'Broken' church to hold prayer meetings February 20, 2013 - 11:35AM The Catholic diocese of Maitland-Newcastle has admitted the church is "broken" and will hold a series of prayer gatherings to start afresh amid a slew of child sex abuse allegations. In a statement on Wednesday, diocesan co-ordinator for The Year of Grace, Sister Louise Gannon, said the local community was invited to gather with Newcastle-Maitland Bishop Bill Wright "for prayers of healing and hope" at six different locations in the Hunter region during Lent. "We recognise with the history of sexual abuse in this diocese, we have a need to pray together and ritualise our need for healing," Sr Gannon said. This is a very significant and public aspect of our brokenness as a church and in the context of ... the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry and the Royal Commission we would not have a prayer focused on healing without naming it as such. However the abuse allegations were not the only aspect of the church's life that was broken, she said, and they would not be the sole focus of prayers. The invitation to participate comes after the NSW Commission of Inquiry into the alleged cover-up of sex abuse allegations in the diocese formally opened in Sydney last Wednesday. The hearing was told three senior Catholic Church officials will testify at an inquiry, including the Archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, who held senior positions in the diocese in the 80s and early 90s. Other prominent churchmen who will give evidence at the public hearings are Father Brian Lucas, secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference, and the retired bishop of the diocese Bishop Michael Malone. The meetings will be held in halls rather than churches to create a relaxed and welcoming environment, the diocese says. The first gathering will take place on Friday at Toronto.