In the Vineyard
April 2005

“More and more today, we’re seeing a do-it-yourself church. No longer can we simply ask or tell the pastor or the bishop to do it. If we want it to happen, we’re going to have to make it happen ourselves.” Thomas Reese, S.J., editor of America magazine in a concluding remark for the “Report of the Church in America – Leadership Roundtable 2004”

The world looked small and vulnerable last week. As tens of thousands stood vigil in St. Peter’s Square in witness to Pope John Paul II’s last moments, media viewers were struck by the broad swathe of the crowd – Christian and non-Christian, all ages and all corners of the globe represented, even the self-described “faithless.” Huddled either with eyes uplifted or heads bowed, silent and focused, this disparate throng covered the square like a blanket, numbed in the arresting grip of history and mortality.

On the other hand, our Christian faith loomed large, enduring, and vibrant. The Pope’s death found the words written and spoken in prayer around the world rising like incense capturing this circadian drama in ancient Christian eloquence. Our faith’s abiding message of resurrection colored everything.

While this paradoxical pontificate will be long considered in the light of what Pope John Paul II was and what he wasn’t, we recall Robert Burns words, “A man’s a man for a’ that.” We will remember this Pope’s bold strokes in his time and we continue to pray for guidance as we add our own strokes to our own time.

Catholics face an uncertain future, sure only that change is afoot. We share a fresh hope that a new paradigm for dialogue in our Church will emerge and that new leadership will indeed be new, in substantive ways. We are heartened by the words of Cardinal Claudio Hummes of Sao Paolo, Brazil: "The church, inserted and active in human society and in history, does not exist in order to exercise political power or to govern the society," he said, but to "organize and promote the common good…. The church must constantly promote dialogue."

We hope to do precisely that – promote the common good – at our July 8-10 VOTF convocation in Indianapolis. Many roads seem to be leading to this VOTF meeting on accountability now: The ongoing VOTF Survey documents a membership seriously invested in the future of our Church – over 4000 responses already; the so-called Roundtable discussion (“Report of the Church in America”) among lay Catholic leaders and bishops in 2004 has produced a non-profit organization aimed at repairing management and financial issues plaguing the Church. Our regional coordinator in Indiana found the report well worth reading for obvious, and not so obvious reasons – see Commentary for Mary Heins’ remarks; Kris Ward is bringing VOTF to Rome while Jim Post participates in an on-line “Virtual Conclave”; and Joe O’Callaghan (CT) is urging a return to “the ancient Christian tradition of counsel and consent of the community.”

It seems that all sides are talking these days and some are getting closer to each other. One day soon, might all “sides” dissolve around our common calling?

Peggie L. Thorp
pthorp.ed@votf.org

VOTF On the Road

VOTF Going to Rome: VOTF vice-president Kris Ward will be forwarding daily commentary during the Conclave to the VOTF web site. As Kris prepares to leave, she writes:

“Voice of the Faithful is going to Rome, not Kris Ward – to bear witness, to be vigilant, and because this time in our Church demands it. Our physical presence in and around St. Peter's Square, where our traditions run deep, marks us again as mainstream Catholics. VOTF members and supporters join the future of our Church at a crossroads of the world, as we saw during the funeral.

It occurred to me that going alone to Rome is the way we enter our Baptismal call, the way we come to VOTF – each of us makes a choice to come, to stay or to leave. While VOTF is sending one, the one proclaims all. I will keep you in my prayers and ask that you keep me in yours.”

We wish Kris every blessing as she brings our witness and our prayers to the Holy City. -------

VOTF president Jim Post will present the Response to Winnipeg, Ontario Archbishop James Weisgerber’s address at the annual Cardinal Bernardin lecture in Washington, DC. The title of this year’s lecture is “Bringing the Laity into Consultative Church Structures.” It will be interesting to see how close the discussion gets to bringing the laity into decision-making Church structures. The talk is sponsored by the National Pastoral Life Center. For more information on the Common Ground Initiative and the Center’s work, go to www.nplc.org.

Survivor Support Community News

The following are two easy ways to support Survivors of Sexual Abuse by Clergy, either as a group or individually.

1) Help provide scholarship money for a survivor to attend the SNAP National Conference in Chicago June 10-12. Winchester, MA VOTF provided scholarship money for a survivor to attend last year and he said it helped him to heal and also provided him with a sense of tremendous support.

The Conference this year is on “Healing, Growing Strong, and Protecting the Vulnerable.” Registration fees are $75 to $125, depending on when one is registered; this is inclusive of 4 meals and admission to all the workshops. Lodging is $119 a night, and of course travel expenses are additional. More information on the Conference can be found on www.SnapNetwork.org Checks can be written out to SNAP and sent to: SNAP, P.O. Box 300578, St. Louis. MO. 63130. SNAP is a nonprofit organization and has a 501 (c) 3 status. Contributors should identify where they are from and specify that the money is to go towards a scholarship for the conference.

2) Another way to support a survivor is to help fund a weekend or week-long visit to the Linkup Farm in Kentucky. The Farm is a “Place for Rest, Healing, Learning, and Renewal for Survivors of Clergy Sexual Abuse.”

More information is on their website: www.thelinkup.org Checks can be made out to the Linkup specifying that the money go towards a scholarship to visit the Farm. Donations can be sent to: Linkup, P.O. Box 429, Pewee Valley, Ky. 40056. The Linkup is also a nonprofit organization with 501 (c) 3 status.

