Highlights from the
"Response of the Faithful" Convention

Our first national conference, "Response of the Faithful," was a wonderful success! On July 20, a sell-out crowd of 4,200 from 36 states and 7 countries enjoyed a day of prayer, education, and organization, culminating in a beautiful and very moving Mass. Over 125 reporters covered the event. Thank you to the 250 volunteers and numerous financial donors who made the event happen. Highlights include:

• Moving, educational, and inspirational speeches by victim/survivors (leaders from SNAP, The Linkup, and AdvocateWeb attended). Over 100 victim/survivors attended the event. At 7:00 p.m. after the event, hundreds of attendees marched the one mile to the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit (the parish of Cardinal Law) to sing with and support the victim/survivors.
  
  

• An incredibly moving and impactful speech by Fr. Tom Doyle, recipient of VOTF's first "Priest of Integrity Award," along with wonderful speakers and panelists throughout the day. Information on buying video copies of the event and text of Fr. Doyle's speech are available on this site.
  
  

• Thousands of attendees signed a VOTF pledge upholding their duties and responsibilities as laypersons as defined in Vatican II and requested that the Pope "hold accountable any bishop who reassigned an abusive priest or concealed his crimes." This pledge and request was sent to Rome.
  
  

• VOTF released a Bishop Monitoring Form so parishioners in each diocese can track the progress of their own Bishop in implementing the steps that he committed to in Dallas last month.
  
  

• VOTF announced that 64 VOTF affiliates, called Parish Voice, have officially formed throughout the United States, with many more in the planning/forming stages.
  
  

• VOTF announced that VOTF/Boston's "Voice of Compassion-Boston" Fund, a charity fund is operational.