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Voice
of the Faithful Focus – A 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: At
the recent United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
biannual meeting in Los Angeles, a Mass was
scheduled at the host city's cathedral, Our Lady
of the Angels, as is tradition. VOTF members, among
others, have attended this Mass in the past, including
riding along with the bishops by bus. But this year
was to be different. The following is the account
from Gaile Pohlhaus, one of our VOTF officers as
well as a Villanova theologian, who was refused admission
to Mass for not having a ticket.
Feeling
the need for solitude (and thinking an early arrival
would ensure a place to sit) I took myself down
to the Cathedral around 3 p.m. To my surprise all
the entrances to the cathedral were covered by
solid wooden partitions. I went to the adjacent
parking garage where I saw others going in so I
started to enter. "The Cathedral is closed
today, ma'am." "But there is to be a
Mass at 5 o'clock." "There's no Mass
scheduled." "I know the bishops have
a five o'clock Mass and I would like to go." "It's
private ma'am." At this point I blew it. "Canon
law says there can be no such thing as a private
mass!" "We're just here for security,
ma'am." I opened my bag: no gun, just a book
about the church, my cell phone, wallet and rosary
beads. "Sorry, ma'am, you need an ID." I
showed them my Villanova ID. "A ticket, ma'am." Reluctantly,
I turned away.
In
addition, not one bishop in attendance took even
a few moments to meet with those survivors of clergy
sexual abuse who held a 48-hour vigil that coincided
with the conference. All a bishop had to do was simply
cross the street from either the conference hotel
or the Cathedral. We expect more, much more from
the leaders of our Church.
Progress: Sadly, since the last edition of Focus we don’t
have any significant progress to report from a particular
diocese, the USCCB, or the Vatican. So instead we’ll
use this space to thank you for supporting VOTF with
your time, talent, and treasure. The overall success
of this movement depends upon the active involvement
of thousands of volunteers including affiliate leaders
and members, area coordinators, national office help,
working groups, national representative council,
officers, and trustees. A special thanks to those
of you who made a donation in this last fiscal year
in which VOTF finished in the black. Our most recent
monthly financial statements as well as all of our
audited statements are posted online at our website.
As the new fiscal year gets underway there is a continued
emphasis on the Campaign for Accountability. If you’ve
yet to get more involved please visit our Campaign
page to see how you can help. Thank you again
for being a part of this movement of the Spirit.
Look
for the next Vineyard edition to be sent
on June 29th. |