SNAP Goes to Rome

Barbara Blaine (Survivor from Chicago and SNAP President) and Barbara Dorris (Survivor from St. Louis and SNAP Outreach Coordinator) are in Rome. Other SNAP representatives may join them this week.

“Cardinal Bernard F. Law, former archbishop of Boston, celebrated Mass in Rome's St. Mary Major Basilica, the church where John Paul appointed him archpriest. Law today will say the next daily Mass for the pope at St. Peter's Basilica. Leaders of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests said Saturday that they were flying to Rome to protest, arguing that Law's presence was painful to abuse victims and embarrassing to Catholics.” For the full story, click here.

For SNAP’s coverage of their time in Rome and to read the leaflet, in English and Italian, they are distributing while there, go to http://www.snapnetwork.org/ The leaflet addresses four questions: Who Are We?; Why Are We Here; What Do We Want; and What Can You Do to Help?

Priests’ Support News

The Ethical Rights of Priests

By James Keenan, S.J., Gasson Professor, Boston College

Parts 1 and 2 appeared in the February and March 2005 issues, respectively, of In the Vineyard. This is the final installment.

The Right of Association

The right of sharing in the ministry of the bishop leads to fostering right relations among the clergy. Therefore Canon 275.1 states that "since clerics all work for the same purpose, namely, the building up of the Body of Christ, they are to be united among themselves by a bond of brotherhood and prayer…." But these bonds are not to separate the priests from the laity. The Code adds immediately, “Clerics are to acknowledge and promote the mission that the laity, each for his or her part, exercises in the Church and in the world.” Thus, the associations among the clergy are intimately tied to promoting the laity's involvement as well.

Though an earlier canon (215), defined the right of all the Christian faithful to form associations, canon 278 establishes it as the first canonical right for priests: “Secular clerics have the right to associate with others to pursue purposes in keeping with the clerical state.” Noteworthy is that in developing the revised code, the commission rejected a proposal that placed associations of priests under the local ordinary. To do so would be to infringe on the exercise of the very right that was being promulgated.

The code derives its inspiration from the natural law and from earlier encyclicals. For instance, in Pacem in Terris (24), Pope John XXIII upheld the natural right to assemble and to form in their own way their own associations. Moreover, the pope argued against a "one-type-of-association" fits all. Rather, he wrote “It is most necessary that a wide variety of societies or intermediate bodies be established…."

From the natural law, our own experience, papal encyclicals, and the code itself, we recognize the ethical right of priests to form associations. In recent years, we have seen free-standing priests’ associations emerge. This ethical right validates these groups. Moreover, these organizations do not replace presbyteral councils but represent a few of what Pope John XXIII referred to as the “wide varieties” of gatherings necessary for human flourishment.

The Right to Exercise One’s Ministry

While there is an obligation to exercise one’s priestly ministry, there is also a right to exercise that ministry according to one’s judgment. Here we think of pastors, for instance, who must discern whether this particular couple is actually ready to get married in the Church. Or when pastors must discern the appropriate place or time for a child’s baptism. The question of the exercise of ministry has been raised in rectories throughout the land. Often it takes the shape of wondering aloud – If the chancery sends out a letter asking a topic to be addressed and a position to be advocated in the Sunday sermon, how specifically bound is the pastor to the chancery's initiative?

In the USCCB document on Sunday homilies “Fulfilled in Your Hearing,” bishops call pastors to listen to the Scriptures and to the Congregation and to respond to that listening. Is there something that happens existentially in that listening that prompts the pastor to hear the needs of the laity of his parish in some other way than what a statement from the chancery may convey? Could there be times when the laity believe that something beyond what the chancery has articulated needs to be recognized? And if the priest is also obliged “to foster peace and harmony based on justice,” as canon 287 states, could he not be prompted eventually to engage at least other perspectives that might witness to the particular congregation he serves?

This is not advocacy for rebel priests. Rather it recognizes both the context in which a priest exercises his ministry and the process by which he comes to articulate the sermon and other forms of ministry. Though by his faculties a priest exercises his ministry at the bishop’s pleasure, there seems to be another claim on the priest that comes not from the bishop directly but from the people whom the priest serves. Like other expressions of his ministry that he shares with the bishop and with the laity, a priest’s preaching calls for a conscientious integrity to witness to the Gospel as he sees it expressed in his midst.

The Right to Fair Treatment

To appreciate this right we need to see the zero tolerance policy as it appears (paragraphs 56-60) in the Report on the Crisis in the Catholic Church in the United States by the National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People. There, the ten lay authors endorse the policy because some bishops and religious superiors "badly underestimated" the situation. “To prevent any recurrence of such situations, the Charter and Essential Norms remove any further discretion on the part of bishops and religious superiors in this regard.”

Besides restraining the bishop's authority, the decision affects priests. The Report notes: “Accordingly, the zero-tolerance policy applies without regard to any assessment of the degree of culpability of an offending priest based upon such factors as (i) the nature of the sexual act (e.g., the improper touching of a fully clothed teenager versus the sodomization of a child), (ii) the frequency of abuse (e.g., an isolated event versus a protracted history), or (iii) efforts to address the problem (e.g., successful treatment of a problem that had led to an act of abuse years ago versus untreated problems that manifested themselves more recently.) The policy also applies with equal force to a priest who reports himself as having engaged in an act of abuse in an effort to obtain help with his problem.” Zero tolerance recognizes no relevant circumstance of any kind, nor any due proportionality, the very factors that make treatment "fair." If zero tolerance is not fair, then how can it be just?

