Hundreds gather at Springfield cathedral to pray for hope, healing

Published: 2004-02-25

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (CNS) -- A service of prayer, healing and hope for the people of the Diocese of Springfield drew about 800 people to St. Michael's Cathedral Feb. 18, a week after a local newspaper published abuse allegations against recently retired Bishop Thomas L. Dupre. "I was pleasantly surprised to be stuck in a traffic jam coming to this," said Mary Ann Arnold of St. Michael's Cathedral Parish in Springfield. "It was nice to see that enough people cared, that enough want the church to get better and healed and deal out justice," she said. The allegations raised against Bishop Dupre claim he abused two boys, starting in the 1970s and continuing into the 1980s. He was not a bishop at the time the alleged abuse took place. Msgr. Richard S. Sniezyk, administrator of the diocese, told the congregation, "With troubled hearts, with broken hearts, with betrayed hearts, we come tonight to this, our cathedral church, encouraged by those assuring words of Jesus Christ to pray always and never lose heart."

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