Day of Prayer for Victims of Abuse takes place today

15 Feb 2019

The annual Day of Prayer for Survivors and Victims of Sexual Abuse is taking place today in dioceses throughout Ireland.  This comes a week before Pope Francis’ gathering in Rome with senior bishops and major religious superiors, at which Archbishop Eamon Martin will attend, to discuss child safeguarding in the Church.

During their retreat last week in Knock, the bishops of Ireland blessed and dedicated candles of atonement for use at Masses in their Cathedrals and parishes this weekend, and for other liturgies in the future.  Prayers for Survivors and Victims of Sexual Abuse will take place in the Archdiocese of Armagh this evening, and in other dioceses today and over the coming days.

The text for the Blessing and Dedication of the ‘Candle of Atonement’ for parishes, and related resources are available on www.catholicbishops.ie.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

  • The Day of Prayer for Victims and Survivors of Abuse is an initiative led by Pope Francis and was first marked in Irish dioceses and parishes in 2017. 
  • Archbishop Eamon Martin, Archbishop of Armagh and President of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, spoke about the Day of Prayer for Survivors and Victims of abuse and his expectations for the special meeting in Rome to discuss child safeguarding, on Faithcast, the weekly podcast from catholicnews.ie.  Listen to his interview here https://audioboom.com/posts/7175033-faithcast-podcast-episode-32
  • Towards Peace is a spiritual support service designed for those who have experienced sexual, physical, emotional or spiritual abuse by Catholic Church personnel in Ireland. Support is also available for family members of abuse survivors. The vision of Towards Peace is to provide a safe supportive space, where people who have been affected by abuse in a Church context can be accompanied as they seek their own experience of spiritual peace, one step at a time. Towards Peace provides spiritual support through one-to-one spiritual direction sessions, with a qualified spiritual companion. Up to twelve sessions are offered and there is no cost. For more information, please visit www.towardspeace.ie, phone 01 505 3028 or email [email protected]  

For media contact: Catholic Communications Office Maynooth: Martin Long 00353 (0) 86 172 7678