Council Minutes

Voice of the Faithful Representative Council Meeting
Saturday, March 20, 2004, St. Agnes Church, Reading, MA

Acting Moderator Frances O’Leary opened the meeting at 10:30 a.m. She thanked the St. Agnes parish community for their hospitality, especially Elia Marnik and her committee. Mare Streetpeople of the Holy Spirit Singers led us in prayer with her words and music, which she dedicated in tribute to survivors.

Fran announced that Mare’s CD would be available for sale after the meeting, along with Voice of the Faithful buttons and pins, and order forms for copies of Keep the Faith, Change the Church, written by VOTF founding president Dr. James Muller and co-author Charles Kenney.

President’s Report

Jim Post reported that, in accordance with a voice vote at the February 28, 2004 Council Meeting, he communicated with the National Review Board with letters to Judge Anne Burke, chair, and Robert Bennett, head of research, respectively. Both responded, and Judge Burke stressed the importance of continuing to work with the laity. Jim said it is important for Voice to stand behind the NRB as long as they are credible.

Our full-page ad in the New York Times on February 29 received positive feedback: many new website hits, registrations, donations. Our drive for signed petitions is still on; presently we have over 11,000 [13,000 at this printing] – symbolic of the 10,667 identified survivors. The affiliates are being asked to gather signatures.

A recent National Policy Forum call centered on the follow-up on the John Jay and NRB Reports. Indications were that an unevenness of bishops’ responses exists, and there is more work to be done.

Jim mentioned current steps in our outreach: 1) meeting with Sisters of the Sacred Heart, 450 of whom gathered in the U.S. for an international conference. He stated that large numbers of women religious are extremely supportive of our work. 2) presentation to the Hartford, CT, affiliate; 3) next Saturday, a presentation at a conference at the University of San Francisco; 4) also next Sunday, a conference of the affiliates in Western U.S.

There is intense activity regarding the parish closings in the Archdiocese of Boston. There are now political contacts who want to work with VOTF in the decision-making process, particularly with the Boston Affiliate Steering Committee.

Executive Director’s Report

Steve Krueger announced that the VOTF New York Times ad will be in the April 2, 2004, issue of the National Catholic Reporter. He said that the ad is also available to affiliates to run in local newspapers.

We have purchased mailing lists from the National Catholic Reporter and will communicate with these subscribers, mainly regarding the petition. Mailing lists are of 25,000 lay, 4,000 clergy, and 4,000 women religious.

Discussion of SCWG Recommendations with Respect to Diocesan Finance Councils

Jim DeGraw led a review of the above-captioned recommendations. These were presented initially at the February Council Meeting and distributed electronically prior to the current meeting. They are also available on the VOTF web site in the Structural Change Working Group (SCWG) section.

Jim said the SCWG’s goal was to develop model norms that can be adapted appropriately in all dioceses, respecting their variables, such as size. The recommendations are in compliance with canon law and, therefore, stop short of being fully democratic. They provide checks and balances, address conflicts of interest, and emphasize transparency.

Discussion followed Jim’s presentation. Among the comments: 1) reference in the document should refer to complete financial statements, not merely financial statements; 2) document, when ready, should be shared with Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities (FADICA) now working on a similar project, in order to build a coalition to be more effective; 3) document should be sent to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB); 4) suggested line items should be included in the next draft.

Jim said the next step will be to revise the document as necessary and bring it back to the April Council Meeting for a vote.

Report on Reaction to the Suggested Change in the Wording of Goal #2

Svea Fraser distributed a summary of her presentation from the Support Priests Working Group (SPWG). There has been concern expressed about the wording of Goal #2, “To support priests of integrity” by priests, affiliates, others. Among the concerns are 1) it is judgmental 2) not specific enough 3) difficult to explain 4) divisive and not “Christian.”

A presentation on this item was made at the November 2003 Council Meeting, and Svea and the SPWG have received many suggestions for new wording as well as keeping it as is. Svea said she would take the comments made back to the SPWG for additional discussion. Svea led us in a prayer entitled “Prayer for Support Priest Working Group.”

Fran O’Leary said that she has received five nominations for the five-member Representative Council Steering Committee. Additional nominations are encouraged and are due by April 5.

She announced that the next meeting of the Council will be held on Thursday evening, April 22, at St. Pius X Church, Lynn, MA. Details will follow. The May meeting of the Council will be held on Saturday, May 22, at St. Timothy’s Church in West Hartford, CT. There will be a speaker, David Gibson, at 9:30 a.m., followed by the Council meeting at 10:30 a.m. Details will follow.

Announcements - March and early April events were noted.

John Moynihan led us in the closing prayer, The Lord’s Prayer. We heard it chanted in Aramaic on a recording; we then recited it in the translation from Aramaic; and then listened to a woman’s singing it in Aramaic.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:55 p.m.

The minutes were prepared by Jean Boyle and Pat Merlo.

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