The Atonement: Lina's Project in East Maitland

As part of its ongoing acknowledgement of and to seek atonement for the devastation caused to victims and survivors of abuse, the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle is facilitating a Lina’s Project regional event at St Joseph’s Church in East Maitland on 21 February.

This event follows on from the Lina’s Project launch, held last year on behalf of Lina, who conceived the event and is herself a victim of child sexual abuse at the hands of a member of the clergy.

Held at Newcastle City Hall in September, the Lina’s Project launch was attended by over 500 people. A key part of this event was an audio-visual presentation featuring the names and images of perpetrators of abuse in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle and those who concealed their crimes, as well as perpetrators from the Marist Brothers and from other Orders.

The event in East Maitland will see an abridged version of the audio-visual presentation projected onto the façade of St Joseph’s Church each evening from 8pm to 9pm from Sunday 18 February until Thursday 22 February.

As part of this event, the diocese would like to invite the entire community to attend a barbecue at 6.30pm on Wednesday 21 February to support victims and survivors and gather in a spirit of recognition, healing and hope.

The barbecue will be held on the grassed area near the Therry Centre. Following the barbecue, people are able to stay and watch the projection on the church if they wish.

If you would like to attend this event, please RSVP here, or by phone at 02 4979 1188. You can rsvp anonymously. We only require numbers for catering purposes.

For more information about The Atonement: Lina’s Project in East Maitland, click here.

Share your thoughts - we’re listening

The goal of Lina’s Project is to bring hope and healing to the whole community. With healing in mind, the diocese would like to invite you to share your thoughts on Lina’s Project by leaving your feedback. You can also use the feedback form on the website to make suggestions in relation to the other commitments made at the launch of Lina’s Project – planning a permanent memorial in the grounds of Sacred Heart Cathedral, ideas for the perpetual day of remembrance in September and events of acknowledgements at schools that were sites of abuse.

To share your thoughts on Lina’s Project or other future projects, click here.

The Atonement: Lina’s Project

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Joanne Isaac Image
Joanne Isaac

Joanne is a Communications Officer for the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle and a regular columnist for Aurora Magazine.