Copy deadline for May In the Vineyard – May 3

In the Vineyard
April 2004

“If these were to keep silent, I tell you the very stones would shout out.” Luke 19:41

Luke tells us that when Jesus was leaving the Mount of Olives on His way to persecution and death, He said of his cheering followers, “If these were to keep silent, I tell you the very stones would shout out.” Silence hasn’t been an option for a very long time.

One of the many benefits of speaking to each other in the same language is the eventual likelihood of understanding each other. Frequently, there appears to be a language barrier between Catholics in the pews as well as between Catholics and Church leadership. There is also a profound gap in lay education. Taken together, these do not contribute to an environment of reform, much less of communion. So it is with enormous relief and profound appreciation that VOTF heralds the long-awaited, first-of-its-kind Primer on Church Structures – a fundamental step toward bridging any language barrier among us, perceived or real, as well as repairing some of the holes in our understanding of “Church” and its history. This issue and future issues of In the Vineyard will attempt to facilitate a “negotiated settlement” of much that confuses many good hearts caught in the tragedy of a failed Church. If we know the language, we might begin to participate in substantive inquiry and response. We hope that our efforts coupled with feedback from our readers will contribute to a virtual conference call on being Church in the 21st Century. The Primer on Church Structures will evolve as we grow – in a sense, it is our collective work in progress. It aims to be a user-friendly introductory tool. To further ensure and encourage the use of the Primer, the Spring issue of the VOTF quarterly Voice, will recap the Primer’s content.

Speaking of language that unites, Susan Troy opens this issue of In the Vineyard with a timely reminder that “We are an Easter People.” VOTF wishes all of our readers a blessed and blessing Easter.

Peggie L. Thorp, ed.

  • Easter Reflection – Susan Troy, M.Div., “We Are An Easter People”
  • Have the urge to do something NOW? Sign the petition for returning responsibility to Catholicism – a few seconds of your time is a small investment in the future of our Church. AND watch the VOTF web site for information on the training kit. For now, the kit is called “Campaign for Catholic Responsibility – Parish Voice Petition Drive Organizing Kit.”
  • Working Group News - VOTF began on the shock wave of abused children. What better investment in their safety than the “Talking About Touching” training program held 3/27? See the Protecting Our Children report; Prayerful Voice – why bother? Susan Troy responds.
  • Survivor Community News – VOTF Maine joined SNAP to place ads in three weeklies; a survivor finds peace at the VOTF San Francisco, CA conference. Read more.
  • Priests’ Support Working Group promotes advice from David Gibson, author of The Coming Catholic Church; A Gathering of Church - Priests speak openly about the effect of the abuse crisis on their ministry. Holy Cross College hosted a discussion with priests, laity and survivors. The candor of the participating priests speaks volumes for VOTF’s ongoing commitment to unleash our voices – as Church. Readers will no doubt recognize these priests’ sentiments as very like their own – different circumstances, same humanity. Read More.
  • VOTF invited to attend Bishop installation in Springfield, MA. Read more in Affiliate News.
  • VOTF Boston meets with Mayor Menino – Read more in Events, Etc.
  • Another first for VOTF and maybe for global Catholicism! The Structural Change Working Group begins to train affiliates for the use of its long-awaited Primer on Church Structures. Read more in Affiliate News.
  • Reports from the field – VOTF president Jim Post reports on VOTF West Coast conference,VOTF joins SNAP in Twin Cities conference and the Fallons “image the Church” at University of San Francisco; report from Rome visit (Read more in Events, Etc.)
  • Do you know where your bishop is? He may be on an ad limina visit to Rome – the quinquennial meeting with the Pope required of bishops all over the world. US bishops have already begun these journeys, organized by region. Read more in Events, Etc.
  • Revisiting The Lord’s Prayer– in Aramaic. Read more in Council Minutes
  • Web site discoveries: www.oncecatholic.org If you or someone you know just can’t bring themselves “back to church,” this web site might help. OnceCatholic.org is a ministry of the Franciscan Friars of St. John the Baptist Province, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A., a Roman Catholic order founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. “The mission of OnceCatholic.org is to put you back in touch with a face-to-face community of Catholics. Along the way, we want to walk with you as you sort through your issues with the Church.”
    • Also, check out www.networklobby.org NETWORK supports and builds political will to develop a just, participatory and sustainable world community. Founded by women religious as a contemporary response to the ministry of Jesus, NETWORK uses Catholic Social Teaching and the life experience of people who are poor as lenses for viewing social reality.
    • St. Anthony Messenger press publishes a monthly newsletter Vatican 2 Today. This is a four-page monthly publication celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council and its ongoing impact on the Catholic Church of the 21st century. Attending Mass in Maine recently, Susan Troy found the March 2004 issue “Road Map for the Future – Teachings of Vatican II” an excellent source for furthering the “good news.” Accessible on line at www.americancatholic.org.
  • Commentary: Language Matters – When You Know the Language. Readers would be missing too much if some books are overlooked or never noticed. See brief excerpts from Keep the Faith, Change the Church by VOTF founding president Jim Muller and journalist Charles Kenney; Vows of Silence by Jason Berry and Gerald Renner; Governance, Accountability and the Future of the Catholic Church, edited by Frances Oakley and Bruce Russett.
  • Voice of Renewal - Voice of Renewal has been working to implement its mission as a forum to educate and be educated about topics relating to the VOTF mission and goals. To find out more check our updated pages on the VOTF web site. To contribute to our "virtual topics" join the VOR listserv: VOR-VOTF- subscribe@yahoogroups.com
  • The Massachusetts Catholic Conference is the Public Policy Voice of the Roman Catholic Church in Massachusetts and is spearheading a drive for Catholic voter registration so that Catholics will use their voices at the polls – what’s wrong with this picture? What Do You Think? Visit www.boston.com for the story published on 3/26/04 and send your comments to leaderpub@votf.org.
  • Bishop McCarrick said on national TV that every parish in the world has a parish pastoral Council (wrong); the recent survey of same by the USCCB seems to suggest an equally rosy picture. Is this what VOTF means by meaningful lay involvement? What Do You Think? Visit www.usccb.org/laity for details and send comments to leaderpub@votf.org.
  • Events – West Coast Conference; Minneapolis conference; April 13-16 The National Catholic Educators Association is having its conference at the Hynes Convention center and VOTF will be there. Visit http://www.ncea.org/annual/convention/exhibitorsinfo/04exhprpscts.pdf
  • Affiliate News – VOTF Louisville, KY “goes out” to priests; affiliates to receive the first VOTF Handbook; St. Eulalia’s/Winchester, MA VOTF is hopping with speaker events AND if your affiliate needs energizing, they have an idea – a June conference for Boston affiliates complete with planning questionnaire ; VOTF National has hired much-needed part-time help. Read More
  • Donate
  • For VOTF quarterly Voice call the VOTF office at 617-558-5252.
  • The VOTF postal address is P.O. Box 423, Newton Upper Falls, MA 02464-0002
  • Are you registered? Go to www.votf.org and give your voice a chance.

We are an Easter People

Since the beginning, VOTF has been an Easter movement and we must continue to ground ourselves in the Paschal Mystery that is the heart of our faith. Those of us in Voice of the Faithful know that we are people of faith; we know that ours is a most genuine movement of the Spirit. As we leave the days of Lent and enter into the blessings and understandings of Holy Week and Easter, we find our hearts and minds full of the journey begun three years ago and the journey ahead for VOTF. For we have learned hard truths, living with despair yet living with joy because we live in the hope that is Jesus Christ… our Light, our Truth, and our Way.

Ours is the Paschal Mystery that is celebrated at every Eucharist and in a very special way at Easter. There is no understanding the life of Jesus Christ, without understanding the passion and death of Jesus Christ, without understanding the triumph and glory of his Resurrection. How could we endure the death on the cross without the knowledge of the Resurrection? What value the journey without being grounded in the ultimate Truth? How could we continue to face the horrors of the scandal of clergy sexual abuse and cover-up without the companionship of the Christ we find in each other within VOTF? How could we continue to believe that We are the Church, We are the People of God? We remain faithful to the truth, which is Jesus Christ, and therefore we can remain faithful to our mission and to the prophets and martyrs of this movement, the victim/survivors whose courage lifts us up always.

We are an Easter people. VOTF is an Easter movement. In the truth and reality of every day, there are moments of the journey and life, the passion and death, the resurrection and the truth. Sometimes it seems that the days and weeks are only about the journey, or are only about the passion and death. But, in faith, we know that we are grounded in the great hope of transformation and new life. That is why we go forward. That is why we are led forward.

In the Gospel reading from Luke on Holy Saturday, we find ourselves one more time at the empty tomb. We join with the women who first experience the truth of Christ’s life and death. With Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Mary, the mother of James, we are terrified by the truth of that empty tomb; we bow our faces to the ground. Yet, they and we “remember his words.” And because we remember, and because we are confronted with the empty tomb, we go forth as witnesses to the Resurrection and to the Truth. How many times have we heard this Gospel? Yet, we always bring a new self and a new life lived to the living word of the gospel. These women go forth in the Truth to tell the others the good news to share their experience with the apostles. “But their story seemed like nonsense and they did not believe them.” (Luke 24:1-12) Why do we in VOTF continue to be surprised that the truth of our experience of God’s action and presence is not always understood, is not accepted by those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ, those who are bound to us most closely?

