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“We
are not freeing a Church, but raising up a Church.” Sr.
Marie LaBollita, SCH, at a panel discussion on “Our
Voices – In Community and in the Ecclesial Church”
VOTF at
Work in the World
(Please
note that many of the online publications require registering
before viewing the articles mentioned.)
Ireland’s
Ferns Report Leads the International News in
Sunday’s New York Times: Noting BishopAccountability.org
for its documentation of the full report, the article
reported Irish Catholics’ outrage over newly
disclosed details of clergy sexual abuse and its handling
by Church leaders; it also quoted Paul Baier of BishopAccountability.org: "It
is showing what a lot of us know, that this is a worldwide
problem."
- VOTF
posted the Ferns
Report within days of its release,
thanks to VOTF Ireland correspondent Sean O’Conaill.
The Irish Times reported: “Minister
for Justice Michael McDowell said he would introduce
amendments to the current Criminal Justice Bill to
reflect one of the key recommendations in the report,
advising that a law on ‘reckless endangerment’ should
be considered. The law, which is in place in the
state of Massachusetts in the US, would make it a
criminal offence for professionals to fail to take
action to protect children if they become aware of
a potential risk from sexual or physical abuse.” Read
More.
- For
the NYT story, click
here.
- Fr
Tom Doyle O.P. will address VOTF supporters and other
interested Catholics on the current crisis in the
Church in the Tower Hotel, Butcher Street, Derry
on Sunday 4th December at 3.00 p.m. Watch the VOTF
web site for coverage.
BREAKING
NEWS in Boston: Click
here. See how it’s done and read why VOTF
Boston is the Energizer battery at the Mass. State House: Opposition
from Church officials to State Sen. Marian Walsh legislation
(requiring financial disclosure from religious institutions)
included misleading some parishioners – but not
enough to keep the Senate from passing it on Nov. 9.
See the recent chronology of “A Forced March – On
the Road to Accountability” in Commentary.
(Also, see VOTF
Cleveland, OH report on their Senate Bill
17)
- The
ousted pastor of Our Lady Help of Christians will
not be re-instated, but Our Lady’s Friends,
and even the new pastor Fr. Coyne, have “miles
to go before they sleep.” Go to Our Lady's
Friends web
site for updates and see Chuck
Colbert’s column in NCR.
USCCB
meeting: While bishops have more on their
plates than the ongoing sexual abuse crisis, their
USCCB November meeting agenda was more remarkable for
its omissions than for the concerns identified. The
text of USCCB president Bishop Skylstad’s opening
remarks on Mon. 11/14 are available at the USCCB
web site. While the bishop’s statement
is a warm paean to priests and their ministry, it will
strike many as hurtful that the word “survivor” appears
nowhere, nor the juxtaposition of “bishop” and “accountability.” AP
coverage is available here.
- See
VOTF press release “Bishops Fail to Address
Biggest Crisis in US Church History”; “After
midday Tuesday, the bishops will enter closed-door
sessions for another day or two, making this the
bishops' most secretive November session since they
decided to open up their gatherings in 1972.” see Boston
Globe AP
coverage.
- The
Vatican statement on homosexuality in seminaries
is expected on Nov. 29. By some accounts, the news
will not be good for many priests of integrity. Read
More. Also, for the longer article, click
here. The seminary
visitation document designed for a study of priestly
formation in US seminaries is available in full at bishop-accountability.org under
Instrumentum
Laboris.
Meanwhile,
the VOTF National Representative Council was meeting
next door to the USCCB - in Arlington, VA. (NRC) met
Nov. 11-13 and identified national action items. See
Report from NRC. Also, see the NRC opening reflection
at “Praying
Together” in Commentary; VOTF
officer elections to take place in late February – see
details in VOTF Officer
Election News.
Message
to Affiliates – If your affiliate
has its own web site, please include on your home
page a link to In the Vineyard. The Vineyard,
now published bi-monthly, is our best communication
vehicle at this time – thanks in large measure
to you. The Vineyard is a service provided
by the National office for all members and site
visitors. Let’s be sure it’s used!
Questions? Please contact pthorp.ed@votf.org. |
MORE
Affiliate News: Philadelphia
Archdiocese says it is moving forward, following
the release of documents on clergy sexual abuse that
have left area Catholics reeling. The “crisis
of credibility” was also noted in National
Catholic Reporter, 10/28. For links to the
full grand jury report and other coverage and VOTF
initiatives in Phila., go to VOTF Greater Philadelphia
at www.votfgp.org.
