Altoona-Johnstown Bishop: “We Will Pass Through This Darkness”

Bishop Mark Bartchak over the weekend released a letter, responding to the sex abuse scandal in his diocese. The letter was read at all the Masses in Altoona-Johnstown. Referencing the scriptures from Sunday, particularly the story of the Prodigal Son, the bishop’s letter reads, in part:

What are we to do?

If you are in church today and hear this message, I urge you not to run away. What I mean is don’t run from God who is to be found in the Sacred Scriptures and the sacraments.

And don’t run from God who is found in the person sitting beside you or behind you in church. We are all members of the Body of Christ. We need each other.

God has not abandoned us, nor will God forget any of us at this time or at any time. No matter how much God experiences the heartache of the father, God our heavenly Father keeps watching out for his children, even those separated from him and his Church…

…There is no mistaking that what was made public this past week is filled with the darkness of sin. We will pass through this darkness.

We are a people of faith and more t

han ever we are called to be a people of mercy. I pray that God will grant us the courage, strength and mercy that we all need at this time. I ask your prayers for one another. We need them. We need each other.

Read it all.