Voice of the Faithful - In the Vineyard

“The faithful call for ‘accountability now’ is a call to keep memory and body, body and members together. Re-membering the church is about literally reconnecting the body to itself, to all its parts and members. It is about integrating its history and healing its memories. It is about making the body whole.” Francine Cardman, in her keynote address to the VOTF Indianapolis Convocation, July 9, 2005

The Indianapolis Convocation drew over 500 attendees and a broad sweep of media coverage; VOTF commissioned a new National Representative Council; attendees committed to an agenda for action; liturgy framed the weekend and grounded the work ahead; speakers Francine Cardman, Paul Lakeland, Anne Burke, David Castaldi, Gaile Pohlhaus and Jim Post made the case again for lay voices; our Working Groups recapped three years of work; Justice Anne Burke accepted VOTF’s first Catherine of Siena Distinguished Lay Person Award; Fr. Tom Doyle presented Msgr. Lawrence Breslin of OH with the Voice of the Faithful 2005 Priest of Integrity Award; more in Convocation Notes in this issue. Most commonly asked question from attendees: When can we do this again?

NATIONAL NEWS

REGIONAL NEWS

Convocation Notes: The Laity Have Spoken

[I hope others will send their own vignettes to pthorp.ed@votf.org for possible inclusion in an upcoming issue of In the Vineyard. Please note that any addresses/talks mentioned here will be, or are, on our web site at and Resurrection Tapes has both audio and video tapes and CDs available at www.resurrectiontapes.com. Their e-mail is resurrection@usfamily.net]

I may forget this and that moment of our convocation weekend but some moments loom too large to be threatened by erosion.

The weekend was framed by prayer, song and S/spirit and reinforced the power of faith shared and celebrated. I don’t believe we can or will accomplish anything without the gift of this awareness. We need to need liturgy and, apparently, we do. Always, it seems to me, it’s our celebration of Eucharist that is the highlight of our gatherings.

On Friday, I sat in on the first meeting of our new National Representative Council and left with an abiding sense of promise for the work of reform. Frank Douglas (AZ) has submitted a report on the meeting (below).

Saturday began on a high note with the keynote address from Francine Cardman – “Re-membering Church.” Many recalled that Francine, a professor at Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Weston, MA, brought us to our feet in 2002 when she called on attendees at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, MA to “pay attention to how you listen.” Here we were again, back on our feet in Indianapolis, because we are listening while we “re-member.”

It was a tad alarming to me that so many attendees had never heard of some of the working groups but encouraging that our panelists’ recaps of three years of work inspired everyone present. Their exhibit hall tables were busy all weekend with inquiries and messages of thanks.
Jim Post’s talk was titled “VOTF at the Crossroads: Where Are We Going?” By all accounts, we are going to keep working and then some! Jim reminded us that we couldn’t have imagined in 2002 a VOTF crowd of over 500 people gathered in Indianapolis – “the capital city of our geographic crossroads” – to help us chart the next three years.
The accountability panel laid the groundwork for the afternoon breakout sessions by making the case for “accountability now”: Justice Anne Burke spoke frankly about the vigilance needed to ensure accountability among bishops; David Castaldi’s informative and compelling facts and figures were new to many – attendees felt better able to address the issue of financial accountability in their breakout sessions; and Paul Lakeland placed an engaged, active laity at the heart of a new day in the Church.
After eight packed and productive breakouts, it was time for Mass. Throughout the Mass, readers, singers, musicians, dancers, banner carriers, and additional ministers, displayed the heart of the keynote address that reminded us of our communal roots. Gaile Pohlhaus’ theological reflection, delivered just before the recessional, capped the place of our gifts as laity.

Then came a particular moment that embraced all of us with symbolic resonance – Msgr. Munshower and Gaile Pohlhaus swaying on the altar to “We Are Called.” As the choir and congregation broke into the first verse with “Come! Live in the light!” Gaile and Msgr. left the stage hand in hand down the aisle, all attendees on our feet and applauding. Here were the people of God, clergy and lay, walking together – and joyful in each other. It occurred to me later that this is not supposed to be a metaphor.

