The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops will convene for their semi-annual assembly on November 12th.  One of the primary topics for discussion will be the current abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.  Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, the president of the Conference, has called for a National Lay Commission, made up of qualified lay professionals from various fields and granted independent authority, to address the scandal.  We pray that our bishops will acknowledge their past failures of leadership and chose to enact the recommendations put forth by Cardinal DiNardo.  The following “Prayer for Purging Evil From the Church”, by Pedro de la Cruz, asks for the special intercession of our Mother Mary during this time of trial for our Church and its people:

As we reflect on this prayer, I believe it is fair to acknowledge that we are facing a crisis is credibility, a crisis in confidence, but not a crisis in faith.  No matter what the future brings, we still have Christ as our foundation; we still have the Eucharist that He instituted, that He gave us; we still have His Church; we still have our faith.

I pray that under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and through the intercession of our Mother Mary, action by our bishops will continue in earnest.  The people of God expect nothing less.  The people of God deserve nothing less.

Prayer for Purging Evil From the Church

O Sweet Virgin Mary, conceived without sin, pray for the church during this time of great attack.

We trust in you, the new “Eve”, to crush the head of this vile serpent, who seeks to so grievously wound God’s holy church. By your great faith-filled obedience to the plan of God, you thwarted the evil of the devil’s cunning, and gave birth to our Savior.

We beg your assistance in this critical moment, that you would purge our seminaries of all impurity, and raise up holy priests to further the Kingdom of God.

May all Bishops exercise their charism of Truth, and with strong United voices, prophetically call evil acts by their proper name.

May the Holy Father, and all those given authority in the church, be unafraid to take every necessary action to insure God’s people never have to fear this type of scandal again.

May your great maternal affection help all those whose lives have been shattered due to these unconscionable offenses, and help strengthen all those whose faith is wavering by being exposed to such horrific scandal.

For all holy priests, clergy and religious, give them courage to carry on with their ministries and not give in to the despair and sorrow which the evil one wishes to sew in their hearts.

O Queen of Purity and Mother of all Hope, we place our confidence in your great intercession for God’s people.