(WASHINGTON, D.C.) A Mass for Family Peace will be celebrated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on Sunday, Oct. 7, at 5:15 pm. Monsignor John Enzler, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, will serve as presider and homilist.
The Mass was planned by the Catholic Inter-Agency Committee on Domestic Violence Awareness Month to raise awareness and join in prayer during October. The committee is led by Catholic University’s Catholics for Family Peace Education and Research Initiative, and includes the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Catholic Charities USA, the National Council of Catholic Women, and other groups and dioceses.
Representatives from Catholic organizations that serve victims of domestic violence and raise awareness on the topic will serve as lectors and gift bearers. Additionally, there will be a table of resources from the Catholic Inter-Agency Committee on Domestic Violence Awareness Month to educate attendees about domestic violence and encourage prayer for family peace.
For those unable to attend the Mass, Catholics for Family Peace is offering the Domestic Violence Awareness Month Tool Kit, which has resources for prayer and reflection surrounding the issue of domestic violence. The tool kit can be useful to Catholic parishes, dioceses, Catholic Charities programs, and organizations that face the issue.
The tool kit includes sample intercessory prayers as well as a section on social media, links to a number of resources including the work of the USCCB on the issue, and information on Catholic Charities USA’s work with survivors of domestic violence.
Catholics for Family Peace, which is affiliated with the University’s National Catholic School of Social Service, promotes the Catholic response of care, concern, and compassion to domestic abuse and violence. The tool kit can be used to create or enhance a parish, diocesan, or Catholic group’s participation in the national awareness program, which is held annually.
Catholics for Family Peace recommends consulting the tool kit to:
MEDIA: For more information, contact the Office of Marketing and Communications at communications@cua.edu or 202-319-5600.
ABOUT: The Catholic University of America is the national university of the Catholic Church and the only higher education institution founded by the U.S. bishops. Established in 1887 as a papally chartered graduate and research center, the University comprises 12 schools and 26 research facilities and is home to 3,480 undergraduate and 3,041 graduate students.
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