-
A special Day of Atonement will occur on Friday, April 27, 2018 at Immaculata Chapel
on the campus of the Diocese of Lafayette Central Offices.
During these past 100 years, there have been many very beautiful and faith-filled moments, but there have also been very painful and damaging moments, some of them caused or furthered by clergy and members of the Catholic Church. These pains and sins have hurt many, such as children, families, African Americans, women, persons with same sex attractions, and others. In our call to be Faithful to God, we must also ask for forgiveness from those we have hurt by our sin and the sins of those who have acted in the past.
Christ said that when one member of the body suffers, all the members of the body suffer.
Sins of abuse, greed, racism, belittling, and the like have hurt the whole Body of Christ. For our sins and for the sins of the past that have caused damage to God’s Children’s Souls, we ask for mercy and we are sincerely sorry. In the darkened shadow created by such sin, these are not the actions of the Church that Christ wanted, nor that we want. May the merciful loving grace of Christ bring healing and repairing peace to all these deep wounds and to the Precious Souls of all God’s Cherished Children.
On April 27, we will dedicate a statue that is primarily offered for the victims of sexual abuse which happened in our Diocese, but is also offered for all who have been hurt by clergy and people in the Church. The statue is located outside the front entrance of Immaculata Chapel. Before the dedication, Bishop Deshotel will hold a Prayer Service inside Immaculata Chapel at 6 p.m and the dedication will follow immediately afterward.
All are invited to attend and pray with us that continued healing may come to all in need
and that these sins will not occur again.
I have come so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd. (John 10:10)