We are an Easter people. VOTF is an Easter movement. May the blessings and wisdom of this holiest season strengthen us for the journey; may the hope and truth of the Risen Christ sustain and accompany us. May the joy of the Resurrection enter the hearts of all who suffer; may it enlighten us all as we go forward.
Susan S. Troy, M. Div., VOTF Prayerful Voice

 


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.


PRAYER

Title: Ancient Echoes
By: San Antonio Vocal Arts Ensemble
Distributed by: World Library Publications www.wlpmusic.com
800-566-6150

ABWOON (Father-Mother of the Cosmos) The Aramaic Lord's Prayer

O Birther! Father-Mother of the Cosmos,
focus your light within us. Create your reign of unity now.
Your one desire then acts with ours,
as in all light, so in all forms.
Grant what we need each day in bread and insight.
Loose the cord of mistakes binding us,
as we release the strands we hold of others' guilt.
Don't let surface things delude us,
but free us from what holds us back.
From You is born all ruling will, the power and the life to do,
the song that beautifies all, from age to age it renews.
Truly - power to these statements - may they be the ground
from which all our actions grow. Amen.


 

WORKING GROUP NEWS

“…my Savior’s love to me; love to the loveless, that they might lovely be.” Samuel Crossman 1624-1683

Survivor Community News
Reported by Mike Sweatt

Survivor's Network of Those Abused by Priests and Voice of the Faithful members paid for ads in three mid-coast weeklies, Boothbay Register, Lincoln County News and Wiscasett News to encourage victims who may not have come forward yet, to make contact with professional agencies and survivor groups for support and to help commence healing. The ad can be found at http://www.votfmaine.org/sex_abuse_ad.pdf. The cost was $560. If you would like to help defray the cost of these ads, please send your donation to Voice of the Faithful, ATTN.: Boothbay Ads, PO Box 522, Portland, ME 04112-0522. Any other ideas to help encourage victims to come forward for healing and support are welcome.

Beth Maureen Gray is a survivor and contributes the following reflection on her attendance at the VOTF West Coast conference at the University of San Francisco a few weeks ago. Beth writes that her thoughts are “taken from an e-mail that I sent to my spiritual director and to my therapist on March 27, 2004, the evening of the VOTF conference.”

I attended the VOTF conference today in San Francisco. I got lost in San Francisco and was frazzled when I arrived. I had to really calm myself down so I could go inside. Fortunately, Sr. Celeste from the Archdiocese of San Francisco was there. When I saw her, I felt safe. I sat with her. I told her God had sent her just for me. She had only come for the morning as she is currently on retreat in Sacramento.

The conference was wonderful. I spoke twice during the Question and Answer periods. This was not planned. The first time that I spoke, it was because there was no survivor on the agenda. So I decided to speak.

I began by thanking all of them for their presence. I went on to identify myself as a survivor, a VOTF member and a practicing Catholic. I said that I worked with the Archdiocese of San Francisco and with the Diocese of San Jose. I mentioned how Bishop John Wester and Annabelle had been supportive of me. I told them how frazzled I had been when I arrived, and how seeing Sr. Celeste had helped me to feel safe. I also stated how much Ronna had supported me, and I made her stand up.

I said that survivors do not want to use the legal system (this had been discussed earlier). I said the rigid structure of the hierarchy and their refusal to dialogue with us forces survivors to resort to attorneys. I said many survivors can't get inside Chancery doors. In San Jose and San Francisco, the Chancery people listen to us. It makes a big difference. I asked the VOTF members to write to their respective bishops about this issue.

I said that SNAP reports a victim suicide every 6-8 weeks. I said we also have perpetrators committing suicide. We need to do something different. The way the Church is handling this is not working. We are a Church of love.

I said that the communities need to be prepared to receive survivors. When I came back to the Church, it was difficult at first for some members of the community to have a survivor in their midst. A few parishioners, understandably angry about the scandal, displaced their anger onto me. There is a lot of animosity right now between the Church and survivors. (I should have added that the people in my parish are now my dearest friends and supporters. We have been on a long journey together. My parish life director has worked diligently with the community and with me to facilitate my integration into the community.)

I was very loving and gentle. The words just came. What I did not know at the time was that the conference was being videotaped and that there were press representatives in the room!

After I spoke, we had a break. Many, many people came up to me to talk with me. They thanked me for speaking and for telling my story. I heard stories of other survivors (including victim suicides). I had a mother of a survivor approach me. I had another survivor approach me. I had friends of survivors approach me. It was wonderful. I was able to make some referrals to the San Francisco support group.

Towards the end of the conference, an ex-priest spoke. He is now married, but is involved with the sex abuse crisis. He works with Tom Doyle and Richard Sipe. He was very discouraged, and he defended his brothers, the good priests. His voice was filled with pain.

I again got up and spoke. This time I told about my experience at the Jesuit retreat house two weeks ago when I observed the priests there. I said that I understood this priest's pain. When I had seen the priests at the retreat house, whom I know, I had thought to myself, "These good, holy men, who have dedicated their entire lives to God are all suspect because a few of their brothers breeched the trust of all of us." I said that I had felt very sad.

I told them that we must minister to our good priests. I said the priests in my parish had been devastated when the scandal broke.

I mentioned the Jesuit retreat house and my spiritual director by name. I said it takes courage for survivors to return to the Church. It also takes courage and dedication for clergy to work with survivors. It is not easy to work with us.

This was not the exact sequence. Again, the words just came. At the end, we had a prayer service with the renewal of our baptismal promises. Then we had a procession where we blessed ourselves with holy water. By chance, I ended up leading the procession of almost 400 people! How God works! "And a little child shall lead them."

Many people greeted me warmly during the kiss of peace. They thanked me for sharing. After the conference, one of the conference staff members thanked me for coming. She said that my presence had really added a lot to the day. This made me feel wonderful. I thanked her. I said that I had really liked what I had heard. She thanked me. She said that meant a lot to her.

On my way home, I went to out for dinner. As I waited for my food, I realized that I had mentioned the Jesuit Retreat House, my Jesuit spiritual director, and how the retreats were healing for me at a VOTF conference held at the University of San Francisco, a Jesuit University!!! All those people, at least the Church ones, must have been making many positive connections in their minds. I honestly never thought of any of this. I just said what God told me to say.

I feel very good about the day. I have no idea what will come of it. I had no idea there were press present. God simply told me to speak. So I did.


Prayerful Voice Working Group – Why Bother?
Submitted by Susan Troy

Parish Voice National has held several regional conference calls with VOTF affiliate leadership in the past several months which focused on the role of Prayerful Voice in the life of VOTF. It was a wonderful opportunity for dialogue and discussion. The following was written to address many of the issues and questions raised during the series of conference calls. Let us continue to talk and to grow.

VOTF as an organization began in a church basement. Almost immediately VOTF began developing and organizing around the concept of “working groups.” These working groups reflected the varied interests of VOTF members, and the need to focus on several goals simultaneously. One of the first working groups formed was Prayerful Voice. Prayerful Voice grew out of the understanding of many that the work of VOTF must be grounded in prayer, that VOTF was a grass roots movement of the Holy Spirit. The first fruit of Prayerful Voice was the VOTF Opening Prayer. Composed very early in our existence to be used one night to open the VOTF gathering, it quickly became the prayer of VOTF. (Link to prayer) The prayer proclaimed our mission, our desires, and our identity as the Body of Christ. It is particularly compelling to hear these words prayed all over the country, all over the world. Prayer linking us as it should, and especially, prayer continuing to ground us in our Spirit filled origins.

The development of a Prayerful Voice working group should be a priority for every affiliate. Affiliates come into being in response to many calls, in response to the voices of survivors calling for justice, in response to a deep love of church calling for reform, in response to a faith challenged but calling out in hope. However, it is the VOTF mission statement that is central to who we are and what we wish to be…. “a prayerful voice, attentive to the Spirit.” This is our first calling. We realize that unless we are deeply grounded in prayer and in our faith, we will not succeed. Prayer must always be at the center. The first years of our existence have reinforced this truth for us. VOTF President, Jim Post, put it most profoundly when he spoke to hundreds of VOTF members gathered for a Mass of Rededication and Reconciliation marking the one year anniversary of our existence. After the moving liturgy Jim said what was in all our hearts….”VOTF is at its very best when it is at prayer together.”

The existence of a Prayerful Voice working group helps to ground each affiliate in the true strength of our movement. A Prayerful Voice working group becomes a sign and symbol of each affiliate’s commitment to be a “prayerful voice attentive to the Spirit.” We are a faith of sign and symbol, it is important to carry forth that tradition in our local affiliates. This is the foundation of any affiliate. As within any grass roots movement, beginnings are small. Most working groups start as one or two people who take the responsibility of overseeing attention to a specific part of the VOTF mission. We always know that our work is in partnership with the Spirit and therefore we will be fruitful, although the timetable may vary widely.

There are many ways in which the Prayerful Voice working group enhances the work and nature of a VOTF affiliate. Prayerful Voice helps us all to refocus on prayer in the midst of the many constraints on time and energy within our work. Prayerful Voice helps to remind us of our grounding in faith, our role as brothers and sisters in Christ, disciples and pilgrims on the path. Perhaps this is done through opening and closing prayer, perhaps through a comment during discussion, or the development of a liturgy or prayer service that helps us all focus on the truth of our movement. On the VOTF website there is a link to Prayerful Voice where any member can find many prayerful resources developed by VOTF for use by affiliates; a healing liturgy, a retreat for renewal of VOTF discipleship and leadership, a template for a day of fasting and prayer. These are all meant to be food for our journey. There are many more wonderful examples of attention of prayer within our movement, and it is a goal of national Prayerful Voice in its website (go to the Prayerful Voice directory at www.votf.org) to be a means of sharing these faith filled stories. This is our true strength.

