Aug 25, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Staff of the Arlington Diocese are hopeful that a series of healing masses this fall for victims of sexual abuse will continue the healing and reconciliation process that started June 30, when Bishop Paul S. Loverde celebrated the first such mass at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More.
"The wounds from sexual abuse are deep and devastating," Patricia Mudd, victim assistance coordinator for the diocese, told the Herald. "We must come together to pray for victims of abuse, their families and the entire Catholic community.”
Mudd is responsible for recording the basic information when a call comes in on the diocesan hotline from someone that has suffered sexual abuse, and she determines the direction the case should take. If it involves the abuse of a child, she is required by law to report it to state authorities.
Accusations are then turned over to Oblate Father Mark S. Mealey, moderator of the curia, who gathers additional information to present to the Diocesan Review Board.