April 23, 2002

We gather as holy church to pray for our leaders as they deal with the current sexual abuse scandal in the American church. Respond “Lord, have mercy on us.” as we all share in this problem in some way.

 

Lord, bless and keep this church and all its members as we struggle with the terrible things we have learned about some of our priests and church leaders. We are the body of Christ and we are in pain.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.
 

Lord, bless the victims of sexual abuse by priests and ministers and bless and strengthen their families and friends. Help us all to heal from this most shattering betrayal.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.
 

Lord, bless the clergy and lay ministers who have created this dreadful situation. May they find peace through open reconciliation and do penance for the hurt they have caused.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.
 

Lord, may those in authority who knowingly hid these crimes come to see the harm they have done, repent, and find some small way to do penance in humility.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, bless and keep the clergy and lay ministers who serve your church faithfully. And bless the laity. May we all grow in wisdom and grace and continue to do good works in your name.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, bless the diocese of Boston and help the people to heal from this great pain inflicted upon our children.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, open the heart of your servant Cardinal Law.  May he recognize the serious harm he has done and ask forgiveness for failing as a shepherd of our church. For the good of all the church, may he have the humility to resign from his position of leadership and find another way to serve the people of God.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, bless the diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire and help the people to heal from this great pain inflicted upon our children.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, open the heart of your servant Bishop John McCormack of Manchester, New Hampshire, who played a role in mishandling the cases of at least six priests accused of pedophilia while working under Cardinal Law.

R:Lord, have mercy on us

 

Lord, bless the United State Conference of Catholic Bishops. May they be courageous in reforming responses to misconduct by clergy and ministers of your church,

R:Lord, have mercy on us

 

Lord, bless the diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and help the people to heal from this great pain inflicted upon our children.

R:Lord, have mercy on us

 

Lord, open the heart of your servant Bishop Robert Banks of Green Bay, Wisconsin, who, while working under Cardinal Law, was involved in the case of Fr. Geoghan, a priest who has been convicted of indecent assault and is accused of molesting nearly 200 children.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, open the heart of your servant Bishop Robert Banks who wrote to San Bernardino officials saying that Fr. Shanley was a priest “in good standing.” May he have the humility to step down from his position of authority and find another way to serve the people of God.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, bless the children and their families.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, bless the diocese of Palm Beach, Florida, and the diocese of Brooklyn, New York and help the people to heal from this great pain inflicted upon our children.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, open the heart of your servant Bishop Thomas V. Daily, bishop of Palm Beach, Florida, and later of Brooklyn, New York, who, while working under Cardinal Law, was a pivotal figure in the mishandling of one of the most serious complaints about Fr. Geoghan.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, bless and bring healing to the Dussourd family, whose seven sons were abused by Fr. Geoghan. May they find loving support and comfort in their pain.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, bless the diocese of New Orleans and help the people to heal from this great pain inflicted upon our children.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, open the heart of your servant Bishop Alfred C. Hughes of New Orleans, who, while working under Cardinal Law, was also involved in both the Fr. Shanley and Fr. Geoghan cases.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, bless the diocese of Rockville Center, New York and help the people to heal from this great pain inflicted upon our children.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, open the heart of your servant Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Center, New York, who is also named in lawsuits regarding pedophilia cases he worked on while serving under Cardinal Law.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, open the hearts of the Jesuits of California and heal and comfort the disabled men who were abused by some Jesuits in Los Gatos.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, open the heart of your servant former bishop Anthony O'Connell of Palm Beach, Florida, who resigned after admitting he abused a boy in the late 1970s in the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, bless the boys abused by former bishop O’Connell, and bless their families. Bless also any others abused by him in the dioceses of Jefferson City, Missouri and Knoxville, Tennessee, where he also served.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, bless the diocese of Santa Rosa and help the people to heal from this great pain inflicted upon our children.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, open the heart of your servant former Bishop Patrick Ziemann who resigned after admitting a sexual relationship with one of his priests. Under his leadership millions of dollars disappeared from the diocesan treasury.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, bless the diocese of Cincinnati, Ohio and help the people to heal from this great pain inflicted upon our children.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, open the heart of your servant Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk, archbishop of Cincinnati who has been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury regarding possible questions about the handling of sexual abuse accusations.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, bless and heal all the victims of clergy sexual abuse, and the victims of the victims, and the victims of those victims, for we know that this evil continues from one victim to the next.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.
 

Lord, bless and keep our bishops and cardinals and help us all to do the right thing.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.
 

Lord, we thank you for the clear leadership shown by some of our bishops, especially by Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles. May his example guide us as we try to reform the systems that have allowed the sin of pedophilia to reach epidemic proportions in our church.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.
 

Lord, open the heart of your servant Bishop Patrick McGrath (Name your local bishop here), our bishop. Help him to open up the structure of this diocese to full participation by our laity. We are the church. Let us, the laity, serve together with the ordained to make a healthier church.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, bless your servant Bishop Tom Gumbleton, who has consistently shown us all great and humble leadership.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, have mercy on the souls of your servants Cardinal Joseph Bernardin and Bishop Ray Lucker who have served your church well and now rest in your peace.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, forgive us all who, through our naiveté, ignorance, and denial, have allowed the continued manipulation and abuse to continue.  Forgive us our complacency and inattentiveness

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, may we find ways to reform the seminary process that has allowed priests to grow in wisdom and grace in most areas, while ignoring their development of healthy sexuality.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, may we find ways to open up the church and shine the light of freedom on the secrets that allow evil to fester unknown.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, may your church learn to accept the gifts of all, regardless of gender or marital status, so that your church may once again be known by the love it shows to all.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.
 

Lord, may our collective anger over this issue lead to positive change in us as individual Christians, and in the church at large.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Lord, may we get on with the mission of being church: providing for the widows and orphans, the strangers, and the poor, and spreading the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

R:Lord, have mercy on us.

 

We ask this as your holy church, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

R:Amen