The history of our church and the history of our faith is a history of individual faith embodied in faith-filled community, a “lay spirituality.” We are used to hearing ourselves identified as “the laity,” as an entity apart from the church. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our very faith is a “lay” movement. Jesus of Nazareth was not a priest of the temple, but a faith-filled lay person, as were all his followers, disciples, apostles. Many of the great movements in the history of our church and faith were “lay” movements. Both the ascetic and monastic movements were lay movements. They were movements of reform of the growing institutional church and accompanying faith, which seemed to have developed far from its roots in the gospels, in the life and proclamations of Jesus Christ. Important lay movements were also accompanied by important spiritualities; for example Benedict and his Rule, Ignatius and his Spiritual Exercises. This is why there was a lasting and profound impact, because these were movements first and foremost of faith and prayer. As a lay movement of the Spirit, VOTF needs to begin to articulate the emerging lay spirituality we are embodying and witnessing. We need to name our experience so that our faith and spirituality can further invigorate and sustain us as individuals and as an organization. This is one of the goals of Prayerful Voice, to begin to articulate what we understand as our spirituality in the face of the tremendous changes in our lives of faith as we confront the terrible realities of our time in the history of our church.

It is the hope that all Prayerful Voice working groups can be in communication through whatever means are available or evolve…the website, e-mail, regional conferences, and shared stories. The first priority, however, is the formation of a Prayerful Voice working group in every affiliate, to be sign and symbol of our commitment to our mission statement, and to invigorate us on the way!


Support Priests’ Working Group
Submitted by Svea Fraser

Prayer for Support Priest Working Group

Gracious God,
We ask your blessing on the work we are prepared to do -
Help us to ENCOURAGE our faithful priests,
to EDUCATE ourselves in order to better understand
our respective roles in the Body of Christ,
and to ENGAGE in dialogue and collaboration in the Church’s mission in the world.
May we be agents of reconciliation, healing and renewal and so be witnesses of your
presence in the world.
We ask this in the name of our brother, Jesus Christ,
through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

David Gibson, in his book The Coming Catholic Church articulates a mandate for our collaborative work on Goal #2 in his section on the priesthood: “Understanding clericalism (the notion that clerics are privileged and play an exalted role) and transforming that mentality is the single most urgent priority for the coming Catholic Church: We need to rethink the position of the priest, which includes our own understanding of our baptism and the universal priesthood. The better our understanding of the meaning of the priesthood and the ways that it is changing, the better the chances of emerging from the dark night of the soul with a renewed Catholic Church. The flashpoint is the clash of two opposing models of Church: the hierarchical and the communal.

What is needed is a way to re-humanize the priesthood without de-sacralizing it. The chief relationship that needs tending is that between priests and laity. The first step in this process is for Catholics to see priests as the human beings they are, and for priests to accept that view for themselves. This will come about not by reducing the priest’s sacramental role, but by increasing collaboration with the laity in running the parish.”

A Gathering of Church

On a gloomy rain-soaked night in Worcester, a little ray of hope shone from a gathering that brought together representatives of groups that are rarely in the same room together: priests, students, survivors, and laity (including some members of VOTF) met to hear and share various perspectives on the impact of the abuse crisis in the church. The tone was set by the openness and honesty of the priests on the panel, which created an atmosphere of mutual respect and good will for the ensuing conversation. Opportunities such as this promote healing and hope for renewal in our troubled church, and it is my hope that they will be replicated everywhere that trust has been broken. Following are notes from the evening:

Summary Notes
“Aftermath: The Abuse Crisis and the Ministry of Priests” A “Beyond Brokenness: Healing, Renewal and the Church” Panel Discussion Sponsored by Holy Cross College’s Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture, (a year long series of discussions regarding the renewal and reform of the church). Holy Cross College. March 31, 2004

The following priests addressed “how abuse by fellow priests has affected their work and life as priests, and how they see their own future in the aftermath of the crisis:”

Rev. Kenneth Brown, pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland in St. Louis, Miss.
Rev. William Kremmell, interim pastor of Nativity church in Merrimac, MA
Rev. William Campbell, S.J., campus minister at Holy Cross College, MA

Fr. Ken Brown, a priest for 25 years, began his reflection by admitting that he had to ask himself what to wear, because of his ambivalence wearing a Roman collar. He described his experience as “recovering from a death in the family” and shared his feelings of sorrow, his helplessness to undo the untold damage to the victim/survivors and their families, his resentment against the perpetrators and his desire that they would admit their guilt. He bemoaned the fact that transparency has not appeared in the way the institution is handling affairs. He feels a certain vulnerability, not to being accused but in the sense that, in St. Augustine’s words, “There but for the grace of God go I”—a humbling recognition of our humanity.

Fr. Brown described a dull ache accompanied by weariness and discouragement. A question he asks himself is “where is the grace?” in this moment. Fr. Brown then went on to describe how the “crisis” has changed his behavior: He no longer hugs kids at the end of their first confession; he leans down when children run to hug him in the playground (lest they hug him at waist level); he no longer drives one child alone in the car, nor has teenagers answering the phone in the rectory at night. He has no more private interviews with students preparing for Confirmation, but meets in groups of three. He spoke of second guessing some fairly innocent situations like going upstairs with a child to see a particular video—only to have the embarrassment of the mother, who had been busy fixing dinner, show up in the room and stay with them. “How would this look?” is a recurring question in his mind. And, “should I be doing this?” He recognized the need for this kind of reflection, but is saddened that it has to be this way.

As to the future, he believes that parishes and organizations are safer for children. Priests are more honest about their lives, their sexuality and most of all, their humanity. An energized laity is taking ownership and not asking permission to respond to the situation and are meeting to decide what should be done, as is happening in his own parish (a group called “Just Faith”). This he sees as a very good sign. Now there are clearer processes around money. Priests, too, are suspicious of the hierarchy and wonder what goes on. He spoke of wanting good leadership that can be trusted. In the meantime, his mission continues to be serving the People of God – burying the dead, comforting the sick, administering the sacraments, preaching the Gospel—this work does not and will not change. Fr. Ken wore his collar—because it is his custom, and it is a witness to his priesthood.

Fr. Bill Kremmell expressed his feelings of sadness, shock, disbelief, and anger at the bishops who distance themselves from their own culpability in the crisis—as evidenced in their apologies of “I’m sorry for what happened” instead of “I’m sorry for what I did.” He told of an African-American woman who encouraged him by expressing her “understanding” for the way people stereotype priests since the revelations of abuse (having experienced stereotyping as a woman of color)—as if every priest is also a pedophile.

Fr. Kremmell is part of a support group in which three priests have had allegations leveled against them. The focus on victims is primary and justifiable, but “priests need to know they are loved, too. We are a church of forgiveness.” Justice for all is the challenge.

Fr. Kremmell expressed three big concerns: First, the identity of the priest—who is going through an “identity crisis” of his own. We are human, we are sinners, we are “wounded healers.” “Our cover has been blown” he expressed, “and may it always be!”

He quoted an early church father, “With you I am a Christian. For you I am a priest.” Fr. Kremmell admits to wearing his collar less, often wearing a shirt instead, as he moves as one with his people in the parish and in the community. He sees this time as an opportunity to break the clericalism—the mindset that priests are different, separate and privileged.

Second, the intimacy issue—Fr. Kremmell acknowledged that priests (like all human beings) need warmth, closeness and touch—but are now cautioned to use prudence. Unfortunately, spontaneity is gone, and “suffocating boundaries” have been imposed.

He, like the first speaker, spoke of incidents where he froze when left alone with a parishioner. But then he reflected on last Sunday’s gospel that told of the woman caught in adultery who, at the end, was “left alone with Jesus.” So even Jesus was in that situation—and didn’t run from the opportunity to minister to her. “Without healthy intimacy”, Fr. Kremmell said, “we will shrivel up and die.” He felt “we have to look at celibacy.”

Integrity is the third issue of concern, and for Fr. Kremmell it implies, in the words of Fr. Don Cozzens, that “a priest must be both a man of the church and his own man”: respectful and faithful to the church, but challenging when necessary, and “coloring outside the lines” when possible. It requires common sense and pastoral judgment. An example of this is when Fr. Kremmell was invited to preside at the VOTF Mass at the Convention at the Hynes Center in July 2002. He was cautioned as to whether or not this was a good thing to do, but using good pastoral judgment he decided that it was a good thing to do.

The unity of the presbyterate, though important, should not prevent any one priest from standing up and being counted: veritas in caritate (speaking truth in the spirit of love).

The morale of priests is low, and there is uncertainty about the future (“Am I next?”). Add to that the stress of parish closings and reconfiguration, and the heavy demands on the diminishing number of priests (there is a danger that many are “being used” because of their willingness to take on so many extra tasks.) Limits have to be set or we will become enablers of a dysfunctional church. Lack of communication from the bishops, and lack of due process are two critical issues that contribute to the present state of the priesthood.

For the future, Fr. Bill believes this is a time of vision, of openness to the gifts of all and an end to clericalism, and most of all, a time to trust in the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit through prayer and fasting.

