HIGHLIGHTS in this
issue:
Sr.
Jeannette Normandin, a long-serving voice of
the faithful, died on May 30, 2006. An interview
she gave Voice, the first VOTF hardcopy
newsletter, is reprinted in Commentary – “Remembering
Sr. Jeannette Normandin”. We consider Sr.
Jeannette Normandin’s legacy at a time when
others in our Catholic faith lives have demonstrated
the courage of conscience exemplified by her
life’s
work. You will read about Fr. Madden, Helen
Drinan, Walter Cuenin and Lynne Petruska in
these pages. Jeannette would be proud of all
of them, as she was of Voice of the Faithful.
VOTF Accountability Campaign: The
Pentecost Action drew broad participation – a
Pentecost Action Survey is in progress and results
will be posted in the next Vineyard; read the VOTF Pentecost prayer that
was on our web site for the weekend. Click
here to learn more about two new resources to assist
affiliate members with the National Campaign
for Accountability.
VOTF
National Representative Council meeting in
Chicago June 2-4 drew 23 of 24 representatives,
all four officers, trustees, our executive
director and several observers. Read
the meeting recap here
(minutes will be published in two weeks);
VOTF President remarks to NRC - "'Convivenza'
for Our Time".
VOTF National Office Notes: VOTF national and regional representatives will again bear witness at the USCCB bi-annual meeting. US bishops will meet June 15-17 in Los Angeles, CA. Watch for a recap in the June 29 Vineyard; VOTF Office says farewell to one office manager and welcomes another. Click here.
What
appears to be a campaign in the making has many
Catholics alarmed: Bishops against protective
legislation for victims of clergy sexual abuse
and purporting anti-Catholicism. See more in
Commentary – “What Are Bishops Afraid Of?”
DIOCESE/STATE
Watch: A priest in CT, a former nun in
PA and a lay woman in MA are changing their
landscapes
and ours. Financial accountability is striking
closer to home for many parishioners in
Darien, CT and Chicago, IL; a VOTF press release
on a questionable move by the Vermont diocese drew
a response from Bishop Matano; judge voids
sex abuse settlement in Spokane, WA; in Boston, VOTF
Protecting Our Children joined others in sending
a message to Cardinal O’Malley as he
began a 10-parish pilgrimage of penitence;
good news at Our Lady Help of Christians,
Newton as the OLHC Steering Committee met
with their new co-pastors. Click
here.
From the Survivor Community includes
a survivor’s graphic and painful story of abuse
by a woman religious; read what survivors and
their supporters are planning during the upcoming USCCB meeting in Los Angeles, CA; the Cecelia Project sets
survivors pain to music – and offers relief; book review from VOTF Robert Nunz (NM) on Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes : The Catholic Church's 2,000-Year Paper Trail of Sexual Abuse by
Thomas Doyle, Richard Sipe and Patrick Wall.
See From the Survivor Community; Tom Doyle’s
much acclaimed talk in Tucson, AZ DVD is available
on DBD. Click here.
Commentary Also recap
of a recent award presented
to Fr. Walter Cuenin (ousted from Our Lady Help
of Christians, Newton, MA); “What
Are Bishops Afraid Of?”; and the message
that VOTF president Mary Pat Fox gave to the
NRC in Chicago. Letter
to the editor – VOTF
member comments on America magazine
article.
VOTF
AFFILIATE News: Louisville, KY held
a “Pilgrimage of Healing”. Read Vince Grenough’s “A
Remarkable Day – May 11, 2006”;
and congratulations to VOTF Winchester, MA on
their FOURTH anniversary – see their celebration
recap; forty VOTF Long Island, NY members
were in Albany to lobby their elected representatives
for statute of limitations/window reform for
childhood sexual abuse. Read
more.
Next
issue of In the Vineyard: June
29. Send comments/inquiries to pthorp.ed@votf.org.
|
