Diocese of Brooklyn Celebrates Mass of Hope and Healing

The Diocese of Brooklyn held its annual Mass of Hope & Healing on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, at St. Finbar Roman Catholic Church, in Bath Beach, Brooklyn. Attended by more than two dozen priests and deacons, the ninth Mass of Hope & Healing was an opportunity to come together as a Diocese and pray for victim-survivors of sexual abuse and all those impacted by sexual abuse. The liturgy is planned by survivors for survivors.

Bishop Robert Brennan, the main celebrant and homilist, offered a heartfelt acknowledgment of the church’s failures. “I will always speak with profound sorrow for our own failings, failings of the church, failings of those in authority, the failings of individuals within the church,” he stated. “I speak with sorrow for the missed signals, the cries for help, for the way things were handled.”

Despite the weight of these acknowledgments, the Mass ultimately focused on hope and the community’s commitment to help all those impacted by sexual abuse. “We pledge ourselves to be those instruments of healing and hope the best we can,” Brennan said, calling on attendees to walk with one another and turn to the Holy Spirit for guidance.

The Diocese of Brooklyn places great emphasis on providing pastoral care to victims. Along with the yearly Mass, the Office of Victim Assistance Ministry provides supportive initial counseling, therapy referrals, and pastoral resources for the victims of sexual abuse.

That care is part of the Diocese of Brooklyn’s significant programs to prevent sexual abuse and protect children, including a Zero Tolerance policy that states any clergy member who is determined to be credibly accused of sexual misconduct with a minor is permanently removed from ministry. The Diocese also conducts initial and ongoing background checks of all employees and volunteers and provides age-appropriate sexual abuse awareness training for children and adults.

Anyone who has been the victim of clergy sexual abuse is encouraged to report it to law enforcement or to the Toll-Free Reporting Line established by the Diocese at 1-888-634-4499. All calls are forwarded to law enforcement officials.

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