What is missing is whether the community as it stands today learned from the mistakes of the past; by having a former embittered CovCom member (not of the PoH) answer this question, the answer is unsatisfactory. It needed to be answered by the one community leader who could answer it, and wasn’t. So it pains me to mark this series so low. But these editorial errors marred what could have been a truly insightful series. People were indeed swept into a living situation with the purpose of growing their unique faith walks, and instead, unchecked corruption occurred that took its victims. They deserve a more evenhanded approach to such sensitive material.

I am Not someone who listens to Podcasts but I am from New Jersey and was intrigued. This podcast is so well done and does what to most documentaries about cults do not; it explains from a broad prospective how people who aren’t desperate or previously damaged can find themselves deep into something g they never saw coming. I relished the voices of voices that sounded utterly familiar speak of the strange group of people they found themselves aligned with/ how they fell prey and their fascinating tales of escape. Listen carefully you’ll be drawn in and can imagine how his happens to even people who think it could never happen to you

I just finished the second episode of this fascinating podcast by Karen Ann Coburn and I’m completely hooked! It’s important and timely, considering the terrifying direction our country could go if religious extremists get what they want in the next election.