Fr. William Campbell is a new campus minister at Holy Cross, and ordained in the late 1980s. He admitted to being hesitant to speak since he didn’t know what value he could add to the conversation without experience in a parish—and feared looking dumb and irrelevant! However, he does recognize that one of the results of the crisis is frustration, particularly that all voices are not being heard.

Fr. Campbell was critical of the title of the talk (“Aftermath”) to which he received applause from some members of the audience: We’re still in this! He also criticized the publicity poster and resists monolithic terms like “the” church and “the” crisis. He has “cautious gratitude” to the media and has tried to inform himself from all sides—left, right and center.

Fr. Campbell lived with two accused priests, and knows one who has been indicted for abuse. In order not to be in any of those situations, he will do whatever possible to make sure it doesn’t happen to himself, or others. He changed jobs and moved on from his past situation in part as a result of the crisis. He is brand new to his role as campus minister, and admitted that he hasn’t yet figured out how it has affected him. He wonders what it means to the students.

He spoke of his panic when his six-year-old niece climbed into his bed one morning when he was visiting his sister overseas. He panics when he is alone with young children. He wonders about looks that seem to say “you’re one of those…” and has experienced condemnatory remarks from strangers. He senses a loss of credibility and relevance. However, on the positive side, he is resolved to give greater witness to the goodness of his ministry in the church—the Roman collar “marks” him, and sometimes makes him feel like Hester Prynne wearing her scarlet letter—but he finds himself wearing it more often now as confirmation of his commitment.

Fr. Campbell spoke of the Ignatian way of prayer and discernment, divided over weeks: the first being knowing oneself as a sinner; the second as companionship with Jesus; and the third as willingness to suffer as Jesus did. He has experienced a paradigm shift in himself—moving from identifying with the first two weeks to the third and a desire to minister to the suffering: Jesus took the risk of making himself vulnerable by being with the vulnerable. What is required in the future is humility, media awareness (recognizing the power of the image, he said, “Priests must not only be chaste, they must also appear to be chaste.”) And finally, patience.

He asked what rituals would help in healing and cited the example of a healing service in Milwaukee which included a purification of the church. A “Public Prayer After the Desecration of a Church” was performed in the place where abuse had occurred. (See America, March 22, 2004, p. 4).

Thus ended the panel part of the evening, and the audience (which included over 50 people—students as well as a few priests, two survivors, four VOTF members, and some people from a Worcester parish.)

Overwhelmingly, the comments were ones of praise for the honesty and openness of all three speakers. Two leaders from SNAP attended, ready to speak out against the implied assumption of the title “Aftermath,” but they were pre-empted when the priests themselves affirmed the ongoing challenge of reform and healing. The priests were praised for their honesty and humanity, and one survivor admitted she had never heard a priest say publicly what each of them had revealed this night.

Questions and comments ranged from recognition that this is a “middle management” problem that rests with the bishops—and whether they would ever change. Others spoke of the importance of people (priests and laity) speaking out, of the importance of working together, of the desire for forums to speak the truth, of the possibility of a “Truth and Reconciliation” commission. One very articulate student spoke of the value of young “hipper” priests on college campuses, and his fear that without education and engagement of the next generation of Catholics, that the church had a grim future or irrelevance in their lives.

The evening highlighted the value of Catholics gathering to speak from their hearts, without defense or fear, and be agents of grace, change and reconciliation in an ailing church.

 


Structural Change Working Group

Suzanne Morse, VOTF Communication Manager reports:

On April 1st, Voice of the Faithful began training for Parish Voice affiliates on the new Structural Change Working Group’s “Organizational Structures of the Catholic Church: A Primer.”

This project is the culmination of a year’s work by Voice of the Faithful’s Structural Change Working Group. It is a first-of-its-kind briefing on the organizational structures of the Roman Catholic Church – to the best of our knowledge, there has not been a centralized document that explains the layers of the Catholic Church and how the Church is governed.

We are offering the training as a service to our members, who remain committed to finding reasonable ways to promote structural change within the Catholic Church. The training, led by Margaret Roylance and other members of the Structural Change Working Group, will be conducted using web technology made available to Voice of the Faithful by the FirstWorks Corporation.

Margaret Roylance, VOTF chair of the Structural Change Working Group reports:

In the structural change statement that was unanimously approved by the Representative Council in February 2003 (http://www.votf.org/Structural_Change/structural.html), VOTF promised to provide a Primer on Church Structures. This new educational tool (currently in Power Point presentation format) was needed because many faithful Catholics do not understand how our church functions as a human institution, and we cannot work effectively to change what we do not understand.

The VOTF Structural Change Working Group was unable to find any existing compilation of this information, so we worked with Fr. Ladislas Orsy, S.J. to develop one, and it is now ready for use by affiliates across the country. It includes information on Church governing law, organizational structures of the Church as they are defined by canon law and diocesan statutes, specific changes in Church structures called for by VOTF, and questions for discussion that might be used as a starting point for individual affiliates to begin working effectively for structural change within the parish and diocese.

On-line Primer training is now being conducted out of the VOTF office to familiarize interested members of VOTF with the contents of the Primer, and how it might be presented and discussed within individual affiliates. Please plan to take part in one of the Primer training sessions (contact roylances@voiceofthefaithful.org), and join us as we educate ourselves to use our God-given gifts for the good of the Church and move forward toward the vision of the Second Vatican Council.


Protecting Our Children Working Group
Submitted by Mary Lanigan

For full coverage of the first quarter of 2004 actions, go to Protecting Our Children on the VOTF Web site. The following report on the 3/27 training session supplements the web site report. This effort represents an enormous success in the VOTF Protecting our Children drive toward collaborative education in the implementation of safeguards for our children.

The seventeen participants in Talking About Touching training on March 27 shared definitions of "abuse"; focused on teaching safety rules about touching and practicing safety steps (including assertiveness training – saying "no," moving away, and telling a trusted "bigger person"); and addressing issues of blame and of secrets. We practiced together, using the excellent teaching materials and visuals of the TAT training kit. From beginning to end, Kathy Kelly, Senior Trainer in Massachusetts for the Children's Trust Fund (which also conducted training in TAT for the RCAB), engaged a committed and energetic group of participants in dialogue and in hands-on practice. Our experience with the grades 1-4 curriculum qualifies us to teach the program to children and to conduct information sessions with parents. We now know and accept our responsibilities as mandated reporters and, as was our stated purpose, are "enabled to assist within our parishes in guarding against child sexual abuse, removing abusers, and educating parents and children in the best methods of ensuring the safety of our children."


Affiliate News

"In essentials, unity; in doubtful matters, liberty; in all things, charity." Pope John XXIII, Ad Petri Cathedram and popularly attributed to St. Augustine

**** Nearing completion! Pending review by VOTF officers and other reviewers, the VOTF Education and Action Handbook is one step closer to VOTF affiliates. This document is for the use of our affiliates as an education and study guide for developing a renewed vision of the Church in the 21st century, based on the implementation of Vatican II. The Handbook is also a guide for actions and initiatives that VOTF might consider in the fulfillment of our mission and goals.

The VOTF Handbook consists of an Introduction and two parts. Part I is devoted to Education, Part II to Action. It is fully annotated and referenced and will bring all of us to places we might never have known.

Among the most beautiful references in the Handbook is item 12 in Part II under “What is a priest of integrity?” The same reference is used under “What is a bishop of integrity?” Item 12 reads as follows:

He maintains himself, his bishop, and the laity in full communion within the church (Canon 209). He is a peacemaker, a reconciler (Mt. 5:9), who does not exclude any Catholic from his person-to-person ministry, nor exclude them from church property. He “reconciles differences in such a way that no one need feel himself a stranger in the community of the faithful.”

Readers will find that the Handbook is more than a guide – it actually uplifts and restores a sense of direction to Catholics still reeling from the collapse of moral authority in the Church. Information about its distribution will be sent to all of our affiliates. Watch this space for further developments.

**** News from Mary Ann Keyes, Parish Voice chair:

It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that the Parish Voice office welcomes Randi Simons (rsimons@votf.org) to our national PV team. Randi is a member of VOTF and has been passionate about VOTF from the time of our conference.

In the letter she wrote after her interview she said: “I came away very impressed and excited about the work you are doing and your own attitudes and commitment towards it. Our discussion also gave me a strong sense of how an administrative assistant can be of help to you. I really wanted to stay and talk with everyone more and just roll up my sleeves and start working!”

We feel that the void left by Ann Potts departure many weeks ago has been filled by someone who brings not only needed skills, but a passion for VOTF. Randi is a quick learner and will be working with us about 20 hours a week. We do need administrative help and having someone who is willing to “roll up her sleeves” and is flexible and amenable to whatever needs to be taken care of, is going to be a tremendous asset to our efforts.

In the Parish Voice office, we often have to operate in a responsive mode while at the same time carrying on the daily work of developing materials, fielding calls and e-mails, setting up conference calls and providing minutes, etc. We have grown enormously in the past two years with over 200 affiliates and not enough hours in the day to tend to all the needs. Randi is looking forward to working with National PV and all of you.

VOTF EAST

VOTF Northern Virginia
Submitted by Jim Webster

VOTF members in northern Virginia’s Arlington diocese have held the first two monthly meetings to support survivors of clerical sexual abuse sponsored jointly with members of the Survivors Network of Abuse by Priests (SNAP). The number of survivors increased at the second meeting, telling VOTF coordinators that the session was quite helpful. The meeting was publicized by the diocesan newspaper and several parish bulletins.

