BishopAccountability.org
	Letter to Bishop Lori VOTF in the Diocese of Bridgeport December 17, 2010 http://www.votfbpt.org/ Dear Bishop Lori: Each year, on December 28, just three days after Christmas, the Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Innocents in memory of the infants massacred by King Herod in his frantic search for the Christ Child (Mt. 2:16-18). In our day, sad to say, many innocent children have suffered a different kind of massacre at the hands of predatory priests. Although our children’s lives were not taken away, their innocence was destroyed and many have endured severe trauma through their adult lives. This grievous tragedy weighs heavily on the Church today and all of us, as members of Christ’s Body, must take responsibility for it. As a step toward acknowledging that responsibility, Voice of the Faithful in the Diocese of Bridgeport proposes that you designate the feast of the Holy Innocents as a special day of commemoration of the survivors of priestly sexual abuse. We ask that you offer mass on the feast of the Holy Innocents each year for the survivors and that you call upon every pastor in our Diocese to do the same. We also ask that you instruct every parish community to set aside a few hours on the feast of the Holy Innocents to reflect on the injury inflicted on our children and to ask God’s forgiveness for our failure as a Church to protect them. Every family should be encouraged to light a candle on that day in remembrance of the survivors. During the course of each year, you, as our bishop, preside at a Red Mass, a White Mass, a Blue Mass, and a Green Mass for members, respectively, of the legal profession; the medical profession; police, firefighters, and emergency service personnel; and those serving in the military and their families. While it is highly appropriate to call down God’s blessings on all those who render essential services to our community, we believe that our Church should dedicate a special mass to the children so irreparably harmed by rapacious priests. We believe that by setting aside a special day of remembrance of survivors our Church will begin to atone, in some measure, for this grave sin and perhaps deter potential future abusers. We extend to you our very best wishes for a Merry and a Holy Christmas! VOICE OF THE FAITHFUL IN THE DIOCESE OF BRIDGEPORT
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.