The worldwide Day of Prayer for Survivors and Victims of Abuse takes place on the first Friday of Lent, which is next Friday, 24th February.At the Continental Assembly of the Synod in Prague, Fr Éamonn Fitzgibbon and Julieann Moran general secretary to the National Synod addressed those gathered. They shared with the delegation how “during the diocesan phase of the Synod, the Pobal Dé – the People of God in Ireland – listened deeply and heard many testimonies from those who, sadly, have been wounded within the Church.” They  shared how women and men courageously came forward to speak about the sexual, institutional, emotional, psychological, physical and spiritual abuse by members of the Church in Ireland .The full address given by Fr Éamonn and I can be found HERE

Towards Peace also provided a reflection on the experience of accompanying some of the survivors and victims of abuse when they took part in the diocesan phase of the Synod and how the subsequent submission from this group, which goes to the heart of our own need for conversion, was a call to the Church to hear their prophetic voice and to act on the wisdom of their experience.  The recording can be heard here: HERE

 Further material for the day of Prayer can be found Resources section of the website