On Sunday morning Msgr. Lawrence Breslin looked frail as he moved from his wheelchair to the stage, and rose to mount the steps to the podium with cane in hand. But his thoughtful acceptance of the 2005 Priest of Integrity Award reminded all of us that our faith and its message are ageless. At a time in the Church when priests are accused or suspect, and when priests are leaving their ministry or incapacitated within it, here was a priest who spoke for the best of the priesthood both past and present. I have often considered this award as more of a pick-me-up for all faithful priests but the award is really about much more than that – the award allows the whole community, clergy and laity, to say with Donald Cozzens, “Ad sum.” In a way, we re-claim as we “re-member” the best of Christ’s promise for us and in us.

As I said at the conclusion of the all-volunteer Working Group panel on Saturday morning – “LOOK what they have done!!!”

Getting Started in the new National Representative Council

Our first meeting on July 8, 2005 was a first in two ways – being recently elected, we had not had a “real” meeting other than our e-conversations and, more important, many of us had never met each other personally. So our hours together in Indianapolis were a getting-to-know-you opportunity as well as a time to get some business done.

After the members of the new National Representative Council (NRC) introduced themselves, the Council was briefed on VOTF history (founders, steering committee, council, working groups, trustees, governance committee, executive director, officers, and staff).

We discussed our representative roles in our regions and that while the NRC will be making VOTF policy in collaboration with officers and trustees, implementation will be the work of the affiliates.

Board of Trustees chair David Castaldi briefed the new Council on the current status of the draft by-laws and distributed a draft of basic responsibilities and authorities of all key VOTF top-level members.

In a memo to the new NRC, Jim Post identified seven issues internal to VOTF for the NRC's consideration: growth, local autonomy/national coordination, leveraging capabilities, coordination of national action, resolving disputes, budgets and financial resources, and partnering with other organizations.

Two NRC reps (Jim Jenkins and Mary Collingwood) were identified in our Friday meeting as spokespersons for, and then participated in, a press conference on Saturday.

On Saturday evening the NRC identified and prioritized numerous candidate policy issues. These issues included: the nine draft resolutions that convocation participants came to consensus on in their small group meetings, three each across three areas of the convocation: lay accountability, bishops' accountability, and accountability of finances; the seven issues identified by Jim Post; and additional issues identified in small groups as well as some identified by NRC members.

Donna Doucette, Sheila Peiffer, and Frank Douglas were identified as members of the new NRC's Steering Committee.

The new NRC listserv is up and running. We will post additional information about the listserv shortly.

(By the way, if you’d like to be part of a post-convocation discussion group, send an email to concon-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

What We Said in Indianapolis

The eight Saturday afternoon breakout sessions produced the following list of proposals. N.B. Some editing occurred during the Sunday morning Sensus Fidelium – these have been identified with brackets.

BISHOP Accountability Breakouts:

A1. When an Episcopal See falls vacant, how can the faithful, both clergy and laity, participate effectively in the process of filling the post?

Call for the election of bishops through a discernment process by the elected representatives of the laity, priests, deacons, and religious.

A2. How can the laity effectively communicate and participate in deliberations with bishops at the diocesan and national levels?

Institute independent, freely elected lay councils at all governance levels in the Church (e.g., parish, deanery/vicariate, diocese, and national) with full right of inquiry and the right and responsibility to communicate. Elections will be designed and administered by independent lay election commissions.

A2-2. Promote legislation that protects children and holds bishops accountable for their failure to protect children.

A3. How can bishops be held accountable for failing to carry out their governance responsibilities? What can survivors teach bishops?

A3. Call for elected laity to become fully participative members at all levels of diocesan and national decision-making (e.g., pastoral councils, diocesan finance councils, USCCB).

FINANCIAL Accountability Breakouts:

B1. Whose money is it, anyway? What do we expect when we call for full disclosure of parochial and diocesan finances?

B1. Call for an independent, widely disseminated, understandable annual CPA audit report for all church-related entities (e.g., parish, diocese, and church institutions) that would include all income, expenses, assets [and liabilities] )including the current fair market values of all real estate, indebtedness and bequests.