VOTF has prepared and distributed copies of a brochure that invites survivors to attend the monthly meetings, held in a county library meeting room. The brochure also provides contact information for VOTF affiliates in northern Virginia and adjoining areas of Maryland and Washington, D.C.

In a project to increase financial accountability, our affiliate also has begun to survey parishes in the Diocese of Arlington to learn how many have created lay finance committees. Initial inquiries suggest that most parishes fall short of expectations but concrete data is needed to determine the fact. A questionnaire is being prepared. The group also questions the independence of the diocesan finance council – nearly all members are either priests or diocesan employees who answer to the bishop.

VOTF members were particularly active in an unsuccessful effort to persuade the Virginia General Assembly to enact legislation adding clergy to those required to report suspected sexual abuse to law enforcement authorities. The bill passed the state Senate but was defeated by a committee in the House of Delegates for the second year in a row. Its sponsor said she would reintroduce the bill next year despite continuing opposition from fundamentalist Protestants. Both Virginia Catholic dioceses supported the bill.

The diocesan Arlington Catholic Herald declined to publish a paid advertisement by VOTF that sought to express support for survivors, families, and others wounded by the scandal and emphasized VOTF’s hope to support priests who are living up to their priestly calling, a concrete expression of VOTF's Goal #2. The newspaper did not say why the ad was refused, only that it was rejected by someone “upstairs” in the chancery.

VOTF efforts to encourage our bishop (Bishop Loverde/Arlington diocese) to support survivors have had mixed success. Although the chancery released the statistical data that it provided to the John Jay survey, it has not released the names of priests credibly accused of abuse.

As of the end of March, Bishop Loverde had not answered or acknowledged letters that VOTF sent him in February and again in early March. The letters commended him for releasing statistical data but also asked that he release the names of clergy abusers in the diocese. “We urge you to take this next step as a sign of Gospel compassion for survivors, their family members, and all who have lost trust in our Church,” the letter said. “In the interests of full healing, we also recommend that you arrange with the Diocese of Richmond to release the same information on abuses that occurred within the boundaries of the Arlington Diocese between 1950 and 1974,” when the dioceses were divided. “Without this information, those still trapped in silence and shame in our Diocese will have little confidence to take advantage of the support services you have offered. Parents will continue to worry that these same abusers are residing or working in their neighborhoods without the customary public disclosure that enables them to take reasonable precautions. Where information is partial, people typically assume the worst.”

The group hopes to continue to seek a positive working relationship rather than adopt a confrontational approach through the news media.

VOTF Westford-Chelmsford, MA
Submitted by Lauren Franceschi

Survivor Support : Our Parish Voice donated $150.00 to help sponsor the "Bishop Accountability March" that took place in Boston in January. A number of our members also participated. The march was very well planned and led by the Coalition of Catholics and Survivors.

Marchers gathered in front of the Boston Cathedral as the names of all accused priests in the Archdiocese of Boston were read; the list seemed endless. Then the group marched silently thru the streets of Boston carrying large "Crosses of Shame" that bear the names of the Bishops who have participated in sexual abuse or the cover-ups, and posters with photos of young victims.

The group assembled again on the steps of the State House in Boston and eloquent speakers called on Governor Mitt Romney to insist that the Church release the names and whereabouts of the accused priests named in the Boston settlements so that the general public can protect themselves and their children against these dangerous perpetrators who have not been prosecuted by the law and have been allowed to live amongst the unsuspecting public of Massachusetts

Also, our PV is once again sponsoring the Support of Survivors Walk (SOS Walk) that raised over $5,000.00 last year that was donated to The Survivors Appeal. We hope this year to have more participation from VOTF members outside of the Merrimack Valley region of Massachusetts. This event has the potential to raise lots of money and public awareness as it grows each year in attendance and sponsorship. The event will take place at Merrimack College, No. Andover, in June. Exact date and details TBA.

VOTF St. Thomas More Parish Voice, Durham, NH
Submitted by Lorraine Graham

At Masses on the weekend of March 14th, members of St. Thomas More Parish Voice, Durham, NH collected signatures for the VOTF Petition Drive. There was an announcement in the bulletin and we also made an announcement at the end of each Mass.

On March 19th we mailed off to the VOTF office 145 signatures, which didn't include most of our membership who had signed on-line previously. (Signatures included our pastor and deacon.) Some parishioners took home copies of the petition to read at leisure. During Lent, our parish has a Soup Supper every Wednesday evening. When our Parish Voice group sponsored one, we were able to collect additional signatures.

Also during Lent our parish is showing one tape each week at a morning and evening session of the five tapes that make up the "Faithful Revolution" Vatican II series. This was lent to us by the Nashua, NH affiliate. Our pastor was very agreeable to our suggestion to share these tapes with the parish as a Lenten series and he leads the discussion period after the one-hour tape. This is an excellent series of tapes that have been very well received and we recommend them to other parish voices. There is a set of these tapes at our diocesan office for loan, so there isn't anything in them that would be objectionable to the "hierarchy.” They are a strictly enlightening, educational and fascinating review of Vatican II and its call to the future. We wish a blessed and holy Easter to all.

VOTF Winchester, MA
Submitted by Bob Morris

Three special evenings highlighted our regular Monday night meetings (one meeting was canceled due to a parish meeting on parish closings). On March 29, we were led in a beautiful and moving Lenten Prayer Service by Sister Kay Hannigan, P.B.V.M., Director of the Center for Religious Development in Cambridge, and by Sister Joan McCarthy, C.S.J., Spiritual Director of St. Stephen's Priory in Dover. Both Sisters addressed the importance of prayer and discernment in our daily lives. Their moving presentations were augmented by the extraordinary talents of Tish Blain, who led us in song, and closed the service with a powerful version of "Give Me Jesus." Very special thanks are due to Sister Marie Doyle, C.S.J., for coordinating this program.

On March 15, four Pastoral Associates – Mary Lou Burke of St. Eulalia's in Winchester; Linda DeCristoforo of Immaculate Conception in Revere; Marie LaBollita, S.C. of Our Lady Help of Christians in Newton; and Sister Mary O'Rourke of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Saugus – discussed the many responsibilities facing Pastoral Associates today, and the even greater responsibilities that they are likely to face in the future. Mary Lou Burke is due special thanks for organizing this program, as well as for her support of our group over the past two years.

On March 1, Francine Cardman, Associate Professor of Historical Theology and Church History at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, addressed our group. Professor Cardman showed us how views expressed in the earliest days of the Church (120 A.D.) still resonate with us today.

At our monthly working group meeting, we worked on two special events – our semi-annual pot-luck supper for priests (May 22), and our second coffeehouse fundraiser for survivors of abuse (June 4). We have great expectations for both events.

Finally, we have several special evenings planned in the weeks ahead:
April 12: Terry McKiernan of Bishopacountability.org
April 26: Sister Mary Johnson, SND, Associate Professor of Sociology and
Religious Studies, Emmanuel College, Boston
May 3: Margaret Guider, O.S.F., Associate Professor of Religion and Theology,
Weston Jesuit School of Theology, Cambridge
May 10 (2nd anniversary meeting of Winchester VOTF): Kathleen McChesney,
Ph.D., Executive Director of the Office of Child & Youth Protection of the U.S. Conference of Bishops, and Jim Post, President of VOTF.

VOTF Springfield/Northampton, MA
Submitted by Joan Smola

On the eve of the Installation of Bishop Timothy A McDonnell as Bishop of Springfield, MA, there are signs of hope. Voice of the Faithful moderator, Joan Smola will be attending the installation as an invited guest of the Diocese along with alternate moderator, MaryAnn Lord. Survivors have also been invited. Outside the church, the local VOTF affiliate and SNAP will hold silent vigil for victims/survivors. Our Diocesan Victims Advocate, Laura Reilly, has informed us that because of expected inclement weather, she is working on getting a tent set up for those participating in the vigil, as well as extending an invitation for them to go into the Diocesan Pastoral Center for cookies and coffee!

There are other positive signs that the diocese is open to working with Voice of the Faithful in a more proactive way than was previously experienced. Although Bishop McDonnell has declined an invitation to attend the next VOTF meeting on April 13 because of a previously scheduled Confirmation, he has informed VOTF that he wants to meet with them as soon as his schedule allows. Our Diocesan newspaper the Catholic Observer has accepted our ad, which welcomes the new Bishop, explains the mission and goals of VOTF, and refers readers to the Web Site urging them to sign the petition.

A "Fund for Healing and Hope" is being established by the diocese for use by victims of clergy sexual abuse who are in financial need. The fund will be administered at least partly by families of victims. Many people have been angered by a previously established fund that had collected nearly $100,000 from private donors to assist abusers who have been dismissed from ministry.

We hold out hope that in a diocese so seriously wounded by the abuse crisis, especially by the allegations of sexual abuse against its bishop and his sudden departure, that victims will be given priority and that VOTF and the laity will all be given a voice.

VOTF Seacoast, MA
Submitted by Jack Lutts (Quincy, MA) on Father Tom Doyle's Talk at St. Albert the Great on March 21, 2004.

The talk was jointly sponsored by the Mayflower and Norwood VOTF affiliates. There were about 350 in attendance.

His message: He started by indicating that the institutional Church is in deep trouble in its way of doing business. The root of the trouble is less in the rampant sexual abuse found among the clergy as it is in its clerical culture dedicated to the preservation of a power structure in the name of preserving the faith. The sexual abuse crisis has made this state of things painfully obvious. The good that can come from this shameful state of affairs is that it has shown the power of the laity. Left to the clergy, nothing would have been really done about the scandal. It would have continued to be covered up "for the good of the church." Instead, thanks to the publicity of the press and the persistence of lawyers for the victims, the whole shameful mess is being revealed and lay people are coming to realize that they must grow up in their personal spirituality and that the Spirit of God speaks through all of us and not just the hierarchy.

