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National Representative Council Report
Meeting of Nov. 11-13, Arlington, VA
In its first meeting since the Indianapolis convocation in July, the National Representative Council convened in Arlington, Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C., during the weekend of November 11-13 to deliberate on a full agenda of topics vital to VOTF.
Friday evening. A dinner at the home of John Hushon, who substituted during the weekend for Representative Margaret Lynch (Region 14, FL GA NC SC), allowed Council members an opportunity to talk and build on the relationships started in Indianapolis.
Saturday morning. After
an opening prayer by Mary Collingwood (Region 6, MI OH) and a moving reflection
on the
nature of power by Ron DuBois (Region 1, New England States), Mary Pat Fox,
Representative from Region 2 (New York) and the Council’s representative to the Convocation Implementation Team (CIT), briefed the Council on the results of the nationwide vote by affiliates and members on the nine resolutions drafted in Indianapolis. Resolutions 4 (promote legislation that protects children) and 6 (financial transparency and accountability) were the top vote-getters. Mary Pat facilitated Council members’ discussion
of the two CIT-drafted action plans on promoting legislation and financial
accountability to implement the will of the membership expressed in the vote.
It was the strong sense of the Council that mandatory reporting of sexual
abuse by clergy should be a part of any proposed legislative campaign. The
next step in the CIT-managed process is to send the draft action plans, as
amended by the Council discussions, to the affiliates for their further inputs.
Saturday afternoon. VOTF President Jim Post and Executive Director Ray Joyce provided a status report on finances. The report was sobering: The services we need, as a national organization, require a larger financial base of support. We are running at a deficit, but that is not sustainable. Jim stressed that just as the work of VOTF is a shared commitment, so too is the responsibility for supporting VOTF. The Council discussed numerous ideas for increasing revenues, including membership fees and recruitment of more donors from all regions of the country.
Then, the Council discussed five proposals. First, Dan Bartley (Region 2, New York) discussed the next steps in the implementation plan for his priest pension reform proposal, which was recently approved by the Council in an online vote. These next steps include reviewing diocesan pension-fund practices and developing best-practice standards appropriate for protecting priest pension funds.
Second, the Council’s discussion of Bud Bretschneider’s
(Region 3, PA NJ) proposal for a liturgical event for penitence and healing
resulted in a recommendation that Bud work with Mary Collingwood (Region
6, MI OH), who has expertise in liturgy, to further refine this proposal.
Bud and Mary were urged to consult with the Prayerful Voice Working Group.
Margaret Roylance of the Structural Change Working Group (SCWG) presented the third and fourth proposals: Independent judicial review for redress of violation of lay rights; and diocesan mutual visitation as a mechanism for renewal. Following the precedent of previous councils, the Council approved the forwarding by the SCWG of both proposals to the U.S. bishops for their review and comment.
The fifth proposal, submitted by Frank Douglas (Region 13, AZ CO NM UT WY), called for the formation of a team of subject matter experts in finance to vet financial resolutions of the Council. Rather than creating a new group, the Council decided that this team would reside within the currently existing financial accountability subgroup of the SCWG. The Council strongly supported the concept of identifying subject matter experts (e.g., legal experts) to help in the business of the Council.
Saturday evening. Council members attended Mass, in the extraordinarily welcoming community of Our Lady Queen of Peace. The Mass was celebrated by Father Len Tuozzolo, C.S.Sp., a most joyful and highly encouraging host to the entire VOTF contingent. Following the Mass, Linda Harvey, founder of the Restorative Justice Council, gave a talk on restorative justice as an alternative to litigation in providing justice to victims of clergy sexual abuse.
Sunday morning. David
Castaldi, Chairman of VOTF’s Board of Trustees, discussed the status of the new VOTF by-laws. It was the sense of the Council that VOTF should eventually have an elected board of trustees to model the kind of Church we are working toward. Next, Donna Doucette (Region 1, New England States), Co-Chair of the Voice of Renewal/Lay Education working group, gave a presentation on the group’s 2005-2006 projects completed, planned, and under way. Ray Joyce, on behalf of Elia Marnik, Co-Chair of the Protecting Our Children working group, provided a status report on that group’s work. David Clohessy, Executive Director of SNAP, updated the attendees on the current situation in California, Ohio, and other states. He also presented arguments in favor of “window of opportunity” statutes
that SNAP and partners are advocating A spirited discussion of the pros (e.g.,
justice to victims) and cons (e.g., concern about bankrupting the Church)
of such legislation ensued. Rich Moriarty (Region 4, DC DE MD VA) made a
motion for VOTF to state its support for the principle of equal access for
women and men to all leadership and ministry positions in the Church. The
motion was seconded and tabled. Next there was a discussion of tentative
plans for the next Council meeting and the question of adequate time needed
for face-to-face gatherings. The meeting concluded with a reading and reflection
prepared by Sheila Peiffer. Submitted by Frank Douglas, NRC Region 13 (AZ, CO, NM, UT, WY)
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