PORTLAND — Bishop Richard Malone has designated Wednesday, March 28, as a day of prayer and penance for harm done to victims and the faithful by past incidents of clergy sexual abuse.
Malone, the head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, will celebrate Mass at 12:15 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland, according to a press release issued Monday by Sue Bernard, spokeswoman for the diocese.
“Each year, I ask the clergy of the diocese to join me by marking a day of contrition for past offenses against minors,” Malone said in the press release. “Through prayer and reflection, may we become even more committed to healing the wounds of the past and preventing sexual abuse in the future.”
For those unable to attend, the bishop is encouraging priests to pray during Masses celebrated on that day for victims for their healing, justice and reconciliation; for repentance by perpetrators of abuse; and for the church that it may promote a spirit of transparency, justice, repentance and hope for the future. All the faithful are invited to adopt additional practices of prayer, fasting or charity for their intentions that day.
In the release, the bishop also urged any victim of priest sexual abuse to contact the diocese’s Office of Professional Responsibility at 321-7836 or local law enforcement.
Catholic churches open this week for confession
PORTLAND — Catholic churches in Maine will be open for confession and quiet prayer this week, according to a press release issued Monday by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland.
The initiative, “The Light is On for You,” will help worshipers prepare for the celebration of Easter on April 8.
During the week before Holy Week, at least one church in every parish will be open for confession. The locations for confession will be determined locally and the location may move among the churches of a parish, according to Sue Bernard, spokeswoman for the diocese.
“Catholics in Maine, especially those who have been away for a while from the church or the confessional, are invited to experience God’s mercy and forgiveness through the sacrament of reconciliation,” she said in the release.
To find the dates and times, visit www.portlanddiocese.org.
This invitation to drop by and pray away the monstrous institutional blasphemies that went on under the cover of the celebration of life this church claims to espouse is stomach churning blasphemy. Come on by and ” experience God’s mercy and forgiveness through the sacrament of reconciliation”??? Promoting a group intercession with God for the deeds of befouled clerics is enough to gag a maggot. Whats the payoff? When the pedophile priests announce they are feeling better? Slick, very slick!
Prayers are all well and good, But, what most victims want is for the bishop to take aggressive ‘actions’ to prevent child sex abuse and to reach out to other victims by posting the names of predator priests on the diocese web site, newspapers and church bulletins, plus he also should visit every parish and beg anyone, who may have been harmed or have knowledge of abuse, to contact law enforcement. Church leaders are not the proper officials to be investigating sex crimes against kids.
Also one of the best things the bishop can do is help to get the statute of limitations for sec crimes against kids removed so that victims can have their day in court. This is the one sure way to prevent further abuse and safeguard kids today.
And keep in mind your silence only hurts, and by speaking up there is a chance for healing, exposing the truth, and therefore protecting others.
Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, USA, 636-433-2511
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims.
SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 12,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers and increasingly, victims who were assaulted in a wide range of institutional settings like summer camps, athletic programs, Boy Scouts, etc.)