Voice of the Faithful Focus – A bi-weekly brief update highlighting both a problem in our church and some progress being made as we work together to Keep the Faith, Change the Church.

Problem: Bishops’ attempts at scaremongering are intensifying

The Archbishop of Denver recently wrote “The current effort to amend the civil statutes of limitations governing sexual abuse—which really involves an effort to impose retroactive liability and a new wave of lawsuits on Catholic communities—will continue in more states in the coming months. It could easily decimate the remaining resources of the Catholic faithful in the United States and steal the religious future from a generation of Catholic young people.”* He cites a recent bill in California that opened a one year window to allow survivors to file regardless of their age. But he fails to cite that no dioceses in California have filed for bankruptcy. Survivors from California came forward and credibly accused abusive priests were made know to the public to ensure the safety of children in those areas. Yet Bishops in several states are fighting such efforts to ensure justice for survivors in their dioceses. And to add insult to injury church leaders are spending untold sums of donations on lawyers and lobbyists to lead this fight. The ruse of financial insolvency is resulting in moral bankruptcy within our church leadership. If you want to do something about it join our Protecting Our Children Campaign in your state. (*May Feature Article in First Things.)

Progress: Archdiocese of Boston releases detailed financial audit

Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) welcomes the publication of the first annual Financial Transparency Report issued by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. We are encouraged by this initiative which may provide a model of financial accountability for diocese nationwide. Voice of the Faithful has consistently championed advocacy for financial transparency and accountability. We believe lay efforts are a major contributing factor to the step taken by this archdiocese. VOTF's Campaign for Financial Accountability provides an essential opportunity for VOTF members in every diocese to request similar financial reporting from their church leaders.

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