Fr john hollowell brain tumor update 2022

Wed Feb 16, 2022 - 9:46 pm ESTThu Feb 17, 2022 - 12:47 pm EST

BRAZIL, Indiana (LifeSiteNews) — In response to the ongoing sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, Fr. John Hollowell asked for and received an incredible penance so he could suffer alongside victims.

In a video produced by LifeSiteNews, Fr. Hollowell discusses how after the “Summer of Shame” in 2018, which exposed high-ranking clergyman like Theodore McCarrick as both abusers and colluders in the cover-up of abuse, he asked and received from God an incredible penance to offer in reparation to all victims of clerical abuse.

In the video, Hollowell outlines how ever since he entered the seminary in the early 2000s, the Catholic identity had become one of deep shame stemming from reports of sexual abuse and cover-ups of sexual abuse by priests and bishops.

According to Hollowell’s testimony, this became especially true after the revelation in 2018 that the conspiracy of abuse had ascended to some of the highest points of the Church, culminating in the first ever laicization of a Cardinal, McCarrick.

While many dioceses’ put out press statements of sorrow, Hollowell described that as a priest he could perhaps offer something up for the victims that a diocese could not.

Recalling a day in 2018, Hollowell described how after offering Mass, he went into the confessional to wait to hear the confessions of parishioners. In the confessional, Hollowell was overwhelmed with emotion thinking about the people that suffered at the hands of the clergy and began to weep.

Ultimately, this led to Hollowell making a plea to God, that if it be God’s will, he would happily suffer on behalf of the already suffering souls of the victims.

Months later, Hollowell describes three episodes in which he was running and was overcome with dizziness and a “twitching” in the right side of his body. After a priest friend witnessed one of these episodes, Hollowell was instructed to visit a doctor.

In short order, Hollowell was sent from a hospital in Indiana to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, where he was ultimately diagnosed with a brain tumor.

“Almost immediately I realized when he said ‘brain tumor’ that that was an answer to my prayer that I had made almost two years ago, at that point,” recalled Hollowell, describing how he then took to his blog to reveal his condition and asked for victims to send their names so he could privately offer them up through his suffering.

A month after the diagnosis, Hollowell entered surgery with “about 170 names” of victims for whom to pray and do penance. He continued by explaining how his mother came to visit him during his recovery and would read the names off the list as “tears” rolled down his cheeks.

Despite the severity of his condition, Hollowell began to offer Mass via livestream from the hospital, as to not leave his parishioners without his guidance. Footage in the LifeSiteNews production shows Hollowell, with intense scarring and stitches on his head, wearing a hospital bracelet, offering Mass and leading the Rosary from the hospital.

Hollowell describes that shortly after, it was discovered that he had contracted an infection from the surgery and required emergency surgery to remove a piece of his skull, and a third surgery in which a plate was installed to replace the bone.

Hollowell explained that he tried to go back to his parish while undergoing chemotherapy, but ultimately could barely move and realized he could no longer function as a parish priest.

In a heart-wrenching clip, Hollowell can be seen at the pulpit wearing a helmet-like bandage, recalling how he had to tell his parishioners 10 minutes before a Mass, “I’m sorry, I can’t do this.”

Despite surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, Hollowell still has around 20 percent of the initial tumor in his brain.

After being told he was not fully cured, Hollowell said, “I just decided if it [the aggressive tumor] comes back … I’m just going to let nature take its course.”

“So then the prayer became … If it’s God’s will, to even die, I’m not afraid, I’m at peace with that.”

In conclusion, Hollowell reflects on the words of St. Peter, “Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow, and I think what the Church has always understood that to mean is, we should suffer for other people as well, in imitation of Christ, and in that we will find our ultimate happiness and fulfillment.”

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Indianapolis, Ind., Feb 17, 2020 / 15:41 pm

When Fr. John Hollowell went to Mayo Clinic for brain scans after what doctors thought was a stroke, he received a shocking diagnosis. The scans revealed that instead of stroke, he had a brain tumor.

While it is a serious diagnosis, Hollowell, a priest of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, said he believes the tumor was an answer to prayer.

"When the scandals of 2018 broke out, most of you know that they have affected me deeply, as they have most of the Church," he wrote in his blog, On This Rock.

"I prayed in 2018 that if there was some suffering I could undertake on behalf of all the victims, some cross I could carry, I would welcome that. I feel like this is that cross, and I embrace it willingly."

Hollowell was ordained in 2009 and serves as pastor of St. Paul the Apostle parish in Greencastle as well as pastor of Annunciation parish in Brazil, Indiana. He is also the Catholic chaplain at DePauw University and Putnamville Correctional Facility.

The plan for Hollowell's treatment involves the removal of the tumor via brain surgery, and then both radiation and chemotherapy.

Hollowell said that while his treatments will not be as harsh as those for some other kinds of cancer, he still wants to offer up each day of his recovery, chemotherapy, and radiation for victims of clergy abuse.
"I would love to have a list of victims of priestly abuse that I could pray for each day. I would like to dedicate each day of this recovery/chemo/radiation to 5-10 victims, and I would like, if possible, to even write them a note letting them know of my prayers for them," he said.

He encouraged victims, or those who know of a victim, to write to him with the victim's name (with their permission) and with an address where he could send them a note when he prays for them.

He added that he would like to include in his prayers those victims who have been helped by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, and asked that SNAP send him names of victims for whom he can pray.

Hollowell said he was grateful for his many "wonderful" doctors at Mayo Clinic and elsewhere who have been part of his care thus far.

"Each person has played a key role in this process, and I am very thankful and amazed by the state of medicine in the US in 2020," he said.

Ultimately, the priest said he was "very much at peace."

"Other than time in the hospital, the only effects of this tumor that I have had are 5 episodes of spasm/seizure that have each lasted 90 seconds. I also realize I am blessed to have uncovered it through this process vs. finding out about the tumor down the road after it had grown more in size," he wrote.

"You all will be in my prayers, as I pray daily for the salvation of all the souls of those who live and study within my parish boundaries," he added. "May Our Lady of Lourdes watch over and intercede for all those who are sick or suffering in any way!"