The Review Board acknowledges that “the zero-tolerance policy may seem to be too blunt an instrument for universal application.” Nonetheless, they believe “that for the immediate future the zero-tolerance policy is essential to the restoration of the trust of the laity in the leadership of the Church, provided that it is appropriately applied." They offer no manner of determining when after the "immediate future," fairness may be restored.

Moreover while the Report acknowledges “that there is no equivalent policy of zero tolerance for bishops or provincials" who assigned these priests, they argue that bishops “must show that they are willing to accept responsibility and consequences for poor leadership.” But here again, they offer no concrete expressions of how that responsibility ought to be expressed. Fairness cuts two ways. If a zero tolerance policy is applied to priests, where is an analogous policy for the bishops? In sum, zero tolerance is unfair.

Conclusion

I propose these four rights–to participatory leadership, to freely associate, to exercise one's ministerial judgment, to be treated fairly–in the hope that these may further encourage the voice of the clergy. Throughout these recent years, the voice of the clergy, when it does occasionally, though not at all often enough, address either the harm and shame attached to the abuse of children or the rights of the laity and bishops, has done so most frequently in the place that they are called to be: the parish pulpit. I suggest that if priests begin to recognize the rights due them—especially at a time when many find themselves, as the Report states, demoralized—they might in turn be more vocal in recognizing the rights of others and in fostering the communio that the Church so desperately needs. Healing grace always accompanies restorative justice.

Voice of Renewal/Lay Education

Among the reading suggestions for those planning to attend the VOTF convocation in July is the New Testament’s Acts of the Apostles. The Voice of Renewal Working Group is offering an excellent guide for individual, as well as group, study.

A sample excerpt from the on-line discussion:

[For convenience, all references are to the online Bible.]

Suggested Approach: Read Chapter 1 in Acts of the Apostles, then read the commentary below. When you finish, perhaps read Chapter 1 again.

Chapter 1 in the Acts of the Apostles seems to our modern eyes and ears a straightforward narrative about how the apostles regrouped following Jesus' death and resurrection.

But Luke intends his careful construction to be much more. He is affirming the legitimacy of the apostles as witnesses and teachers, and linking them directly to Jesus. He is foreshadowing the Pentecost. He is naming the work the apostles will undertake, confirming the fulfillment of prophecies, and marking the continuity between Israel and the church. Not content with those tasks, Luke also reintroduces the apostles and establishes Peter's primacy.

Luke does all this with relatively simple prose that packs multiple meanings into almost every phrase. To illustrate his methods, our review of Chapter 1 cites connections and themes in each verse; for other chapters our commentary will focus more on general themes than on this verse-by-verse analysis.

As he begins Acts (1:1-2), Luke connects the Jesus of his third gospel directly to the apostles in a way that also reports on Jesus' ascension and identifies the Holy Spirit as the one through whom Jesus acts:

"In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen."

The next phrase (Acts 1:3) asserts that it is the risen Jesus who appeared to the apostles, proved his identity, and continued teaching them:

"He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God."

Interestingly, this reference to 40 days of teaching differs from Luke's own timeline in the third gospel, where he set the Ascension on the evening of Easter Sunday (Luke 24: 36-53). In keeping with his new purpose in Acts, Luke chooses a more-symbolic number, a number consistent with other Biblical periods of preparations, and gives sacredness to the emergence of the church after the ascension.

Verses 4 and 5 continue this carefully constructed linkage. Jesus tells the apostles not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for "the promise of the Father" -- that is, the Holy Spirit -- who will baptize them as John once baptized with water: a foreshadowing of the Pentecost that at the same time identifies Jesus as the fulfillment of John the Baptist's prophecy and John as the herald of the church.

Luke then uses verses 6 through 8 to cover the central question believers must have asked upon Jesus' death: What do we do now?

AFFILIATE NEWS

VOTF EAST

VOTF Greater Philadelphia, PA
Submitted by Walter Fox

A half-day conference on the financial management of Catholic parishes will be held from 9 am to 1 pm on Saturday, April 23, at Cabrini College in Radnor, Pa., under the sponsorship of Voice of the Faithful of Greater Philadelphia.

The conference, entitled Parish Finance Council Conference 2005, has been organized by the Financial Accountability Subcommittee of VOTF/GP and will include speakers, panels and small-group discussions on topics of interest to members of parish finance councils and others concerned with fiscal issues confronting Catholic churches.

The keynote speaker will be David Castaldi, chair of the Parish Reconfiguration Fund Oversight Committee for the Archdiocese of Boston. A former chancellor of the Boston archdiocese, Castaldi is a founder and chairman of the board of trustees of Voice of the Faithful.

Among topics scheduled for discussion are canon law and church teaching on finance, planning parish budgets, church bankruptcies and parish property ownership, and parish closures and consolidations. For further information or to enroll call 610-539-0469 or e-mail: PFCONF2005@CS.com. There is no charge.