B2/B3. How can parishioners claim meaningful and effective participation in their parish finance councils? What has worked? What hasn’t?/ What is the scope of a meaningful voice for laity in diocesan financial structures? Is it enough?

B2. and B3. Call for all parishes and dioceses to be fully transparent and accountable regarding their finances through open, regular meetings for consultation with the baptized, and periodic, comprehensive reporting of income, expenditures, assets and liabilities.

LAY Accountability Breakouts:

C1. How can we ensure that women’s gifts, and those of all marginalized persons, effect a more truly “catholic” Church?

C1. Initiate discussion within VOTF about issues affecting [women and other] marginalized people by and within the Church.

C2. How can the voice of the laity be heard in the parish, the diocese, the nation and in Rome?

C2. Create a mechanism for ongoing dialogue and collaborative action among parishioners, parish priests, and bishops.

C3. What spirituality practices might enrich our faith lives in this new millennium?

C3. Discern, develop, and implement personal and communal spiritual practices that foster healing, reconciliation, and appreciation of the inherent dignity of all humans.

PHOTO B – David Clohessy (SNAP) during the Survivor Support training session on Friday afternoon.

NATIONAL News

Jim Post delivered an address at SNAP’s June meeting in Chicago, IL. Read here.
Cardinal George, sadly, calls Church critics “enemies of the Church.” Read more.
What the bishops passed – the Charter and Norms are on our web site. For one recap, visit here.
In July 2004, the Vineyard reported that one of the foremost authorities in Catholic social attitudes, Dr. William D'Antonio, received a grant to carry out a study of Voice of the Faithful. The study has been completed and its findings will be presented at Boston College in October. as part of the Church in the 21st Century initiative. Watch the BC web site for details
Senator Rick Santorum (R Penn.) still thinks Boston's liberal environment gave rise to the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, despite global facts to the contrary. VOTF president Jim Post responded to the Senator's statements: "Senator Santorum's comments reflect an ignorance of the facts and a refusal to recognize the effects of sexual abuse on thousands of innocent people. Research studies by the Catholic Church documents a tragedy of vast proportions, affecting every diocese in the United States. We ask that Senator Santorum work to prevent sexual abuse instead of pandering to sociological biases and falsehoods." For more on the Senator's statements, click here.

REGIONAL News

Sacramento, CA diocese arrives at $35 million settlement of abuse cases. Read more at MSNBC.com and the Catholic Courier . In addition, the Santa Rosa, CA diocese reached a $7 million settlement. Both cases were filed after California enacted a law establishing a one-year window in 2003 during which victims of childhood sexual abuse could file civil suits previously barred by the statute of limitations.
Louisiana’s state legislature last month approved a bill extending the statute of limitations on child sex abuse crimes to 30 years from 10 years. Read More.
Visit VOTF Australia web site and see the work they are doing
Kris Ward tells reported that Ohio VOTF affiliates' hard work and unflagging support for justice is paying off. "The OH state senator Robert S. Spada, Assistant Majority Floor Leader of the Ohio State Senate, was the chair of the Ohio senate committee that brought the extension of the statute of limitations bill to the senate floor. The bill includes a one-year window for those abused in the past 35 years to file a civil suit even if the statute of limitations has passed in their cases. Senate Bill 17 passed unanimously in the Ohio State Senate and the survivors who testified in day-long hearings were given a standing ovation by the Ohio senators. The bill has now been sent to the Ohio House of Representatives." Senator Spada joined VOTF in Indianapolis on Friday afternoon and along with SNAP’s Barbara Blaine shared the ins and outs, ups and downs, of dealing with state statutes of limitation.
SAVE THE DATE - Sunday October 23 at Boston College: A symposium on Voice of the Faithful as a Social Movement in the Catholic Church. The symposium begins with Bill D'Antonio and Tony Pogorec providing an overview of their study based on surveys of, and interviews with, VOTF founders, current leaders, and national members. Commentators will include Fr. Robert Imbelli, Lisa Sowle Cahill, Robert Gamson and others. See more details in the August Vineyard.
Don’t miss Justice Anne Burke speaking at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology on October 7 and NCR Vatican correspondent John Allen speaking at Boston College on October 14 at Boston College. Click here for details.
VOTF Winchester, MA is selling their original-art Christmas cards again. Bob Morris writes: “In 2003, our Winchester, MA affiliate designed and produced four Christmas cards to help benefit survivors. We have raised over $6000 the last two years, and have donated these funds to provide scholarships for survivors to attend the annual SNAP conference (2004) and to subsidize survivors to visit Link-Up's Farm in Kentucky (2005). We are aiming for $10,000 this year and are asking other affiliates to participate in this drive.” Contact rmorrisvotf@aol.com
Boston VOTF is fast completing work on a new initiative. The effort is called the “Boston Initiative” and is modeled on the successful outcome of the St. Albert’s closing/closing rescinded experience. To learn more, subscribe to their twice-monthly newsletter – contact Dorothy Kennedy at kendor713@yahoo.com.

