For Catholics who care about the Church of our past and the Church of our future, our voices are needed now.

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Click Here to view Video of Jim Post
Voice of the Faithful President
“ Church past and present…we must do better."

For survivors and their families, for the families and friends of deceased victims of sexual abuse by clergy, for faithful Catholics stunned by the discovery of abuse and its cover-up in our Church, for all clergy whose lives continue to honor their ministries, the release of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice study promises facts and numbers that will hurt all over again.

Commissioned by the USCCB National Review Board, the bishops’ self-reported documentation of sexual abuse by clergy across 191 dioceses in the US will aggregate data on the number of priests who have been accused, the number of victims who have made allegations, and the financial cost to the Church of its response.

This report does not promise closure but a better understanding among all Catholics, clergy and laity alike, of where we must go from here. The materials in this VOTF supplement are provided for our collective education and to help each of us determine our role in the weeks and months ahead.

Voice of the Faithful's Ad in February 29, 2004 New York Times (Adobe Reader Required)

• Theologian Stephen Pope’s commentary on Dissent
• St. Anthony Messenger magazine – profile of a young VOTF parent
• Over 60 theologians were signatories to a Theologians’ Statement, “Voice of the Faithful Has the Right to Exist”
• Voice of Faithful goes after biggest issue of all: authority, National Catholic Reporter, By Joan Chittister
• Task for the Next Church Council, by Rev. Raymond G. Helmick, S.J.

• Scandal and Sunlight – What the John Jay Study Means to Catholics, Remarks of James E. Post President, Voice of the Faithful St. Patrick and St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church, Hartford, CT March 11, 2004
• Abuse reports mark beginning, not end, National Catholic Reporter, 3/12/04

• The accounting begins, National Catholic Reporter, 3/12/04
• Voice of the Faithful President James E. Post Will Address John Jay Report in Hartford, CT 3/10/04
• Abusive Priests: A 'Shameful' Failure, Newsweek, 3/8/04
• Give laity a key role in fixing church,Boston Globe, 3/6/04
• Removing the 'smoke of Satan', Wichita Eagle, 3/6/04
• There Must Be Consequences, New York Times, 3/5/04
• Sexual abuse by Catholic priests -- Next steps, San Francisco Chronicle, 3/4/04
• A Moral Challenge for All Catholics, Boston Globe, 3/2/04
• Sex Abuse Scandal May Haunt Church, Newark Star-Ledger, 3/2/04
• Cooperation with evil in the act of silence, Seattle Times, March 2nd
• Church Abuse Goes From Scandal to Sermon KEN MAGUIRE AP, 3/1/04
• Transcript of 2/29/04 “Meet the Press”

• Catholic activists set sights on bishops, Naples Daily News, 2/29/04

• So 'history' doesn't repeat
• By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY2/29/04
• AP, February 29, 2004 - "Watchdog Says Some Bishops Should Resign"
• Boston Globe, Jim Post, February 28, 2004 - Fix the Church in the Name of Hope
• Newsday, Feb. 28, 2004 - Finger-pointing at the top
• CBS News, February 27, 2004 - "Shameful to the Church"
• Voice of the Faithful Notes Glaring Omission in John Jay Study 2/27/07
• How deep will the bishops' review board dig? National Catholic Reporter, By Jason Berry 2/20/04

Click here to view Video of
Suzy Nauman
Parish Voice Team
“I have to be involved in bringing about changes for my children."

• Information on the John Jay Report:National Review Board site - (Has the reports on both the nature and scope and causes and context)
• BishopAccountability.org has posted the bishops' diocesan surveys (pdf) and instructions on which their upcoming February 27 report will be based. These surveys and instructions are essential for understanding the value and limitations of the bishops' project.
• MA Attorney General Report on Sexual Abuse of Children in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston:
  Click here to view the Executive Summary (PDF)
  Click here to view the Full Report (PDF)
• Maine Attorney General’s report. (PDF
  
• Click here for more surveys and reports

Visit votf.org for additional information about Voice of the Faithful.