VOTF Boston, MA
From the Boston Council Newsletter

Steering Committee report:

We have completed a governance proposal for the Boston Council. It will be presented to the membership at the April meeting.

Ed Wade, Steering Committee member, has assembled a group of VOTF members from each of the five regions of the Boston Archdiocese to review a proposal for structural change in the Church. Once approved by the Boston membership, Ed will collaborate with VOTF members from other dioceses who are also working on the document. They will submit a final proposal for consideration at the national VOTF conference in Indianapolis this summer.

Mike Gustin, Steering Committee Chairperson, met with Jim Burns, S.J., the Director of a Parish Transitions Research Project at Boston University. This series of research studies is exploring the effects of parish reorganization in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. The goal of the study is to increase understanding of the impact of the changes and, if possible, to make recommendations to other dioceses and denominations facing a similar process in the future.

They are inviting Boston Catholics to participate in a survey about their personal experiences, both positive and negative, during this transition. Click here to complete the survey online.

Affiliate Events:

"A TIME FOR HEALING" - St. Susanna's, Dedham. We invite you to a very special adult education series during Eastertide, the time of Resurrection, the time of spring and new life, new birth, and new hope. Dr. Don Pachuta will present a four-week course on Healing on Monday nights April 11, 18, 25 and May 2, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at St. Susanna, 262 Needham Street, Dedham. We know you will find this course most valuable.

We hope that you will commit to all four sessions. In case you need to miss one, there will be a review of the previous session from 6:30-7:00 pm, on April 18, 25, and May 2. We will be using a bound notebook. You may bring one or we will provide one for you. Please note: The first three sessions will be in parish hall, and the fourth on May 2 in the church.

DIRECTIONS to ST SUSANNA: From Route 128, take exit 18 and head toward West Roxbury. St Susanna is approximately 1 mile down on right. Park behind the church and enter the parish hall through the door between the church and rectory.

"EXPERIENCES OF A PASTORAL ASSISTANT" - Sister Theresa Carlow, SND, speaks at St. Albert the Great, Weymouth. The Weymouth Voice of the Faithful welcomes Sister Theresa Carlow, SND, to their Tuesday, April 12th VOTF meeting. Sr. Theresa will speak on her experience as a pastoral assistant in a lay-led parish in the Midwest. The meeting will start at 7:00 p.m. in the St. Albert the Great Parish Hall, 1130 Washington Street, Weymouth, MA.

"RECONFIGURATION AND FINANCES" - David Castaldi speaks at Our Lady of Sorrows, Sharon. The Voice of the Faithful of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, Sharon, MA, welcomes David Castaldi on Thursday, April 21, 2005, in the Parish Hall, 59 Cottage Street, Sharon, 7:30 p.m. David Castaldi, founding member of the Voice of the Faithful, will be speaking on the issues of reconfiguration and the financial issues surrounding the closing of 83 parishes.

DIRECTIONS to OUR LADY OF SORROWS, SHARON: From Rte. 128/95 South, take Exit 10 ("Coney Street, Sharon"). Turn left. Follow this road for approximately 2.5 miles into the center of Sharon (traffic light). Continue straight (Post Office Square becomes Billings St.) for about 3/10 of a mile. Turn right onto Cottage Street. The church is 2/10 of a mile on the left.

REMINDER: The next Boston Area VOTF Council meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 13, from 7:00-8:30 p.m. at Our Lady Help of Christians, 539 Washington Street, Newton. All are welcome!

VOTF Winchester Area, MA
www.voffwinchester.org
Submitted by Bob Morris

A highlight for our group in March was a discussion with Fr. Bruce Teague, a featured speaker at the New England VOTF Conference in Worcester, MA in November 2004, and currently a chaplain at Beth Israel Hospital. Fr. Teague touched on many issues, including the current effort to abolish the statute of limitations for sexual abuse of minors. Fr. Teague had met with Attorney General Riley on that issue on the day he spoke to us. Fr. Teague's calm manner and willingness to engage everyone, regardless of point of view, won over the 60 people in attendance.

In March our small-group faith-sharing sessions met again. This initiative, led by Bill Murphy of St. Malachy's in Burlington and a team of dedicated discussion leaders, allows us to prove that we are truly "a prayerful voice, attentive to the spirit." Many thanks are due to Bill for his leadership on this initiative.

Finally, our affiliate has begun discussing the action phase of the Many Hands, Many Hearts initiative of the Parish Voice office. We have devoted two meetings thus far to identifying an issue on which we can take action. We have been blessed that Suzy Nauman, a co-founder of our affiliate, has taken time from her Parish Voice duties to lead us in this effort.

VOTF SOUTH REGION

VOTF Palm Beach County, FL
Submitted by Ed Hill

After several months in planning, the Palm Beach County Affiliate conducted its first major program since its founding in April 2003. On Saturday, March 19, a Healing Program in recognition of, and compassion for, victims of sexual abuse by the clergy, was held from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm at the Lighthouse Center for the Arts facility in Tequesta, FL. Over 100 people attended. The program consisted of three distinguished speakers, including Dr. Eugene Kennedy, Fr. Donald Cozzens and Dr. Jon Connelly. Speakers were introduced by Kristine Ward, national VOTF Vice President and Peter Amann, President of the Palm Beach County affiliate. The theme of the program bears the same name as Fr.Cozzens’ recent book Faith That Dares To Speak, which includes a chapter on VOTF.

