FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — The bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks is traveling around Alaska to offer sympathy to victims of priest sex abuse, along with a symbol of atonement called “penance patches.”
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports the small burlap patches with a small looped ribbon symbolize sackcloth and ashes, a biblical sign of repentance.
Bishop Donald Kettler also takes a book with him, with a burlap cover and a ribbon, filled with heartfelt notes written by Catholics who want to express their personal sorrow to abuse victims.
The patches were started by an Oregon couple, Quenton and Ann Czuba.
The Fairbanks Diocese reached a bankruptcy settlement with more than 300 sexual abuse victims last January.
