Winona bishop to celebrate Mass for sexual abuse victims

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Winona Bishop Bernard J. Harrington will celebrate a special Mass on Saturday for the healing of sexual abuse survivors.

“When Jesus walked the earth, He touched and healed the leprous, the blind, the lame, all who were brought to Him,” Harrington said in a news release Thursday. “Through the celebration of the Eucharist, the sacrament of the Lord’s Body and Blood, we will ask Jesus to reach out and touch all who have been victims of sexual abuse and heal them of their pain.”

In recent years, Harrington and other U.S. Catholic bishops have celebrated these Masses in which they lead the congregation in prayers for healing.

“One of the unfortunate facts of life in our time is that people have abused others, and the church is not without some share of this guilt,” Harrington wrote. “The bishops of the United States are determined that no one will ever again be abused by a minister of the church, and we will do right by all who have been abused.”

The bishop invited everyone to join the prayers at 8 a.m. Saturday in the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, 360 Main St. in Winona. Winona DailyNews