Dr. Kennedy opened the discussion with topics from his subject, “The World, the Flesh and the Catholic Church,” which touched on the origins of the current crisis in the Catholic Church, and where we might be headed unless significant changes, including dialogue, are initiated at the hierarchic level. Dr. Kennedy is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Loyola University, Chicago, and author of over 40 books on Psychology and religion, as well as novels, plays and biographies. Several of his works were offered for sale and signing during lunchtime.

Next was Fr. Donald Cozzens speaking on selected topics from his own recent work Faith That Dares to Speak. He currently teachers and is a Resident Writer at John Carroll University, Cleveland. Based upon his experience as vicar of clergy and religious, and as president of St. Mary Seminary, he was inspired to write his award winning book The Changing Face of the Priesthood, subsequently translated into six languages. Three of Fr. Cozzens’ books were also available for sale, including Sacred Silence. It is worthy of note that all of the program’s consigned books were sold out, an indication that the audience liked the messages of our speakers.

At the conclusion of the morning program, a complimentary lunch was enjoyed by all. The afternoon program began with a presentation by Dr. Jon Connelly, a Diplomate in Psychotherapy, specializing in sex therapy and hypnotherapy. He is a staff member at the Jupiter Medical Center and founder of the non-profit Institute for Survivors of Sexual Violence, which trains mental health professionals all over the United States. A most interesting part of Dr. Connelly’s program included a courageous presentation by a patient who recovered completely from her long battle with abuse-driven guilt, shame and loss of self worth through special techniques developed by Dr. Connelly.

The Healing Program concluded with a half-hour Prayer Service in a garden area near the Arts facility on one of the most gorgeous days in Florida in weeks. For that we must have surely been blessed from above! The Prayer Service was arranged and conducted by the Prayer Service committee members with Kristine Ward participating. Copies of the Prayer Service are available on request.

By all accounts, our Healing Program was a resounding success and will serve as a model of inspiration for our future VOTF affiliate programs. We are thankful and grateful to all for the hardworking and caring people who contributed to that success, including our local affiliate members and national VOTF support, especially Kristine Ward. Special thanks and appreciation are given to Dr. Kennedy and Fr. Cozzens for the important and powerful messages they brought to our Healing Program. PHOTO A: Fr. Donald Cozzens signing copies of his book Faith That Dares To Speak PHOTO B: Eugene Kennedy, Loyola University, Chicago

VOTF Louisville, KY
Submitted by Vince Grenough

On April 9th Kristine Ward, vice president of Voice of the Faithful, spoke passionately to an attentive crowd of young and old at Bellarmine University about “Accountability in the Catholic Church.” After her talk I drove Kris and Colleen Powell, a member of our local VOTF affiliate, out to the LinkUp Farm at Fox Hollow for a visit with Sue Archibald and other staff members.

As we drove past Bardstown Road on the Watterson Expressway Kris asked, ”Oh, isn't that the road that leads to the Abbey of Gethsemani? I've always wanted to go there.” After a brief discussion I agreed that I would be happy to drive her to Gethsemani the next day after she went to the 9:00 a.m. Sunday Mass at Community of the Epiphany with Margie Zoeller, a founding member of our local affiliate. When we arrived at Gethsemani shortly after noon, we went to the Guest office and introduced ourselves to Brother Stephen, identifying ourselves as Voice of the Faithful members. Immediately, Brother Stephen's face lit up. He thanked us enthusiastically for the good work that VOTF does for the Church and assured us of his support and prayers. What a wonderful way to be welcomed to the Abbey!!

I then asked him if we could possibly see Abbot Damien Thompson for a few minutes. (Last summer, Abbot Damien had attended one of the dialogues we have been having with our priests, and we have stayed in communication with one another since then.) Brother Stephen phoned Abbot Damien and told him about our request to meet with him. Within a minute he was in the Guest area greeting us like old friends and said, “Let's go sit somewhere.” He walked with us across the parking lot to three metal chairs under a big tree that was just beginning to sprout its new leaves. Our animated and wide-ranging conversation went on until the 5-minute bell for the Hour of None sounded. As we walked together toward the Chapel, Abbot Damien assured us again of his admiration for Voice of the Faithful and for other groups who are helping to bring about needed reforms in our Church. He wished Kris a safe journey to the Vatican where she will go to be present for the Conclave.

How nice it is to know that these monks support Voice of the Faithful and keep us in their prayers! Let us keep them in our prayers as well.

VOTF BEST Practice, March 2005
Louisville, KY – Vince Grenough

VOTF president Jim Post sent a congratulatory video to VOTF Louisville, KY on the occasion of their second anniversary celebration. The affiliate is finding itself so energized that they have kicked off a membership challenge in their area, but they are not stopping with Louisville. Read their message below and think about joining this bandwagon.

Dear Members of the Louisville area VOTF,

Yesterday I e-mailed the message below, with some personal adaptations, to a group of people who are on my e-mail address list. I sent them to all whose last names begin with "A" or "B". 20 people in all. They are people to whom I have been forwarding some of the e-mails I send to you, our members. I plan to send this e-mail to all the others on my list in the coming days inclusive of women religious, priests and Archbishop Kelly. Lately, a number of these people have (finally) started asking me more about VOTF so I decided that this might be the right "season" to do what I am doing.