He indicated that these developments in the scandal caused a true crisis in his own Catholic life. He was very grateful for VOTF coming into existence. Here he saw real faith and hope and a group brave enough to think as Catholic adults. He declared our existence a threat to the preservation of clerical power. He declared that the clericalism of the Church's mode of government is a disease, born of a misguided belief in the superiority of the clerical state.

There is a collision course involved between monarchical clericalism and the realities of today. But the enemy of any reform lies in apathy and fear. We need to realize that we are not here to preserve the hierarchy. They are have failed us badly as leaders and have forgotten that they are here to serve the People of God, of which we are an important part. We are called to be followers of Christ and not a collar [i.e., a priest]. We should be striving to make the Church not an institution of rules but a loving home.

Fr. Doyle’s talk received a standing ovation and was followed by a brief question and answer period. VOTF Petitions [from the main webpage] were circulated throughout the audience.

VOTF CENTRAL

VOTF Chicago, Il
Submitted by Terrence O’Connor

On March 11th of last week, five Chicago members of Voice of the Faithful met with Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago. It was in one sense an historical event comprised of the original Parish Affiliates combined with VOTF business and community leaders from each corner of the Archdiocese. It was a meeting of dialogue on the issues of the crisis in our Church.

In a few weeks we plan to share the highlights of our meeting with a written report. This meeting was eight months in the planning and when it was over an hour and a half later, we all prayed together that with God’s help, we are able to heal the many victims of this tragedy.

On behalf of the five members of the Chicagoland-VOTF Dialogue group, we thank our members for the encouragement to proceed with a plan of consensus from across the Archdiocese. The letters and e-mails kept us focused and on track. We also thank all the priests of integrity and survivors who came forward and asked how they might help, and our friends in Arlington Heights, Chicago, Evanston, Inverness, Libertyville, Naperville, Oak Park, Palatine, Winnetka, and Zion who supported the plan as advisors and consultants. We are grateful also to Cardinal George for welcoming us as we shared our thoughts, concerns and recommendations in a very straight-forward manner. We will forward the report from our meeting, “The Dynamics in Chicago”, as soon as possible.

VOTF SOUTH

VOTF Louisville, KY
Submitted by Paula Radmacher

The Archdiocese of Louisville, the first diocese west of the Allegheny Mountains, stretches through central Kentucky from the banks of the Ohio to the Tennessee border, serving almost 200,000 Catholics in 12 regions. According to the data included in the John Jay Report, sex abuse in the Archdiocese involved an estimated 40 priests and 278 victims. Prior to 2002, the Archdiocese expended approximately $820,000 in settlements related to 30 priests and 215 victims. In 2003, the Archdiocese paid out $25.7 million to settle additional lawsuits. One more lawsuit is pending.

The Louisville affiliate of VOTF came together in early 2002, thanks to the hospitality of the priests of the Passionist Monastery in our town who offered us a place to gather (the “Barn”) when our diocesan priests were unsure what to do with us. Later, our Goal 2 team decided to attempt a series of dialogues with our “priests of integrity.” All priests of the diocese were invited on three separate occasions to join us at the Barn. Eventually, a total of 19 priests participated, with only one priest coming to the inaugural session. The dialogues were all successful, in that they were open and mutually respectful. Several priests commented on the fullness of their schedules, and how hard it is to add another meeting, even an important one like this. Others mentioned that it was even more difficult for clergy who live outside Louisville because of added travel time. They suggested that we pursue appearances at their monthly Regional Council meetings, so we did.

The Archdiocese is divided geographically into twelve Regions, five of which are based in rural communities. Each region has a Regional Council, composed of all the priests, deacons and lay Pastoral Administrators in that area. Their task is to plan for the needs of their specific region and to try to develop cooperation between parishes. In February, we sent letters to all the Regional representatives and alternates, asking to be invited to an upcoming meeting for dialogue. On March 22, four of us drove thirty or so miles to St. Brigid Church in Vine Grove (in Region 10) where we enjoyed a prepared lunch with eight priests and three Deacons before settling in for about an hour of dialogue. The discussion was honest, spirited and, again, mutually respectful – a good experience for all of us. We now have invitations to come to three other Regional meetings during April. Two more invitations are pending and likely to happen. If all of these invitations come to pass, we will have visited half of the regions in a matter of three to four months.

We are encouraged that the councils are opening their doors to us to come and tell our story of VOTF-Louisville, to share our anguish as friends and family of victims, our anger as the faithful who feel betrayed, and to let them know we want to be part of the restoration of our Church. We may not always see eye to eye with them, but at least we are talking.


Letters to the Editor

”The article in the ‘Guest Commentary’ by Joseph Harris, which appears on page five of the Winter 2004 newsletter, provides an example of dangerous inferences. Mr. Harris criticizes Peter Steinfels' comments regarding Catholics giving to their parishes and dioceses, stating that there is really no problem. I challenge his statement. I am only familiar with the Archdiocese of Atlanta, but I'll bet that the same procedures in effect here in Atlanta, are not uncommon. There is absolutely no problem with what our Catholics give to the Archdiocese (including the Archbishop's Annual Appeal) because the amount they are to give is determined by the Archbishop, and not by the giver. There is an assessment placed upon the local parish and there is NO voice of dissent considered. In the latest annual appeal, the Archdiocese reported that the number of families giving, or committing to give, was in the area of 20% throughout the diocese. Would any right-minded person not think that is a problem?

Nevertheless, the parishes were assessed an amount that had been previously determined by the Archbishop's staff and any shortfalls were taken from whatever other parish funds that were available. Our Archbishop stated in October of 2003 that ‘The Archdiocese doesn't have a problem with Catholic giving.’ What a joke - of course there's no problem when he has the power to assess whatever he deems appropriate or desires.” Mervyn and Mary Burns, Cumming, Ga.


“I found a similarity in the movie ‘The Passion of the Christ’ between how the Jewish High Priests who were so afraid of losing their power could not see Jesus as the Messiah but as a threat to their power. It reminded me of all the Bishops who were also afraid to lose their power and did not see the right thing to do with pedophile priests.” Vincent Curcuru, Simsbury, Ct.


[This letter got lost somewhere in the vineyard. It was written in response to the December “What Do You Think?” column, which asked readers what advice they might give bishops.] “Bearing in mind that serious and patient persuasion would be required to convince the Bishops to make changes in the way they exercise their leadership role, I would like to propose an idea that could make a significant difference in accountability without prejudice to episcopal authority.

There should exist some degree of ‘fraternal accountability’ among the Bishops to ensure that norms such as ‘The Essential Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies Dealing with Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests or Deacons’ are followed, but there is currently no real mechanism for that to take place.

The Bishops should establish a process of Mutual Visitation among the Dioceses of the US Conference. This Mutual Visitation would be analogous to accreditation in schools and hospitals: a group formed from peer communities comes into an organization and visits and talks with elements of the organization (in this case, laity, clergy, religious orders, etc). The visiting group then prepares a report. Since the Diocesan Bishop currently has absolute authority within the Diocese, no one comes into a Diocese and reports independently; all reports to Rome go through the Diocesan Bishop. This is clearly a situation in which needed change might be very difficult to achieve. In the case of Mutual Visitation, an independent visitation group formed by other Bishops would prepare a visitation report that would be sent to the Holy See.

One strength of this approach is that an accreditation visit triggers a valuable process of self-examination in the organization preparing for it. A process of Mutual Visitation could therefore be an effective mechanism for encouraging renewal where it is needed.” Margaret Roylance, VOTF Structural Change Working Group


Commentary
Language Matters

Catholics needn’t wade through more than a week’s news to find a pretty stark divide between various groups over the word “voice.” For example, the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, the advocacy arm of the church in this state, has initiated a campaign for Catholic voter registration – the idea is to get Catholics to use their Catholic voices at the polls. Yet one wonders, Where is the public policy forum push (heck, I’d settle for an invitation) for Catholic voices within the Church? In the same week, we learn that the USCCB Committee on the Laity has published a pretty rosy picture of those Catholic voices within the Church. A careful read of the statistics and a few obvious questions (e.g., who makes up these councils, are they advisory/consultative/deliberative, are participants appointed/elected and by whom) suggest both hope and caution toward the USCCB web site headline, “Opportunities for Lay Consultation Expanding.”

Next to terrorism, language may be the most insidious weapon on the planet. As with all reform efforts, context matters, too. Is understanding each other mutually desirable? For example, in the global arena, the question remains as to whether or not understanding the terrorists will bring about peaceful alternatives to their stateless war. That’s the goal for those who would wish for peace – it may not be what the terrorists have in mind.

For VOTF and most active Catholics, the current goal is a healthier, safer Church. For Church leadership, the goal appears to be survival – that may mean substantive lay involvement (a VOTF goal), or it may mean simply doing things differently, as articulated by Bishop Wuerl (see excerpt below). Are these compatible? Do we want the same things? If not, where can we come together? If so, what’s holding things up? How can we know and where do we start?

