Australian bishop apologizes for priestly abuse, urges victims to call police

[Holly3278]

An Australian bishop has issued a pastoral letter in which he offers a “sincere apology to those who have suffered abuse at the hands of a member of the clergy or indeed, any person representing the Catholic Church, particularly one who was ministering in the name of the Diocese of Wollongong.”

catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=6980

It seems that the sex abuse scandal is truly world wide. This is so sad. I have a feeling it will take many years for the Church to recover from this.

Let us pray:

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray and do thou oh Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

God our Father, please send us holy priests, all for the sacred and Eucharistic heart of Jesus, all for the sorrowful and immaculate heart of Mary, in union with Saint Joseph. Amen.

Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.

 

[LilyM]

You’d better believe it’s worldwide, just as all forms of child abuse are.

It’s nothing new, either in Australia or anywhere else.

Back in 1993 the town I lived in in Australia was rocked by a clerical abuse scandal, which most tragically led to the suicide of one priest who was accused.

 

[karoleck]

Where sin abounds,grace abounds even more!

There is a positive coming from all the abuse apologies and that is that the Bishops are accepting reality.In one of Davids prayers,after he repented for his “affair” and killed her husband —it goes like this —“my guilt I did not hide–I will confess my sins to the Lord” He was up front–this is what the Bishops needed to have done long ago–sure they never committed the sexual abuse,but in a lot of cases they hid them under the rug.The previous poster tells of an offending priest ending his life–I also know of innocent victims doing the same ;when after they complained to the Bishops and they just fobbed them off.

You are right to pray,my posting is not intended to be an attack on Bishops; but the truth needs to be out there.The lack of leadership by many Bishops in other matters such as Liturgical Abuse,theological error etc.the devil has had a field day.But as the saying goes–one has to acknowledge an error before steps are taken to correct them.

That is why I believe devotion to Christ Priest and Victim is so important.I was so pleased that the Cardinal(Canizares) who is in charge of the Congregation for Dinine Worship has petioned The Holy Father to extend this feast throughout the world.Priests might be imperfect but Christ the Priest is perfect and is a spotless Victim that takes away all our sins.So no matter what weakness there is in the Church,Christ is always our Pillar–The Mother of The Eternal Priest and Victim is the other Pillar.

stlouiscatholic.blogspot.com/2010/02/cardinal-canizares-petitions-for.html