I am challenging the VOTF National Office to set a goal of having ONE MILLION members by the end of 2006. This is doable! They say we have 30,000+ members now. If only half (15,000 members) recruited just one new member each month we would have at least 180,000 by the end of 2005. BUT if each new member recruits another member each month the total at the end of 2006 would TOP one million members quite easily. Then Voice would really be VOICE!! Here is what I sent out today:

I want to invite and encourage you to become a member of Voice of the Faithful. I have been a member for almost two years and I have come to believe that Voice is truly a work of the Holy Spirit. VOTF's Mission is "to provide a prayerful voice, attentive to the Spirit through which the faithful can actively participate in the governance and guidance of the Catholic Church." We have three goals: to support those who have been abused; to support priests of integrity; and to shape structural change within the Catholic Church.

All that is required to join is that you support and believe in Voice of the Faithful's mission and goals. There are no membership dues; no requirement to attend meetings (even though we would warmly welcome your active involvement.) Your name and personal information will be kept confidential.

Voice of the Faithful, as you probably know, began in Boston in early 2002 in response to the shocking revelations of widespread clergy sexual abuse of minors, and the cover-ups by our bishops. There are now about 40,000 members who live in all 50 States and in many other countries. Our members are active Catholics in all walks of life, including Sisters and priests.

One of the things I like about Voice of the Faithful is that we are a centrist organization, yet we are made up of "moderates," "conservatives," and "liberals." Most of our members have strong opinions, one way or the other, about a variety of issues but we stay focused on our three goals.

To learn more and/or to join go to the Voice of the Faithful web site. I will be happy to respond to any questions by e-mail or by phone (812) 282-6395. Feel free to pass this information on to anyone who is interested. Thanks for all you do, and let's keep one another in prayer.

A close second “Best Practice” is taking place at the Paulist Center, Boston, MA. Donna Doucette tells us that every week the Paulist Center allocates 5% of the Paulist Center collection to another charity. March 5/6 was aside for VOTF. At the end of the fiscal year the Center sends out all the donations at once, ensuring even distribution. (For example, a low attendance Sunday, such as the July 4 weekend, cannot compete “charitably” with Easter Sunday.)

Site-Seeing, Etc.

National Catholic Reporter coverage of our Church in transition is outstanding. The “John Paul II Special Commemorative Issue and Papal Succession Coverage” is a special offer to new subscribers. To subscribe, click here. The current issue of NCR has some interesting thoughts shared by a few cardinals with John Allen.

For a quick overview of the papal election process, click here. Also, John Allen’s book Conclave provides an excellent overview of this ancient process. (Allen is the Rome correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter and CNN’s Vatican analyst in Rome.) Also check this to find who (or what) the camerlengo is; and did you know that any baptized male, who is not a heretic, in schism or known for simony can be elected Pope?; another succinct site offers a complete list of the current list of cardinals who will be voting for the next Pope -

Lay people and survivor support organizations were not alone in protesting Cardinal Law’s striking visibility during the official period of mourning for Pope John Paul II. Read More.

A recent AP poll indicates that change is very much on the minds of Catholics. Click here.

VOTF president Jim Post will participate in a “Virtual Conclave” hosted by Beliefnet.com. The on-line publication has invited a broad spectrum of Catholic and non-Catholic leaders to carry on a conversation, as virtual cardinals, about the future of our Church. It appears that “virtual” has been re-defined just enough to include some female cardinals in the conversation stream – surely a historic first. To “listen in,” go here. How’s this for a list of participating “cardinals”?

• Harvey Cox - Thomas Professor of Divinity at Harvard University.
• William Donohue - president of the Catholic League, the United States' largest Catholic civil rights organization.
• Sr. Joan Chittister - Benedictine sister and Executive Director of Benetvision, a resource center for contemporary spirituality.
• James Post - president of Voice of the Faithful
• Helen Hull Hitchcock - founding director of Women for Faith & Family and editor of Voices.
• Fr. Thomas Reese - editor in chief of America, the national Catholic weekly magazine.
• Kathleen Kennedy Townsend - former lieutenant governor of Maryland
• John Esposito - University Professor and Founding Director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University.
• Fr. Juan Pablo Torrebiarte - a teacher at the seminary of Our Lady of the Way in Solola, Guatemala.
• Amy Welborn - author of De-Coding Da Vinci: The Facts Behind the Fiction of The Da Vinci Code
• Rabbi James Rudin - Senior Interreligious Advisor for the American Jewish Committee and past Chairman of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations.
• Roberto Rivera - a Fellow at the Wilberforce Forum at Prison Fellowship.
• Russell Shaw – former Secretary for Public Affairs of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and former Director of Information of the Knights of Columbus.
• David Kertzer - Paul Dupee, Jr. University Professor of Social Science at Brown University.
• Michelle Gonzalez - Assistant Professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University.
• Mary Louise Hartman - member of the board of directors of the Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church and its immediate past president.
• Parvez Ahmed - board member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and writes frequently about Muslim issues.
• Domenico Bettinelli Jr. - managing editor of Catholic World Report magazine and Catholic World News web site.
• William LaFleur - Buddhist scholar and E. Dale Saunders Professor in Japanese Studies and distinguished professor of religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
• Tom Bethell - Tom Bethell is a senior editor of The American Spectator and a Beliefnet columnist.
• Fr. Renato Lanfranchi - member of the Missionarios Combonianos and lives in Brazil.
• Brian McLaren - founding pastor of Cedar Ridge Community Church, a nondenominational church in Maryland. McLaren was recently named one of America's 25 most influential evangelicals by Time magazine.
• Rosemary Bray McNatt - Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt is a Unitarian Universalist minister in New York City.
• Judy Ress – involved with missionary projects in Latin America since 1970. Former managing editor of the weekly Latin America Press in Peru. Judy lives in Chile and heads a women's ministry working in the areas of theology and spirituality.
• Patrick Madrid - Patrick Madrid is the publisher of Envoy magazine, a Catholic journal of apologetics and evangelization.