- VOTF
president Jim Post said, "If there's a choice
to be made, does the cardinal err on the side of
protecting innocent children? At the end of the day,
that's the ultimate test that matters to the public.” For
full story, click
here.
Dan
Bartley of VOTF Long Island, NY: “In
Nassau County, NY a 30-year incumbent (Nassau county
DA) was defeated by a virtually unknown challenger.
Newsday has tied this shocking defeat to the incumbent’s
handling of the sexual abuse crisis on Long Island.” Follow
VOTF Long Island actions at www.votf-li.org; Fred
McGunagle of VOTF Cleveland, OH reports
on progress with Senate Bill 17. See
Commentary for “My
wife and I didn’t know my son had been raped
until 2002. Bishop Pilla knew in 1981.”
Banning
as policy continues: VOTF Maryland has been
meeting on Church property for over two years – working energetically toward support for survivors
and priests of integrity as well as supporting the need for greater accountability
in the Church. One member testified a year ago at the Maryland State House
on behalf of extending the civil statute of limitations on reporting sex abuse.
Last week, this same affiliate was advised that it will no longer be able to
meet on church property. See Commentary: “Banning – Challenge
to Truth.”
Be
sure to check bishop-accountability.org for
the most complete documentation anywhere of the sexual
abuse crisis in the Catholic Church.
Survivors support survivors. VOTF Survivor Support working
group leader Steve Sheehan joined the survivor support organization The
Healing Alliance for a remarkable service mission to Managua, Nicaragua:
survivors reaching out to survivors and victims of another scourge in our
time – horrific poverty. Steve’s journal “As
Good As It Gets” is on our web site.
- CHRISTMAS
CARDS available again through VOTF Winchester. The
proceeds from these member-designed, original-art
cards are used entirely for survivor support. Contact
Bob Morris at rmorrisvotf@aol.com.
Reflections
from Women Religious – Not for the first time in
VOTF, women religious are speaking out. As laity, their
perspectives are unique, evidenced at a recent presentation
on how women religious use their voices both in their
communities and in the ecclesial Church. See Commentary – “A
Church-Raising”
Priest
of Integrity: National Catholic Reporter and VOTF agree
on "Fr. Mac." Read
more.
Site-Seeing
Hans
Kung visits the US: The recent, much-publicized,
long and warm meeting with Pope Benedict XVI seemed
to enlarge “the table of communion.” See
coverage of Hans Kung’s visit this week as
he received the Association for Rights of Catholics
in the Church inaugural “Rights of Catholics
Award.”
VOTF
Australia is struggling with the same issues
Catholics face elsewhere. You can receive the monthly
VOTF Australia newsletter by visiting their web site
at www.votfaustralia.org.
HEADS
UP! “Vatican Education Official Warns
Dissenting Catholic Colleges May Lose 'Catholic' Status” – Read
this story.*
QUOTE
for our time: “If the Holy Spirit truly
guides the Church, it is our responsibility to stand
at the point God has placed us within the church and
proclaim from the honest depths of our souls, ‘This
is how I see God!’ and respect each vision as
equally valid. If the whole church entered into such
respect-filled dialogue, surely the Kingdom of God
would be manifest upon the earth.” National
Catholic Reporter, Nov. 4, 2005 – opinion-page column
by Peg Helminski
*A word about this site: The Lifesite
site is affiliated with Interim Publishing and is also
closely associated with Campaign Life Coalition (CLC),
both organizations being headquartered in Toronto,
Canada. LifeSite networks regularly with leaders and
other organizations around the world. Interim Publishing,
founded in 1983, produces The Interim, Canada's national
life and family newspaper nd other publications related
to life and family issues. Campaign Life Coalition,
founded in 1978, has been one of the first pro-life
organizations to emphasize the international dimension
of attacks on life and family. Along with a couple
of other groups it pioneered pro-life lobbying at United
Nations conferences. CLC president, Jim Hughes, is
currently also vice-president of the International
Right to Life Federation.
The
next issue of In the Vineyard is Thurs., Dec. 1. Copy
deadline to pthorp.ed@votf.org is
Mon. Nov., 28.
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