Bishop William F. Medley leads Benediction during the annual Evening Prayer for Protection and Healing on April 12, 2023, held at St. Stephen Cathedral. ELIZABETH WONG BARNSTEAD | WKC
Eucharistic Adoration the focal point of prayer service for healing
BY ELIZABETH WONG BARNSTEAD, THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC
Approximately 20 people attended the Diocese of Owensboro’s Evening Prayer for Healing and Protection on April 12, 2023, hosted at St. Stephen Cathedral.
The prayer service, which this year included Adoration and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, led by Bishop William F. Medley, is held every April to coincide with National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
The annual liturgy focuses on prayer for survivors of any form of abuse, including survivors of sexual abuse by those acting in the name of the Church.
During a short reflection, Bishop Medley said that this awareness month and prayer service “more often than not” occur during the Easter season, which feels “incongruous to sing Alleluia.”
Yet, “it is good that we are here; it’s good that we pray,” he said.
Bishop William F. Medley processes up the aisle of St. Stephen Cathedral during the annual Evening Prayer for Protection and Healing on April 12, 2023. ELIZABETH WONG BARNSTEAD | WKC
He said that when the topic of abuse comes up in conversations he has experienced, often someone speaks up to say “I, too, was a victim: I, too was harmed.”
“The Church has made great strides” in preventing abuse, the bishop said, but added that even one instance of a vulnerable person being harmed “is too much.”
To report suspected abuse, call the Kentucky Child Protection Hot Line at 877-597- 2331 or contact your local Commonwealth Attorney. To report abuse to the diocese, current or past, by anyone acting in the name of the Church, call Scott Ingram, Pastoral Assistance Coordinator (English), at 270-852- 8380, or Miguel Quintanilla, Pastoral Assistance Coordinator (Spanish), at 270-880-8360.
Originally printed in the May 2023 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
