NEW ORLEANS (LA)
The Advocate
April 4, 2019
By Andrea Gallo
Baton Rouge Bishop Michael Duca said Thursday that he hopes the “Way of the Cross” ceremony he will host April 5 in reparation for sexual abuse by Catholic clergymen will add a more spiritual aspect to the church’s response to the crisis, a dimension he hopes will acknowledge the pain of abuse and lead toward healing.
Duca will pray the “Way of the Cross” at 7 p.m. April 5 at St. Joseph Cathedral, a service that marks Jesus’s walk toward crucifixion. Each of the 14 stations of the cross will include specific prayers about sexual abuse within the Catholic Church and healing for those who have been hurt by it.
“Hopefully, the prayer will be a way for me to become more aware of the sin of the church, more sorrowful, more a need to ask God for forgiveness and love,” Duca said Thursday in an interview with The Advocate. “What it’ll do for the people there — that’s all grace.”
Not long after becoming bishop of Baton Rouge, Duca in late January released a list of 37 clerics who served in Baton Rouge at some point in their careers and who were credibly accused of sexual abuse. The list has since grown to 41. Since releasing the names, Duca said he has spoken to multiple people who have also wanted to share their stories of betrayal and abuse by trusted priests.
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