Prayer
In the face of all that needs to be done to prevent abuse in the Church, you might think, “I’m just one person. What difference can I make?”
But the truth is: you matter.
Renewal is not just the work of bishops or Church leaders.
It belongs to all of us.
One concrete way that we would like to invite you to take on the weight that survivors often carry alone is to offer an hour of prayer for survivors and for the prevention of abuse in the Church.
Commit to pray at least one Holy Hour in reparation for abuse perpetrated by clergy, religious, and other Church ministers.
Sign up here!
We also welcome you to join us in the prayers of reparation that we offer every day after our morning prayer.
Download Prayers of Reparation
Prayer is efficacious and valuable. But prayer is not enough to prevent abuse in the Church.
We need more action, both from Church leadership and from laity, in the area of abuse prevention.
Some concrete ways we can move forward together:
Encourage your bishop and diocese to develop more robust policies around the abuse of adults.
Ask your bishop and/or the USCCB to revise training materials for Church employees and volunteers to include the best research on the sexual abuse of adults.
Support civil laws that criminalize clergy sexual misconduct with people under their spiritual care.
Support the formation of clergy and other ecclesial leaders on issues like healthy sexual integration, friendship, gender, and the healthy use of power.
Encourage your parish to educate Catholics on these issues and to include prayers for survivors of abuse in the Church in the intercessory prayers at Mass.
Educate yourself on abuse and how to identify red flags.