Invitation to a prayer of repentance and solidarity with victims of abuse

The Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Czech Republic (ERC) and the Czech Bishops' Conference (CBK) are commemorating the Day of Prayer for Victims of Sexual Abuse in the Church.

"In prayer, we entrust the wounded and endangered to God's care and commit ourselves to participating in this care. In prayer, we confess our guilt: blindness, pride, cowardice. In prayer, we ask for humility and courage to strive for correction and to create a safe environment in the church and in society.

We present the text of a common prayer to the ERC member churches and congregations with a request for support," ERC President Pavel Pokorný invites you to participate.

Stanislav Přibyl, the chairman of the Czech Bishops' Conference's Commission for Prevention and Protection from Abuse, also addressed a similar call to his church: "Brothers and sisters, we pray for those who have encountered abuse in the church, but let us now also pray for ourselves, so that we may notice these facts and not be indifferent to them.

The Czech Bishops' Conference's Commission for Prevention and Protection from Abuse offers a prayer that we can pray together in church during a service or on another suitable occasion (not only) on the Day of Prayer for Victims of Sexual Abuse in the Church. This day was declared by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors on the Friday after Ash Wednesday, the first Friday of Lent - this year it falls on February 20. Thank you for your participation!"

Attachment for download: Prayer of repentance and solidarity with victims of abuse (external link leads to the website of the Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Czech Republic).

(Source: ekumenickarada.cz, illustrative photo: kirahoffmann, untitled image, Pixabay license.)