Church of the Assumption

Confessions:
Following 4:00 PM Mass on Saturday
Following 11:15 AM Mass on Thursday
Other times by request

For specific Mass & Communion Service times, please consult the schedules here.

Sunday Gospel Reflections from our staff.

The recent news from the Grand Jury report on the sexual abuse of minors by the clergy in Pennsylvania has scandalized and angered people across our country. It both saddens and sickens us to know that vulnerable children and vulnerable adults were so violated at the hands of Roman Catholic Clergy over the past six or seven decades.

Safeguards are now in place, not only in our own Diocese of Rochester, but elsewhere so that clergy, parish staff, laity and volunteers all are made aware what abuse is, how to report it and how to safeguard the lives of the most vulnerable around us.

However, the Pennsylvania report reminded me that we can never stop praying for those who have suffered so egregiously at the hands of the clergy throughout the years. We must pray for their healing and their safety. We must pray that no human being is allowed to be abused in anyway whatsoever. We also must pray together, as a Church and as a parish that abuse, in any form will end.        

~Fr. George

"Shame & sorrow" and a call for prayer

“If one member suffers, all suffer together with it.” (1 Cor 12:26).  These words of Saint Paul forcefully echo in my heart as I acknowledge once more the suffering endured by many minors due to sexual abuse, the abuse of power and the abuse of conscience perpetrated by a significant number of clerics and consecrated persons.  Crimes that inflict deep wounds of pain and powerlessness, primarily among the victims, but also in their family members and in the larger community of believers and nonbelievers alike. Looking back to the past, no effort to beg pardon and to seek to repair the harm done will ever be sufficient. Looking ahead to the future, no effort must be spared to create a culture able to prevent such situations from happening, but also to prevent the possibility of their being covered up and perpetuated. The pain of the victims and their families is also our pain, and so it is urgent that we once more reaffirm our commitment to ensure the protection of minors and of vulnerable adults." ~ Pope Francis, Letter to the People of God (link to full text)

Bishop Matano's Letter to the Faithful
PA Grand Jury Report
Statement from the Vatican
Statement from the USCCB
Statement for the New York State Bishops