Bishop of Limerick’s Message to Victims of Abuse

Limerick Leader
November 5, 2013

http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/community/bishop-of-limerick-s-message-to-victims-of-abuse-1-5650795

Seeking forgiveness: Bishop Brendan Leahy

THE BISHOP of Limerick has re-iterated his message to survivors of “horrific” clerical abuse that he wants to make their pain ‘his own’ and seek forgiveness, writes Anne Sheridan.

Speaking at a mass for survivors of abuse, called A Mass of Healing and Hope in St Saviour’s Church, Dr Brendan Leahy said: “We are all of us here because we want to support one another and, in some way, bring comfort and healing to what has been a most painful experience for many here today. It is moving that so many are here, still caring enough to want to be here, despite the abuse you have suffered in the past.”

“You have made this journey because this is a time of healing and hope. On the one hand, we receive this gift from God but also we give this gift to one another by coming here to support and be with one another.

“Thanks for hanging on in your faith despite everything. Thanks for making the effort to be here. Thanks for this coming together as part of our ongoing process of reconciliation.

“But we can take some consolation today from the concerted efforts of many to ensure that the horror of institutional and clerical abuse will never be allowed to happen again. Across the world, across our country, these lessons are being learned. Measures to protect the most precious are being implemented.”