Reports From the Field

Cathy Fallon submits the following notes from a talk by Dick Ryan delivered at St. Eulalia's parish, Winchester, Mass. on July 19. Dick Ryan is a columnist for Newsday on Long Island in New York.

VOTF is becoming the conscience of the Catholic Church and is engaged in a search for the truth alongside a respect for the human dignity of the vulnerable. Ryan ticked off the duplicities of so many in Church leadership but concluded that the lay Catholics need to assume the role of the 13th apostle. He noted that VOTF has demonstrated its baptismal leadership. Real leadership is about following Christ. Real leadership is about filling the void left by those who openly want to lead a life of power. He reminded attendees that the exercise of authority without leadership is tyranny-not leadership.

Right now, Ryan says, VOTF is the Voice of the future but that is not enough. Ryan offered the following pointers to VOTF:

• VOTF must broaden its reach, attracting more young, Latino/Asian Catholics.
• The public needs to hear outrage at the abuse and hurt inflicted on families and children. Don't leave the outrage to Oprah.
• Reach out to corporate leaders
• Invite local legislators to your meetings
• Be a nagging presence in lobbies and hotels where Pax Christi, Call to Action and others meet.
• Knock on doors that can open other doors. We need to broaden, not divide the ranks.
• VOTF must lead lives that are more prayerful than ever before and exemplify charity.

Ryan sees VOTF as continuing in the tradition of St. John the Baptist, St. Francis, Thomas More, and Joan of Arc. "You have the same burning love of church as they."

In his concluding remarks, Ryan noted, "Something has happened within the Church. God is leading us into a new land…a new dawn. The old ways are simply breaking down. God will make His Church an ever more effective institution, with your leadership and our prayers."

Cathy also submitted the following recap of remarks made by Interim Chair of the National Review Board Justice Anne Burke to a VOTF gathering on July 28, 2004

Warmly introduced by VOTF President Jim Post, Judge Burke commented that the harm done to children during the unfolding crisis has spurred her to action on the National Review Board and has "refined my scriptural sensibilities. She saluted the extraordinary efforts of VOTF… and cited "your love and devotion to the Church we love against forces of deceit and mismanagement across the nation. Thank you for your willingness to champion what is right in the face of shockwaves unleashed by the sexual abuse crisis; thank you for your unrelenting courage and love for Church; thank you for lifting up hope and liberation to the people of God, parish by parish, pew by pew with voices of love and faith. How pleased the Lord must be at your work that has changed, and is changing the course of the Catholic Church in America."

In Dallas, in June 2002, Burke noted that the bishops had little choice but to approve the Charter and Norms that have become the Magna Carta and Rosetta Stone of the Church in the 21st century. The review board was charged with investigating and challenging the structures and policies of the Church that allowed the abuse to occur. For 25 months the Review Board worked with single-minded devotion and singular unity, even though its members come from very diverse backgrounds.

Burke cited two important accomplishments- first, the creation of the Office of Child and Youth Protection in Washington, D.C., headed by Kathleen McChesney and the audit conducted by William Galvin and Associates, plus 55 FBI agents. The second audit, necessary to compare statistics, is going forward despite efforts to sabotage it. The Bishops, Burke said, must get used to the idea of transparency and accountability.

The second accomplishment was the commissioning of two studies, first, the John Jay Report gathered data from a fifty-year period, and "lifted its analysis to the glaring eye of history." The report enumerated statistics showing that 4% of 109,000 priests - over 4900 priests - were accused of 10,000 reported incidents of abuse.

The Board's own report involved interviews with ten Cardinals, chancery officials, victims, writers, journalists and others. Her own service involved two trips to Rome, conferring in dramatic interviews with top curial officials and a second trip to visit Cardinal Ratzinger. These men had not been given the whole story of the extent of the sexual abuse scandal or the hurt inflicted on the faithful. Anne and her colleagues spoke truth to power; they spoke of fraternal correction. They spoke about reviving the Metropolitan (the most senior bishops) to perform that work. They concluded that dioceses have done a poor job in screening candidates and that neither homosexuality nor celibacy caused the abuse crisis, but the Board will be sponsoring an epidemiological study for secular institutions to do the necessary research to discover the causes.

Among the saddest aspects of this crisis is the bishops' fear of scandal and failure to understand the extent of the problems, failure to use canon law to remove priest-abusers; failure of leadership and victimization of the vulnerable.

As for good news, some bishops are listening, she said. Minors are safer but much work remains. Trust, Burke said, is a victim of the scandal-and it can only be restored with a healing process. As dioceses face financial ruin, only new openness can restore that trust. Only Catholics in the pews can rescue the Church. The Review Board has no sunset provisions.

Each retiring member of the Review Board has submitted to Archbishop Flynn resumes of possible successors to themselves, people with similar skill sets. She noted that her colleague, Robert Bennett of Skadden Arps, has spent over $1.5 million on the work of the Board, including two associates, printing costs, etc.

Justice Burke encouraged us to work with the good priests on the due process issues.

Questioned on the adequacy of funding for the Review Board, she estimated that the research on causes and contexts of the scandal would cost $4 million or more. We need to look at the issue of sexual abuse in our society as a national health issue.

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