MEDIA ADVISORY FROM VOICE OF THE FAITHFUL

Announcing Three Media Events During
"Response of the Faithful" Lay Congress, July 19, 20 & 21

Event #1: Pre-Congress Press Conference, Friday, July 19, 1PM, Sam Adams Park at Faneuil Hall (Congress Street side), Boston Taking place in the cradle of U.S. liberty and justice, speakers from Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) and the Survivors Network for Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) will:

• Highlight the urgency for church and government leaders to enforce vigorously the bishops' charter developed in Dallas, with examples of where this is and is not being done;

• Call on U.S. bishops to proactively work to close loopholes and bring about true justice;

• Identify the relationship between greater lay involvement and greater openness and justice in the governance of the Church;

• Give a preview of Saturday's First Lay Catholic Congress, called "Response of the Faithful," at the Hynes Convention Center.

Event #2: Opening-Congress Press Conference, Saturday, July 20, 8AM (doors open at 7AM), Hynes Convention Center (Room 100), Boston To inaugurate the world's first Lay Catholic Congress, VOTF members and families, survivors of clergy abuse, theologians and clergy will:

• Unite with words, and with a visually-arresting interlocking of arms, to call for the success of the all-day meeting;

• Announce a new mechanism for monitoring U.S. bishops' compliance with the nine action points called for in their Dallas charter;

• Announce an important new statement about VOTF;

• Give a preview of the day's events to come, including conference participants' statement to be sent to Vatican at the conclusion of the conference.

Event #3: Post-Congress Press Conference, Sunday, July 21, 11AM, VOTF Hospitality Suite (TBA), Sheraton Boston Hotel, 39 Dalton St., Boston On the morning following the all-day Lay Congress, VOTF members, theologians and survivors will give a thoughtful interpretation and analysis of the conference:

• A comparison of expectations with accomplishments, including tangible results;

• Why this event is a landmark in the life of the post-Vatican II Catholic Church;

• What we can take from the Congress going forward;

• How VOTF and the conference are providing tangible support for survivors' groups;

• VOTF's next steps to support survivors and priests of integrity, and shape structural change in the church.