Read the “Report on the Church in America,” the Leadership Roundtable 2004, Wharton School, Philadelphia, PA, July 2004, and let us know what you think at pthorp.ed@votf.org. Associated Press coverage is available here.

Closing lecture, conversation and reception for the IREPM program at Boston College, MA. “The Church and Human Sexuality: An Ecclesiological Perspective” on Thursday, April 28; 7:00pm; McGuinn 121. Free. Presenter: Richard P. McBrien

This presentation will review the sexual-abuse crisis within the broader context of the Catholic Church's teachings and practices regarding human sexuality. It will underscore the damage done to the Church's sacramental life and suggest ways in which the Church can promote healing, renewal and reform.

There will be a reception with Fr. McBrien immediately following the presentation. Rev. Richard P. McBrien, STD, is the Crowley-O'Brien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of numerous books including Catholicism.

June 15-17: Boston College program “Church in the 21st Century” to sponsor a conference on the “Roman Catholic Priesthood in the 21st Century.” See the program, speakers and registration information their web site. NOTE: Registration deadline is April 15.

“Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility” was approved by the USCCB Administrative Committee in September 2003. (A summary brochure is available here.) The document was among the topics of discussion at the Ninth Annual Cardinal Bernardin Conference on “Religion, Law, and Politics” in Arlington, VA, March 4-6 of this year. This conference is part of the Common Ground Initiative (see below). Papers presented at the conference are available here. Initiative Report is the quarterly newsletter produced by CGI – the current issue recaps the March conference.

Common Ground history: “Called to be Catholic: Church in a Time of Peril” was prepared by the National Pastoral Life Center in consultation with Catholic men and women serving the church and society in a variety of callings and sensitive to the diversity of Catholicism in the United States. This statement provides the basis for the Catholic Common Ground Project. The statement is available here.

VOTF NJ’s Maria Cleary has started a blog called "Catholic Conversations." Its purpose is to provide another option for dialogue. It's very open - you can post anonymously - and it's pretty free form. Click here. The NJ affiliate is not sponsoring this officially.

An excerpt from John Allen’s column “The Word from Rome,” commenting on his recent visit with the Long Island affiliate of VOTF.

“Moreover, these people are backing up their talk with their time and treasure. I learned Saturday that the woman who processed all the tickets for the conference at which I spoke, Ileen Weidig, did so from home while recovering from an appendectomy. Meanwhile the woman who organized the speakers, Pat Paone, also worked from home while suffering from a case of the shingles so severe it left her blind much of the time. Yet both soldiered on, unpaid, because both believe something important is at stake.

It's a matter of fair debate whether VOTF's platform of ‘keep the faith, change the church’ is ultimately adequate, given that some elements of ecclesiastical structure are based on faith convictions about Christ's will for the church. It's fair, too, to ask whether there's enough spiritual depth, enough sense of being part of a worldwide family of faith, in the VOTF project in at least some instances. At the same time, it's equally fair to observe that VOTF members across the country have repeatedly reached out to bishops in a spirit of collaboration and dialogue, and sometimes they've been spurned. Pope John Paul II said on Sept. 12, 2004, in an address to the bishops of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, that ‘participation, consultation and shared responsibility’ are an ‘intrinsic requirement of the exercise of episcopal authority.’ The experience of VOTF to date suggests the American church still has some ground to cover to implement that vision.

All that, however, can be talked out in dialogue with church authorities and other voices in the Catholic conversation. The important thing to note, it seems to me, is that the VOTF folk I met in Long Island came across as decent, faithful people trying to do something positive for the church.

Surely that's something upon which one can build.”

[Send comments to pthorp.ed@votf.org]

Boisi Roundtable report talks (Reese) p. 39 about a do-it-yourself Church. VOTF needs a do-it-yourself organization. P. 38 great quote on dialogue.

COMMENTARY

Mary Heins is VOTF regional coordinator in Indiana. Mary comments on her reading of the Roundtable report. The full text is available here.

The National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management produced a report “Church in America Leadership Roundtable,” after a meeting held at the Wharton School in July 2004. The 88-page report comes from a relatively new group of Catholics and was distributed to the U.S bishops. It draws on the expertise and experience of the participants and comments on financial and administrative solutions to the Catholic Church’s business problems. These are CEO and top executive people who are not only qualified to give such advice but also represent a wide range of backgrounds and experience – women and men, religious men and women, a former governor, the head of a major banking firm, college professors, et al. Because of their high profiles, expertise in business practices, vast experience, and perhaps their power to withhold or influence donations to the church, this group may get the ear of the hierarchs.

