In observance of Child Abuse Prevention Month, Bishop Barry C. Knestout celebrated a Mass for the Protection of Children and Families at the Pastoral Center, Richmond, April 16 at noon.
Father Michael Boehling, vicar general, and Father Matthew Kiehl, vicar for vocations, concelebrated. The diocesan Office of Safe Environment coordinated the Mass, which was also livestreamed through diocesan social media platforms.
In a short introduction before Mass, Nazia Shafi, director of the Office of Safe Environment, said, “We offer this Mass for victims of child abuse, and for all those who serve in our parishes and schools throughout the Diocese of Richmond to help protect the most vulnerable from harm.”
In his homily, the bishop said, “The moment will come for all of us, when … we must account for all our actions, good and bad.”
Bishop Knestout is the chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People.
He said that during Child Abuse Prevention Month, “the Church takes an opportunity to recognize our past weakness and sins, our failures in protecting the innocent. We bear within us, as a Church, grief for injuries committed, and regret for our failures and neglect.”
The recording of the Mass is available at the Diocese of Richmond’s YouTube page.
