VOTF Statement Regarding Bannings
In Newark and Camden, NJ

October 11, 2002 - Voice of the Faithful is profoundly concerned by the recent bannings from church property issued by Archbishop John J. Myers in Newark, NJ and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio in Camden, NJ. It is our responsibility to point out that the very parishioners who have been erroneously labeled as "anti-Church and ultimately, anti-Catholic" are the same mainstream Catholics welcomed to Sunday morning Mass and encouraged to financially support the very properties from which they have been banned. This deliberate demoralizing of thousands of faithful parishioners — including the Religious Education teachers, Eucharistic ministers, Sunday School volunteers, Parish Council members, and nuns who compose Voice of the Faithful — is an abrogation of these bishops' pastoral duties and the result of a pattern of misinformation coming from our own ecclesiastical leaders.

We must also remind our bishops that as an association of Catholic laity, Voice of the Faithful has formed properly under the meaning of Canon 215, which states, “The Christian faithful are at liberty freely to found and to govern associations for charitable and religious purposes or for the promotion of the Christian vocation in the world; they are free to hold meetings to pursue these purposes in common.” In addition, the teachings of Vatican II clearly articulate the right — and even the obligation — of laypersons to form associations and make their voices heard on matters concerning the good of the Church. Voice of the Faithful wishes to serve the Church by helping laypersons understand and address the most serious crisis in the 500-year history of the Catholic Church in North America: the perpetration and cover up by the hierarchy of clergy sexual abuse of children. We also wish to engage our bishops in meaningful dialogue on this crisis. We can only conclude that our bishops are acting out of a profound fear of their own laity, and that in fearing VOTF, they fear and reject the truth.

Rather than ban Voice of the Faithful members from church property that we have built with our own hands, hearts, and savings, we call on Archbishop Myers and Bishop DiMarzio to behave in the pastoral manner befitting their positions by finding constructive ways to heal their diocesan families. We call on these bishops to rescind their unreasonable and unpastoral instructions; to welcome Voice of the Faithful to parishes in their dioceses; to apologize to thousands of faithful Catholics who are members of Voice of the Faithful; and to enter into a meaningful dialogue with Voice of the Faithful members. We pray that God may grant Archbishop Myers and Bishop DiMarzio the grace to heal these wounds that afflict us all.