At first glance, I was happy to see people with clout (money) addressing the problem. Perhaps, I thought, the bishops will listen to them. Later, I realized, however, that this is the whole problem – the bishops willing to listen to influential people, the privileged, those with money and prestige. But, they are not willing to listen to the voice of the common folks.

In addition, some in the church believe that “if the feet of the current administrators of the Church can be held to the fire and be forced to comply with what the Roundtable is recommending, the third goal of VOTF will be just about accomplished.”

Not at all, in my mind. This is not what VOTF’s third goal is about. Our third goal, “to shape structural change within the Church,” is not a primarily a financial goal. Its purpose is, rather, to help establish a right relationship between the laity of the church and the clerics, and the bishops, in particular.

We in VOTF are struggling against an old, long-established paradigm of Church governance in which clerics were the rulers and laity were the sheep. This was the model espoused by Pope Pius X . And, unfortunately, the Vatican has recently buttressed that vision by saying that the lines between the ordained and non-ordained “must not become blurred.”

If the Roundtable is successful in gaining the ear of the bishops, but the bishops don’t recognize the common person’s right to be heard, we will still be ruled by the privileged. The time has come for the hierarchs to admit, as Scott Appleby told them in Dallas in 2002, that the future of the Catholic Church in the U.S. depends on the laity.

Reflection For Our Time
Steve Sheehan – Survivor Support advocate

The passing of Pope John Paul II marks the end of a significant era in both world and church history. In the 24 years of his pontificate we have seen the demise of communism in the western world and the breakup of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Important breakthroughs have been made in the area of ecumenism. Healing has taken place, or at least been initiated between our church and the Jews, Eastern Catholics, Muslims and other non-Christian religions.

On the other hand, John Paul II, while speaking frequently on the need for greater dialogue and openness has drawn a severe conservative line in matters pertaining to the role of women in the church, sexual mores, and Episcopal collegiality. While remonstrating against the great evil of child sexual abuse among the clergy, he simultaneously stopped at holding the bishops accountable and removing or replacing them for their culpability in maintaining silence and covering up the heinous actions of the clergy under their jurisdiction.

The legacy of his papacy will be long remembered for the paradoxes it presents.

We are saddened at the loss of this vibrant and vigorous man who faced his pontificacy daily with the full force of his personality and was constant and unswerving in his efforts to preach and practice what he believed. We wish he had done more in apologizing to the survivors of clerical abuse.

Now we wait as this conclave is assembled to elect his successor. Among the prelates named as the most likely successors to the throne of Peter we see a wide spectrum of personal ideologies with no identifiable most likely candidate in the forefront.

Historically, the process is predictably unpredictable. The Spirit moves in strange ways and we can only trust that the Spirit will guide the cardinals in their deliberations to the end that their choice will be the best choice to face the problems of our times and the most capable to accomplish the mission of the church in the 21st century. This is the test of our faith – that God is in God’s heaven, watching over and guiding God’s church and keeping us from wandering into error. Not all of our prayers will be answered at one time. But inexorably the church will move forward to prepare the world for the kingdom of Christ as we have been promised and as we hold to be true.

Patience ranks quite high among the least desirable of my personality traits, but patient I must be as God is patient with me.

I try to remind myself frequently that what I must do is pray as though everything depends upon God, and act as though everything depends upon me.

This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad.

Prayer

Written by Jack Rakosky. This prayer service is an adaptation for the Pentecost of the Seventh Reading from the author’s A Service of Nine Lessons for Childermas.. See the January Vineyard for an overview.

PENTECOST PRAYER FOR THE GIFT OF SPIRITUAL FREEDOM

by Jack Rakosky

READING FROM THE GOSPEL OF MARK (9: 15-29)
Jesus saves a boy robbed of speech by a demon.
His disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"
He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer."

A CANTICLE FOR SPIRITUAL FREEDOM
A paraphrase of Romans 8:14-22

Response: May we all grow into the glorious freedom of the children of God

All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. Response

For you should not have an inner self that is enslaved to fear. Response

You received the Spirit of God’s children. By the Spirit we cry, "Abba, Father." Response

The Spirit speaks in the depths of our being asserting that we are God's children. Response

As children, we share the blessings God gives to Christ, our promised heritage. Response

We also share in Christ’s sufferings so that we may be glorified with Christ. Response

The struggles of today are nothing compared to the light that will be unveiled in us. Response

Creation eagerly waits for the moment when God will reveal who his children really are. Response

Everything longs for the day when all will join God's children free from death and decay. Response

Indeed all creation groans with us as in the pains of childbirth even now. Response

CANTICLE PRAYER FOR THE SPIRITUAL FREEDOM TO CRY OUT

Response: Abba! We cry out with the freedom of the Spirit

Let us not be slaves of fear! Against all the suffering of children. Response

Against all the sweatshops of the world, and slavery of children. Response

Against all prostitution and sexual exploitation of children. Response

Against all starvation and malnutrition of children. Response

Against all inadequate and polluted water being used by children. Response

Against the sexual and physical abuse of children by their parents and relatives. Response

Against the sexual abuse of children by clergy, teachers, and other professionals. Response

Against war and violence that kills, maims, and scars children. Response

Against drugs that seduce and imprison children. Response

Against the use of children as soldiers. Response

Let us not be slaves of fear! Against all suffering and injustice to children. Response