Certainly, one area of broad agreement among Catholics is the need for lay education. While most Catholics are unable to attend the myriad conferences and panel discussions held all over the US on issues of concern to all of us, there are several publications that not only report on the substance of these dialogues but direct readers to what is often a mini-course curriculum of continuing education. National Catholic Reporter, Commonwealmagazine, America magazine, Human Development are a few such resources that contribute mightily to this task. The Catholic News Service www.catholicnews.com , the USCCB web site www.usccb.org , www.bishopaccountability.org and the Vatican web site www.zenit.org are excellent on-line resources.

For readers beyond the East region, the Boston College Initiative “The Church in the 21st Century – From Crisis to Renewal” is a superb model for answering many questions Catholics have asked for decades. Many of these discussions are available in hard copy just for the asking. The C21 Resources is a publication that reprints articles and presentations on the current crisis in the Catholic Church and the path to renewal. C21 Resources, which produced its inaugural issue in April 2003 is available free of charge. Just go to www.bc.edu/church21 and sign up.

Books, too, and several are noted with excerpts below, are worth, minimally, a thorough scan.

It’s pretty clear that Catholics represent a broad spectrum of thinking on the future of our Church. It is also pretty clear that we cannot begin to talk to each other if we don’t have anything substantive to say. VOTF is committed to ongoing education to the end of empowered voices. Church leadership, too, will be empowered and enlightened by the educated discourse we bring to collaboration in the “governance and guidance” of the Church. Resolving differences and reconciling visions does not mean agreement on all issues – it means resolving differences and reconciling visions. In other words, it means we are working together.

After his recent North America speaking tour, National Catholic Reporter Rome correspondent John Allen said that he found, “…a dynamic, passionate network of Catholics on this continent awaiting inspired leadership. Imagine what might happen if they got it.” Imagine, indeed.


Reading Options:

Excerpt from Keep the Faith, Change the Church by VOTF founding president James E. Muller and Charles Kenney

“The effectiveness of the path toward clearly defined dogma and centralized rule initiated by Constantine…is undeniable – the Catholic Church has brought the message of Christ to billions of individuals for almost two thousand years. Indeed, autocratic structures can accomplish certain missions, but they are also prone to abuses of power, and they do not provide the church with a mechanism to accomplish orderly change in response to developments in the secular world that are best know by the laity.”


Excerpt from Governance, Accountability and the Future of the Catholic Church, edited by Francis Oakley and Bruce Russett. [Conference papers presented in March 2003 at the St. Thomas More Catholic Chapel and Center at Yale University]

Bishop Donald Wuerl: “Reflections on Governance and Accountability in the Church”

“By sharing more information with the faithful entrusted to our spiritual care, we complement what is assumed by what is now verifiable. Is this not a definition of accountability?” Peter Steinfels in his paper “Necessary But Not Sufficient” questions Bishop Wuerl’s seeming equating of openness and accountability. Steinfels: “I am not sure that the answer to his question is yes. In this description, openness, transparency, and information serve as an alternative to the vision of accountability…. Now openness seems to be a necessary but not sufficient definition of accountability. Openness and information do not, for example, of themselves provide verifiability.”


Excerpt from Vows of Silence by Jason Berry and Gerald Renner

“As John Paul leaves the stage, the extraordinary achievements that ensure his role as one of the greatest popes must be weighted against the human suffering wrought by internal corruption on his watch…. His tragic naivete left him unable to look inside the Roman Curia, the bishops, and the culture of the priesthood with the intelligence he brought to bear in diplomacy.”

And…

Jim Post found The Clergy and the Sexual Abuse Crisis: Reform and Renewal in the Catholic Community by Paul R. Dokecki, a worthwhile read. Jim wrote, “The author is a faculty member at Vanderbilt where he teaches in the Department of Human and Organizational Development and the doctoral program in Community Research and Action. He uses three lenses to examine the sexual abuse crisis: professional ethics, human science, and ecological. The treatment is clear, focused, and readable.

Dokecki tells the story from the view of Nashville, where one notorious local priest triggered a wave of legal and community action, including the creation of Nashville VOTF. He relates the Nashville story to the story taking shape in Boston. There is an extensive discussion of VOTF, including Nashville VOTF, which is very valuable. Readers outside of Boston will also benefit because Dokecki’s story shows how local communities everywhere can organize, focus their efforts, and promote meaningful change.”


EVENTS, ETC.

Reports From the Far Fields

****VOTF West Coast conference

VOTF president Jim Post Reports: CALIFORNIA VOTF ROCKS On Saturday March 27th, more than 500 people joined together for a day of serious thought and discussion about the state of the Catholic Church. Northern California VOTF joined with the University of San Francisco's Leo J. McCarthy Center for Public Service to co-sponsor the conference, entitled "Imaging the Future Church." The program featured leading Catholic scholars and speakers Dr. Shawn Copeland, Dr. Mary Ann Hinsdale, Fr. Donald Cozzens, Dr. Leonard Swidler, Dr. Sally Vance-Trembath and VOTF president Jim Post.

On Sunday March 28th, 100 VOTF leaders from throughout the Western region met to talk in workshops dealing with media relations, strategies to build affiliates, developing the "prayerful voice," and leveraging structural change initiatives. The day-long meeting concluded with Mass. Among the travelers were regional representatives from Arizona, Southern California, Northern California, Oregon, Western Washington, and beyond.

Interestingly, the day before the conference, the San Francisco Chronicle published a story revealing Oakland Bishop Alan Vigneron's attempt to subvert the conference by directing the diocesan paper Catholic Voice not to accept a VOTF advertisement of the conference. A number of people said they attended the conference to protest the bishop's action.

**** Cathy and Bill Fallon report - Imaging the Future Church

Leaving behind an interminably grey and cold Boston after the seemingly longest winter in memory and arriving in San Francisco for the first VOTF Western States Conference, a weekend seminar, held in balmy 75 degree sunny weather, was like arriving on another planet. The conference was held at the University of San Francisco, an urban oasis atop Lone Mountain with a view of the Bay and Golden Gate Bridge and a stunning St. Ignatius Church a couple of blocks away; palm trees, calla lilies, flowering bushes and wildflowers were everywhere.

We arrived to warm greetings from well-organized volunteers, and the surprise of meeting folks whose names we recognized from their email addresses and commentary, and the anticipation of learning and sharing our faith experiences during this time of what Rosemary Houghton has called a process of “formation, conversion and transformation.”

University of San Francisco President Father Stephen Privett, S.J. brought greetings to the group and recalled the late Cardinal Bernardin’s plea for collaborative leadership, when he asked the hard questions about whether the Catholic Church could enter this new century as a church of promise, a church of honesty and imagination. Privett called, as Bernardin had before his death, for American Catholics to reconstitute the Church centered on Jesus, using tools of civility, dialogue, and consultation, seeking common ground, and rooted in justice to find healing and hope. These were wonderful, powerful words to introduce the conference topic, “Imaging the Future Church.”

The faculty for the Conference included theologian M. Shawn Copeland of Boston College; Fr. Donald Cozzens of John Carroll University; theologian Mary Ann Hinsdale, IHM of Boston College; Robert Blair Kaiser, author and Vatican correspondent for Newsweek; Jim Post, president of the Voice of the Faithful; Leonard Swidler of Temple University in Philadelphia; and Sally Vance-Trembath, from the University of San Francisco theology faculty. Co-sponsors of the event included the USF St. Ignatius Institute, the Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good, and Department of Theology and Religious Studies, and the Northern California Voice of the Faithful. Proceedings of the conference were taped. [watch VOTF web site for ordering information.]

We learned that there are thirteen Parish Voice Affiliates in various stages of formation in Northern California alone. Participants came from the states of Washington and Oregon, from Los Angeles and San Diego, as well as from Tucson and Sedona, Arizona. Jim Post’s brother has recently become a parish voice coordinator in Seattle! And we had lunch with a lovely Korean Sacred Heart sister who knows Mary Jane Sullivan at Our Lady Help of Christians back in Newton, Massachusetts. It is indeed a small world.

We regret to mention that as at the Fordham Conference in October, the bishops of San Francisco (William Lavada) and Oakland (Allen Vigneron) ordered their diocesan newspapers to refuse paid advertisements promoting the event and to boycott the conference itself. Could it be that cerebral dialogue with Catholic laity brings on episcopal headaches?

The Sunday session began with a musical prayer offered by the Santa Clara affiliate, keynote remarks by Jim Post and a thematic conference summation by Sally Vance-Trembath. Mary Ann Keyes conducted a break-out session on Sunday on how to start a Parish Voice Affiliate and had asked us to help her facilitate the meeting. Probably sixty or more people rushed into the room, and were given packets of material. We began the meeting, as we always do, with a prayer, and then asked for people to tell us their names and where they were from.

Then the questions came tumbling out. “How can so few people do so much? How can we attract others?” “How do we overcome a reluctant pastor’s uncertainty about us?” And from other participants came important insights and answers.

“Find and meet the pastor’s needs in order to build his trust. We ran an estate planning session for our parish in hopes of meeting financial needs in the future. Now he’s willing to have us meet in the church.”

“Don’t worry about money and stipends…many young theologians, especially at colleges and universities, are eager to speak to groups for just their expenses.” “You don’t need to bring in experts. Bring in some high school or college students to tell what their faith means to them. Faith-sharing among one-another is a good way to begin, a good way to get to know one another.”

“Bring in a survivor who is willing to share his or her story.” “Collaborate with two or three other new affiliates and agree to cooperate and work together. E-mail makes it easy.”