Vince Grenough of VOTF Louisville, Kentucky sent the following item just before our convocation. It remains pertinent because, as we learned at the convocation, the good and hard work of Voice of the Faithful has more support than we may know.

“This past Sunday five of us at our parish (St. William in the west end of Louisville) who are going to the Convocation were called up in front of the gathered community after the Eucharistic Liturgy. We stood in a circle with our Pastoral Administrator (a lay woman), our Director of Formation (another lay woman) and our Sacramental Moderator (a man). The community all stood and raised their outstretched hands over us as Fr. John Burke, a true priest of integrity, prayed:

‘Good and Loving God, we ask Your blessing on our members who will soon be participating in a Convocation of Voice of the Faithful. As members of Voice of the Faithful, we pray that they will continue to be faithful to the call they have heard to be instruments of healing and reform in Your Church. May their voices be heard, and may they continue to be beacons of light and hope in a Church that is so much in need of both. This we pray in Jesus' name. Amen’

We want you to know that every one of you, every single member and supporter of Voice of the Faithful, were in our thoughts and in our hearts at that moment. We hope you also felt the energy of that blessing and that you also experience renewed enthusiasm to live out the Mission of Voice of the Faithful with courage, perseverance and charity.”

International News

MaryAnne Gervais of VOTF Saanich Peninsula, Canada wrote the following about the report of the Ontario bishops’ Spring ‘05 meeting:

“Unbelieveable - not a mention of Protecting Children from Sexual abuse in the Diocese; and not a mention of the Ontario Task Force for the prevention of Sexual Abuse of Children by priests, religious or laity within the Diocese. This is astounding.

How is this possible? This same-sex marriage issue has become a red-herring to take heat off the real problems in our Church. Imagine! The Church lets pedophile priests take and give Eucharist but they are actually excommunicating politicians who vote for same-sex marriage in our country. One example is a member of parliament, whom I know well, was refused communion for voting ‘yes’ in Parliament for same-sex marriage. This is a great family man, a great Catholic man and a great citizen.”

For coverage on one parish’s reaction to a letter read in their church, click here.

BOOK REVIEWS

Clerical Culture: Contradiction and Transformation by Michael L. Papesh
Reviewed by Frances G. Hofmeister of VOTF Cincinnati, OH

This is an important and interesting book and one that every VOTF member should read. For members of VOTF, it pertains to our third goal, changing the structure of the Church from within. The author, himself a victim of clergy sexual abuse, believes that the clerical culture has perpetuated these abuses and wants us to understand this culture as it exists in the United States. He gives us an inside view of the life of the priest whom he sees as living a contradictory life—called to simplicity but living in privilege; being a moral authority in public but privately wearing blinders.

Much is said about the time a priest spends preparing weekday and Sunday homilies, but this sounds more like the life of a Protestant minister than of a Catholic priest, judging from the quality of the homilies in many churches today. He agrees with many parishioners who see the priest as living on the fringe of life, experiencing the life of the ordinary person only vicariously, if at all.

In order to bring about change the author states that priest and people alike must confront the “elephants in the living room.” These are the Vatican; the bishops; the seminary; married priests; and the ordination of women. The author sees little possibility of change with the Vatican, the bishops or the seminary system since the bishops are chosen by the Vatican and responsible only to it and the seminaries are controlled by the bishops. This leaves married priests and the ordination of women.

