Kentucky Catholic Sisters Seek to Form New Religious Order Serving Clergy Abuse Survivors

Editor’s note: This article is based on a July 22, 2026, NPR All Things Considered interview segment reported by Adora Namigadde.

Two Catholic sisters in Kentucky are working to establish what could become the first recognized religious order devoted entirely to supporting people harmed by abuse within the Catholic Church.

Sisters Theresa Aletheia and Danielle Lussier currently operate the Sisters of the Little Way of Beauty, Truth and Goodness near Lexington, Kentucky. Their ministry primarily serves people who have experienced sexual, spiritual, emotional or financial abuse connected to the Church.

The sisters are currently recognized as a private association of the faithful, an early formal step toward becoming an official Catholic religious order. The process can take years and will depend partly on whether the community attracts additional members and develops a sustainable structure.

A Ministry Shaped by Personal Experience

The sisters left their former community, the Daughters of St. Paul, in 2022 after learning that a priest who had served as a spiritual director had been accused of sexually assaulting another sister.

Theresa Aletheia and Danielle Lussier also came to believe that the priest may have been engaging in grooming behavior toward them. The experience led them to focus their religious lives on helping people recognize abusive patterns and supporting those who have already been harmed.

Their ministry is unusual within the Catholic Church. While religious sisters have historically served vulnerable populations through education, health care and social justice work, the Sisters of the Little Way are believed to be the only community of nuns currently dedicated full time to serving survivors of Church-related abuse.

Sisters Provide a Listening Presence for Survivors

The sisters’ work primarily involves listening to survivors, accompanying them through spiritual and emotional struggles and helping them reconnect with their faith when they choose to do so.

John Bellocchio, who has publicly said he was abused as a teenager by former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, told NPR that he found the sisters online and contacted them for support.

Bellocchio said the sisters listened to him and helped him begin rebuilding his faith. McCarrick was removed from the priesthood in 2019 after a Vatican investigation concluded that allegations against him were credible.

The sisters say their role is not to pressure survivors to return to the Church. Instead, they seek to provide a safe and nonjudgmental space where people can discuss what happened to them.

Support From the Diocese of Lexington

The sisters moved to the Lexington area after receiving permission from Bishop John Stowe to establish their mission.

Stowe told NPR that sisters who have personally experienced forms of spiritual abuse may be able to understand survivors in ways that other Church representatives cannot. He said their ability to listen seriously and without appearing threatening could make their ministry especially relevant.

As members of a religious community, the sisters intend to live under traditional vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Because their work does not generate income, they currently rely on donations to cover housing, food and other basic expenses.

New Members Could Join the Community

The sisters planned to meet during the summer of 2026 with several women who had expressed interest in learning more about joining their proposed order.

Prospective members are first invited to visit the community and observe its mission. The sisters said the process follows the traditional Catholic approach for anyone considering religious life: “come and see.”

It remains unclear how long it could take for the Sisters of the Little Way to receive full recognition as a religious order. However, their efforts reflect a growing acknowledgment that survivors often need support from people who understand both the harm caused by clergy abuse and the complicated relationship many survivors continue to have with the Church.