Pray along with the Rosary for Healing for victims of sexual abuse (Child Abuse Awareness Month)
In recognition of April as Child Abuse Prevention Month, a group of clergy and laypeople of the Archdiocese of Newark came together to pray a Rosary for Healing for victims of sexual abuse. The Rosary for Healing was taped so that the faithful can join the prayers and contemplation on five rosary mysteries.
Bishop Elias Lorenzo, O.S.B., auxiliary bishop of Union County, leads the rosary and is joined by victim-survivors and certified Virtus ® Empowering God’s Children facilitators in the archdiocese Protection of the Faithful safeguarding programs.
The Archdiocese of Newark is committed to helping survivors of childhood sexual abuse heal. Gina Criscuolo, the Coordinator of the Office of Accompaniment, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, provides compassionate and supportive assistance to those who have been harmed in the church. Please visit www.rcan.org and click Safe Environment, or call 201-407-3256.
The rosary opens with a Prayer for Healing by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). This was followed by the five Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, with each mystery introduced by Bishop Lorenzo and including a powerful message about sexual abuse. The rosary then concluded with a Litany for Hope and Healing read by Karen Clark, director of the Archdiocese’s Department for the Protection of the Faithful.
Joining Clark and Bishop Lorenzo in praying the rosary were Gina Criscuolo, LCSW, Fr. Andy Prachar, Joel Gomez, Cathy Drake, and Cassandra Bossquet.
During the rosary, Bishop Lorenzo emphasized the archdiocese’s commitment to “creating safe environments in our parishes and schools, and to eliminating child abuse in our families, in our Church, and in society at large.
“We commend into God’s hands all those who are at risk for sexual abuse, those who are doing the hard work of healing, and those who are not yet ready to begin the healing process,” he said. “Through our prayers, efforts, and sacrifices, may they come to know the peace and wholeness that only God can bring.”
Join Bishop Lorenzo and the group in praying the Rosary for Healing in the video below.