Father Papesh deals extensively with the priesthood and sexual tension; he tries hard to adhere to the party line about the value of celibacy but one gets the impression that he really believes that if priests were married, the clerical culture would collapse and that would be a good thing.

Likewise, he tries to put a positive spin on the fact that there are many homosexually oriented men in the priesthood, Papesh maintains that these men can lead both men and women to deeper relationships, spiritually and otherwise, because they like dealing with men and because there is a lack of sexual tension in dealing with women. He seems to gloss over the experience of many of us that straight men are not comfortable with homosexual men and women may not be drawn to them either.

The author believes that if there is to be change within the larger Church, the priests must lead it, supported by the laity. However, he also sees priests as a group, as quite adolescent and powerless. He refers to Cardinal Law and states that only when the priests in Boston united, did the Cardinal resign.

The author leaves us with important, even critical questions. Can our priests take the lead to reform our Church? Are they emotionally empty and too fearful of change in their lifestyle to be advocates of change?

Survivors of Predator Priests - edited by J. M. Handlin, Tapestry Press, 188 pp., $15.95
Reviewed by Stephen A. Sheehan, MA VOTF

Stories of sexual abuse are difficult to read at best. They are more so when the victims of the abuse are children and the abusers are members of the clergy. It becomes particularly sickening when the children are prepubescent boys and girls.

But the stories must be told. It is important for the victims to come forward and relate these horrifying experiences in order to begin their long journey on the road to healing. It is important for us to understand the nature of the crimes committed and the impact of these crimes on the psyches of the victims as well as to know the physical abuse that they suffered.

Mr. Handlin guides us into and through the terrifyingly strange world of the relationship that develops between predator and victim and the dynamics that sustain that relationship. His interest in writing this book is not academic. The story of his own brother, Mike, is one of the entries in this collection.

Mr. Handlin introduces us to eight victims of clergy abuse. Each tells his story in his own words with short introductions by the editor to set the stage for each offering. The stories are relatively short but the impact of each is profound. The descriptions are graphic as Handlin tries to raise the consciousness of the reader. Unless we realize fully the pain of the victim, we can never fully appreciate their day-to-day realities.

Each story is unique in its description of the events leading to the abuse, the onset of the abuse and the details of each experience. Each story is similar in the ways in which the predator grooms the prospective victim to begin the abuse, the lies told to hold the victim in a psychologically captive state, and the cover-up that prevented the victim from coming forward. Fear of being blamed for the crime, and not being believed, especially in light of the fact that the abused was a highly respected clergyman, forced the victims to live for years in hiding.

Just as the stories must be told, the stories must be read. The victims exhibited great courage to bring their experiences into the light and we need to share that experience to the end that it compels us to take every action practicable to ensure that the survivors can find the healing they need and deserve and to prevent a recurrence of this great tragedy of our generation.

VOTF On the Road - Common Ground lecture at Catholic University, Washington, DC: Report filed by Carolyn Disco of VOTF

The Common Ground Initiative was established by the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago as a means of fostering dialogue amongst various groups in the Church. It seeks to bring people together for respectful and productive discussion so that a spirit of communion replaces divisive encounter.

There is an annual lecture at Catholic University by a noted figure in Catholic life, coupled with a response by another. It has a prestigious reputation; so the fact that Voice of the Faithful President Jim Post was invited to respond to Archbishop James Weisgerber of Canada speaking on “Building a Church of Communion” spoke to me of a certain coming of age for VOTF.

There were perhaps a few hundred in attendance, representing a high level of theological firepower, both lay and clerical.

Archbishop Weisgerber spoke of the need for communion based on holiness and the cross, the profound unity of the Mystical Body of Christ, and bringing the gifts of all to the table. His focus was the spirituality of communion where the role of leadership is to empower and enable, not control and manipulate.

Jim built on Weisgerber’s need for communion but targeted it to communion in a time of crisis. He set the context in the wake of Vatican II for his baby boom generation that grew up in the Church, absorbed its moral values, educated its children in the faith, and achieved much in the world.

