French bishops are holding a day of prayers and fasting for victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.
The bishops, who have gathered in the city of Lourdes for their biannual plenary assembly, prayed Monday "for forgiveness for the sins committed by clergy members."
During a Mass at the Rosary basilica, Bishop Luc Crepy gave the homily, exhorting his peers to play their part in "this fight against scandalous and criminal actions affecting the smaller ones." Bishop Crepy was appointed earlier this year as the new head of a Church panel targeting those committed acts of sexual abuse against children.
