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Opening remarks by Archbishop Seán Brady at the media launch of the Irish Bishops’ Conference pastoral reflection: Towards Healing 8th February 2005 Good afternoon. On behalf of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, represented here by Bishop Donal Murray of Limerick, Mr Martin Long, our Director of Communications and myself, may I welcome you to this media launch of our pastoral reflection for Lent: Towards Healing. Why are we here? We are here because tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Lent is a time of reflection, a time when we set out to improve our lives in the light of the Gospel. This makes it an appropriate time for the Church to reflect on its journey of becoming more faithful to the Gospel in its response to the issue of Child Sexual Abuse. It is a journey which has changed us. It is a journey which we wish to share with others in our society in order: • to share our experiences; • to share what we have learnt; • to invite the support of others - within the Church and beyond - in bringing healing to those who have been abuse. Last month we agreed our new National guidelines on child protection. Maureen Lynott, chair of the Working Group which drafted the guidelines suggested publicly that they ‘place the Catholic Church [in Ireland] at the forefront of best practice – nationally and internationally’. The current document is intended to complement these guidelines by emphasising the commitment of the Church to bring about healing and restoration to those who have been abused. +Sean Brady Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of All Ireland and President of the Irish Bishops' Conference |