The sexual abuse scandal infuriated us, Jim said. It was a Catholic Watergate and we hated the betrayal of all we treasured. The scandal begs for healing and reconciliation but our confidence has been shaken, our respect diminished, and our trust violated.

Jim grouped three points of reference in Archbishop Weisgerber’s talk: leadership, governance and accountability.

“Bishops need to walk the walk as well as talk the talk.” Enthusiastic applause from many.

“From those who remember the Latin, we need bishops who say, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.” More applause.

“What do you have to do to get the bishops’ attention?” Answer: “Well, one of our affiliates put up a billboard about meeting with the bishop.” Laughter.

I was so busy bobbing my head in agreement with speakers, I did not write more down. But you get the idea.

Jim maintained an easy humor that was warmly received: Reading Lumen Gentium on a 14-hour flight from Australia while others slept, the airline attendant asked if that was an Italian novel. Answer: Sort of. He did not have a contentious tone but spoke the truth respectfully and firmly. He knows how to handle a podium. I was proud to have him represent us so ably.

Postscript: A bishop near me found the session unfair. “We’ve done so much,” he said. In the spirit of the evening’s sponsor, we began a dialogue where we each listened to the other, creating our own little patch of common ground. I found it a graced encounter, and went home more encouraged than my heart has been in a very long time.

[Watch the Common Ground Initiative news on the National Pastoral Life Center web site for Jim’s response to Canada’s Archbishop Weisgerber at the June 24 annual CGI lecture in Washington, DC]

LETTER to the Editor

“The Archdiocese's abuse of the children and parents at Presentation School is shamefully un-Christian. The Founder of our faith says, ‘Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.’

Instead of acting as servants, Bishops O'Malley and Lennon traumatize families. They arbitrarily shut down vibrant parishes and schools without consulting parishioners and parents. Yes, some smaller parishes need to be closed. But the bishops treat good Catholic people callously, disdaining any real laity involvement in church decisions. Jesus says, ‘This shall not be so among you.’

The Catholic Church may not be a democracy, but it was never intended to be a theocracy of autocrats. Rather, the Church was founded as the ‘ecclesia,’ literally the ‘assembly’ of the faithful, the living Body of Christ.

The core of the problem is Rome’s insidious arrogance. Sean O’Malley, Richard Lennon, the disaster at Presentation, and the recent scandals are all symptoms of the Roman hierarchs’ presumptions of their own infallibility and divine right. (When Pope Pius IX had himself declared infallible in 1870, Lord Athol noted, ‘Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’)

The Roman bishops long ago lost moral authority among most Catholics in the pews. Increasingly, we are separating our faith in the Good Shepherd from the erroneous dictates of these bad shepherds. They have become the Pharisees against whom Christ warns, ‘By their fruits you will know them.’” Michael Scully, West Roxbury, MA, member of Parkway VOTF

In the Vineyard
July 2005

The Laity Have Spoken!

NATIONAL NEWS

REGIONAL NEWS

Convocation Notes: The Laity Have Spoken

Getting Started in the new National Representative Council

What We Said in Indianapolis

BISHOP Accountability Breakouts:

FINANCIAL Accountability Breakouts:

LAY Accountability Breakouts:

NATIONAL News

REGIONAL News

International News

BOOK REVIEWS

VOTF On the Road - Common Ground lecture at Catholic University, Washington, DC: Report filed by Carolyn Disco of VOTF

LETTER to the Editor

In the Vineyard July 2005

The Laity Have Spoken!

NATIONAL NEWS

REGIONAL NEWS

Convocation Notes: The Laity Have Spoken

Getting Started in the new National Representative Council

What We Said in Indianapolis

BISHOP Accountability Breakouts:

FINANCIAL Accountability Breakouts:

LAY Accountability Breakouts:

NATIONAL News

REGIONAL News

International News

BOOK REVIEWS

VOTF On the Road - Common Ground lecture at Catholic University, Washington, DC: Report filed by Carolyn Disco of VOTF

LETTER to the Editor

In the Vineyard
July 2005