“Get people together who are interested in doing work with victims and survivors, with priests, or who want to study Vatican II documents. People will come out if there is meaningful work to be done and interesting people to do it with.” “Consider having sessions on some of the new books that have come out. Learn how Voice got started by reading founder Dr. Jim Muller’s new book Keep the Faith, Change the Church: The Struggle of the Catholic Laity for the Soul of the Church.

The time sped by and new affiliate leaders seemed infused with renewed energy. It was good to be together and thrilling to see for ourselves that the movement of the Spirit that started in our backyard in January 2002 has spread 3000 miles and is still expanding.

****Rome Report:

While visiting my daughter who is studying in Rome for a semester, I had the opportunity to meet with the Deputy Chief of Mission Brent Hardt in the office of the American ambassador to Vatican City and, later, John Allen, Rome correspondent for National Catholic Reporter and a Vatican analyst for CNN Rome (John's new book All The Pope's Men will be out in June). I also spoke with but was unable to meet Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, the Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Science, Vatican City. In all, I would say we have willing ears in Rome.

John Allen spoke about the need for ecclesiastic language when communicating with Church leadership. It is the language of family working things out together. Earlier the same day, Brent Hardt, the DCM at the American embassy to Vatican City advised that VOTF be in touch with particular bishops as they begin their ad liminas.That’s ecclesiastic language for meeting with the pope. Just before leaving Rome, my brief conversation with Bishop Sanchez Sorondo told me what many Catholics might not know – we don’t talk enough. These few conversations were simply introductory but I found all three contacts forthcoming, interested in VOTF and willing to be helpful. My suspicion is that more factual knowledge about our Church will find not only VOTF but global Catholicism in happier relationships among our dissonant selves as well as between the various ministries of our faith.

Wondering in Rome
These conversations were very much of the day and alive with future promise and possibilities. Yet couple such input with what one sees in Rome, and the effect isn’t quite so clear – on the one hand the remains of a thousands-year old culture scattered about the city in protected decay and on the other hand, the same-age institution standing in prosperous, opulent relief against a backdrop of what was – the effect on this tourist was almost amusing: The Eternal City is both everlasting and long dead, both impervious and vulnerable.

There is glory, past and present, all over Rome – it is the glory of man’s glorification of God. The Vatican is a massive testament to this glory but it is evident as well in countless churches, whose walls, apses and floors leave not one square inch unused in this march toward praise of God, of Jesus, of Mary and the saints. This glory is one-way – us to Him. There is little or no sense, other than the stunning artistic skill behind these memorable works of art, that He is speaking back to us – the sensory overload of so much artistic and material wealth, ironically, blocks the connection. I felt like Alice in free-fall.

I wondered where one might find Presence, silence, meaning at the seat of this ancient religion – that sense of mystery and depth in the holy dark I remember from my parish church before it was renovated.

Perhaps like many Catholics arrested by shock over the past few years, I went to Rome expecting something to be waiting for me, something profound and faith-strengthening. On the way home, I determined that the seat of Christianity, too, is on a journey – it can dispense no more than it takes in. We are the Church – we who look for answers and we who think we already have them. Our journey is made fluid by a great dialectic.

Reading the VOTF Handbook and the Primer on Church Structures, knowing what so many affiliates are doing all over the world and reflecting on the early Church, I concluded that what’s needed is a good dose of Resurrection. In an obvious way, perhaps, this cacophonous city affirms the place of aseity in the Christian consciousness. “Aseitas” – Presence is and vice versa. That’s the very heart of the “good news.”

[If you’ve been to Rome, I hope you’ll write to leaderpub@votf.org and share your own impressions.] PLT

****How’s Your Ad Limina? From on-line Catholic News Service, Catholic Information Network and the Vatican web site:

Every five years, each bishop throughout the world goes to the Vatican for a visit Ad Limina Apostolorum, literally "to the threshold of the apostles," a reference to the pilgrimage to the tombs of Sts. Peter and Paul that the bishops are required to make. Together, the bishops go in a spirit of prayer to give the Holy Father an account of their dioceses and to consult with him and the Roman Congregations regarding a multitude of pastoral issues.

U.S. bishops began their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican in late March. Conducted by regional groupings over the next 10 months, the visits will represent the most exhaustive review of church life in the United States since the sex abuse crisis erupted into a national scandal two years ago. Diocese by diocese, the meetings will take the pulse of sacramental life, vocational trends, liturgical developments, religious education and a host of other areas.

Recently, the Pope received six US bishops in separate audiences: Archbishop John Donoghue, of Atlanta, Georgia; Bishop Robert Baker, of Charleston, South Carolina, with Bishop Emeritus David Thompson; Bishop Peter Jugis, of Charlotte, North Carolina, with Bishop Emeritus William Curlin; and Bishop Francis Gossman, of Raleigh, North Carolina.

In late May of 2004, Bishop Morlino from Madison, Wisconsin and other bishops from Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana, will make their ad limina visit. To follow this and related stories, visit www.catholicnews.com, www.cathnews.com, and/or www.cin.org.

****Boston VOTF meets with Mayor Menino – VOTF Communications Manager Suzanne Morse reporting

On March 18th, representatives from both Voice of the Faithful-National and Voice of the Faithful-Boston met with Mayor Tom Menino (D-Boston) to discuss the issues surrounding parish closings in the Archdiocese of Boston. Attendees included Steve Krueger, Suzanne Morse, John Hynes, and Peggy Sullivan.

The meeting with Mayor Menino was an extremely cordial and productive exchange of ideas regarding the parish closing process, the impact of the closures on the surrounding communities, and the future of the archdiocese. Mayor Menino is concerned that the process put in place by the Archdiocese does not address the needs of the neighborhoods. He also expressed misgivings about the impact of the closures on social services and education inside the city of Boston.

Mayor Menino agreed to have individuals from the Boston Redevelopment Authority attend the first Council meeting of VOTF- Boston in April to assist in their efforts to address the parish closings. We anticipate building a productive relationship with the mayor and with other city officials who wish to work cooperatively in handling the difficulties that the parish closings will bring to the future of the Catholic Church in the city of Boston.

Be sure to check the VOTF website for ongoing regional and national developments at www.votf.org


EAST

****The next meeting of the Council will be held on Thursday evening, April 22, at St. Pius X Church, Lynn, MA. 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, author David Gibson, at 9:30 a.m., followed by the Council meeting at 10:30 a.m. Watch the VOTF web site for additional details – www.votf.org

**** Members of our affiliate (such as Suzy Nauman and Marge Bean), with the assistance of the indefatigable Mike Gustin, are busy planning a conference at St. Eulalia's in Winchester on Saturday, June 12. The conference is designed for the most active members and leaders of the RCAB affiliates (though anyone is welcome to come). We hope to address the whole range of issues that affiliates face, such as how to achieve VOTF's three goals, maintaining morale, moving from talking to action, and other issues. David Gibson, author of The Coming Catholic Church, will speak, but the focus of the day is likely to be on break-out sessions centered on topics such as those listed above.

This event was originally planned for April 3, but had to be moved due to the leadership conference at Boston College on that day. We are looking for people who might be interested in facilitating break-out sessions on 6/12, or in preparing summaries of the discussions for distribution to attendees. If you're interested in helping, just let me know.

More information will be forthcoming in later weeks. Many have completed the brief survey (set forth below), which we are using to help plan the event.

[In the Vineyard shares the questionnaire as an idea others might want to try.]

Questionnaire for VOTF Affiliates in Archdiocese of Boston in preparation for June 12 Meeting: 1. What is your affiliate’s name? 2. Where does your affiliate meet? 3. How often does your affiliate meet? 4. What is the typical attendance at your affiliate's meetings? 5. How has your affiliate tried to fulfill VOTF’s 3 goals? 6. What are the most significant problems your affiliate faces? 7. Please feel free to add any other comments

(Name, Phone and e-mail requested). Bob Morris, Winchester, MA Area VOTF

****The National Catholic Educators Association is having its conference at the Hynes Convention center next month (Apr. 13 – 16). VOTF will have a booth at this conference. For more information go to http://www.ncea.org/annual/convention/exhibitorsinfo/04exhprpscts.pdf

****DON'T FORGET!! April 16-17 - A conference with global implications, "Envisioning the Church Women Want: A Conference on Women in the Church," will be held at Boston College, visit www.bc.edu/church21, or call 617-552-3489.

**** Monday, April 12 6-9 pm, the first meeting of the new Boston VOTF Council (known as the Boston Voice) will meet at St. John Chrysostom Parish Hall, W. Roxbury, MA.

**** Monday, April 26 - Rev. Thomas Doyle, O.P. to speak at St. Pius X Church, 492 Ocean Ave, Portland ME, 7 pm. Fr. Doyle is a noted canon lawyer and advocate for sexual abuse victims. A military chaplain and widely-respected canon lawyer, he also served as secretary-canonist at the Vatican Embassy in Washington, DC. He is the author of seven books on canon law and is a prolific contributor to professional journals and the Catholic press.

****SAVE THE DATE Mo Donovan of VOTF Seacoast, MA notes: “At the invitation of Seacoast, Jim Post will be speaking at Holy Family Parish, Amesbury, MA on Thursday evening, May 13, 2004. Details to follow.”

****The Paulist Center VOTF, Boston, MA is hosting a video presentation and discussion on Vatican II: "The Faithful Revolution" at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays April 27, May 11, May 25, and June 15. For those of you with access to the PCC_VOTF Web page (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PCC_VOTF/), the meetings are listed in the CALENDAR section of the page.