Voice Of the Faithful

Bishop Geoffrey Robinson's U.S. Tour

Most Rev Geoffrey James Robinson DD, Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, Australia, will will begin his U.S. visit later this month. The bishop will be speaking at several VOTF affiliate meetings and VOTF co-sponsored gatherings.

Bishop Robinson had been appointed by the Australian Bishops Conference and for nine years headed up the Conference’s Committee for Professional Standards, which developed procedures for responding to victims of sexual abuse. Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church: Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus is the title of his book, soon to be released in the U.S. The book, now in its fourth printing in Australia, has received much attention.

In 1994, Robinson was appointed by the Australian bishops to head a task force to deal with clerical sexual abuse cases. His book examines the underlying patterns in the church that allowed this abuse to happen. It is an effort to help the church face up to this reality and make the necessary changes to purify the church of those elements which obstruct its mission. Click here for tour intinerary.

VOTF NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS

4/28/08 - Voice of the Faithful Questions Church’s Appointments Process Read more

4/23/08 - Catholics are learning of yet another instance where a Church knowingly hired a defrocked pedophile priest. Read more
4/17/08 - Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) is encouraged by the decision of Pope Benedict to meet with five survivors of clergy sexual abuse. Read more
4/14/08 - Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) congratulates Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and the General Assembly of the Commonwealth for the passage of House Bill 211. Read more
4/9/08 - Voice of the Faithful Makes Spokespeople Available During Papal Visit. Read more
4/8/08 - Voice of the Faithful Full-Page Ad in NY Times Identifies “Moral Crisis” in Catholic Church. Read more
4/7/08 - Voice of the Faithful Petition to Pope Calls All Catholics to Transform Church. Read more

Press Release Archive

Some Affiliates have full plates when it comes to VOTF actions while others are looking for new and creative ways to keep the VOTF presence alive in their communities. To help you focus your efforts during Lent, we offer you a menu of additional ways to hold the church accountable to the mission of Christ during the next few months. Click here to read more.

This outcome-focused, historic synopsis of actions taken by VOTF in the name of the Accountability Campaigns (Financial Accountability and the Protecting our Children/ Support of Survivors) since our Indianapolis Convocation illustrates the multi-dimensional, multi-focused progress achieved. Click here to view the report.

As reported at the Providence Convention, we now have interim results from the three Diocesan Surveys VOTF affiliates conducted for the Accountability Campaigns. The surveys assessed the extent to which dioceses employ Best Practices in three areas: Child Protection and Survivor Support; Financial Accountability; and Church Governance. You can see the results of those surveys as of mid-October, 2007, by clicking here.

Survivor Support

04/04/07 - Testimony of Thomas Doyle, J.C.D., C.A.D.C., In Support of S.B. 29, State of Delaware. Read more.
SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)
Survivors? Call to Reform the Archdiocese of Boston. Read More.
What to Know When Reporting Abuse to the Church
Rescue and Recovery International

In the Vineyard,
May 8, 2008

In This Issue
Reports on the survivor support gathering during the Pope’s visit include “Still Learning” commentary from VOTF’s Kris Ward, comments from SNAP’s David Clohessy and a report from VOTF Survivor Support Working Group member Steve Sheehan; VOTF Priest Support Working Group report on attendance at Summit conference to address the priest shortage; the VOTF Prayerful Voice working group wants YOU!; Bishop Robinson’s much-anticipated arrival from Australia later this month – what do you know about the bishop? (See Affiliate Notes); VOTF Priest of Integrity Award recipient Msgr. Breslin has died (see Commentary); VOTF Orange County meeting with Chancellor; and more. Read more.

In the Vineyard Archives

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.- April 3, 2008

Voice of the Faithful Focus Archives

In Case You Missed the Providence Convention ...

There's still a way to tap into its energy and information -- by ordering one of the CDs or tapes that captured all the events.

How do you know which workshop or session to order? We've got an order form with brief synopses of the contents for each tape, CD or DVD available. Just click this link, review the order form, then print it out and send in your order: click here.

Vatican II and the Laity DVD Series

Fr. Robert Pelton, peritus on Cardinal Suenens' team at Vatican II and Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame and long-time VOTF champion, has produced a 5 DVD series on Vatican II's teaching about the laity. Click here for more information and the order form.

2006 Annual Report

Click here to request a copy of Voice of the Faithful's 2006 Annual Report.
Click here to view the PDF version of the 2006 Annual Report.