BishopAccountability.org
	Two Masses Planned for Victims of Child Abuse By Adela Gonzales White Charlotte Sun April 18, 2009 http://www.sunnewspapers.net/articles/llnews.aspx?articleID=12551&bnpg=0 VENICE -- April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and to raise awareness of the need to protect children and to pray for victims of child sexual abuse, Bishop Frank J. Dewane of the Diocese of Venice will celebrate two special masses. The masses for victims will be April 24 at Epiphany Cathedral Parish in Venice and April 30 at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Naples. Both are scheduled for 12:30 p.m. "We must reach out to victims of child abuse who have come forward and look for those who have not," Dewane said in a statement. "We have to give them compassion and be a source of healing." The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops encourages dioceses to use this month to educate Catholics on how abuse harms children and what the church is doing to address it. The Diocese of Venice, along with other dioceses in the U.S., complies with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People adopted by the USCCB in 2002. The diocese carries out an aggressive safe environment program to assist victims and ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults. Over the past seven years, the Catholic Church in the United States has trained more than 1.8 million clergy, employees and volunteers in parishes in how to create safe environments and prevent child sexual abuse, according to church officials. Background checks have been made on more the 1,535,000 volunteers and employees, 164,000 educators, 51,000 clerics and 4,955 candidates for ordination. The Diocese of Venice serves a Catholic population of approximately 250,000 in 10 Southwest Florida counties through 56 parishes, a quasi-parish, seven missions, five chapels, 13 elementary and secondary schools, two special-needs schools and a post-secondary school for adult-lay faith formation. For more information, call the Communications Department of the Diocese of Venice at 941-484-9543 or visit www.dioceseofvenice.org.
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