VOTF president Jim Post was invited to speak at St. Joan of Arc Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Following is an excerpt of the text of Jim's talk on Sunday, November 7, 2204. The gospel reading was from Luke 20:27-38

Keeping the Faith: The Story of Voice of the Faithful .

My name is Jim Post. I come from that "far eastern suburb" of the Twin Cities known as Boston, MA. In Boston, home of the World Champion Boston Red Sox, we really do believe in miracles these days.

We waited 86 years for baseball success. We've only waited 44 years for another president from Massachusetts (and that will take more time).

But neither baseball nor politics is the subject of my reflection this morning. I want to talk about another kind of "miracle," however. What it has in common with baseball and politics is hard work and the determination of Catholic lay women and men to "be the change" we want to see in the world.

The story begins nearly three years ago, on a cold Sunday morning. I read a newspaper story that would change my life and the lives of thousands of other American Catholics.

It was the chilling tale of the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests. It was also a story of the cover-up of these cases of sexual abuse. Fr. John Geoghan was the abuser. And Cardinal Bernard Law covered up the crimes.

Today's Gospel

What began in our parish that Sunday has now become a movement to change the way the Catholic Church operates. It is a movement to replace secrecy with openness and accountability in the administration of the Church. And it fits with today's gospel.

Today's gospel presents a dark, difficult text for us to consider. Mosaic law is strict, demanding, and inflexible. The Sadducees use the law to lay a trap for Jesus. If there is a Resurrection, they ask, what would happen to the woman who married the brothers? Whose wife would she be? Jesus recognized the trap, and so He speaks of a different law - a higher, more essential law that is not about "place" or formal rules, but about the basics of love, human spirit, and Resurrection - God's genuine plan for us made known in Jesus Christ. Christ's law transcends Mosaic law, gives hope, and emphasizes the need for each of us to pay attention to that which matters most - the essential Christian message.

This story, with all of its complexity, has a parallel in our time.

The concealment of clergy sexual abuse was rationalized by Church leaders. The bishops felt obliged to protect the offending priest and the Church from the "scandal" of public knowledge. So, law enforcement officials were not told of the abuse, although such abuse is a crime. Offending priests were allowed to continue their ministries, often with access to more children, some of whom were eventually abused. When allegations were made, the bishop typically denied the claim, moved the priest to another parish, or to a treatment facility in some out of town location.

It was a twisted logic. And it was wrong.

The Journey

In our parish, people began talking about this behavior. They met and asked questions: How did we get to this state? What can we do to change things? Their conversation evolved into a point of view: "This must stop!" "This is not what our Church stands for; we protect children."

The more we learned, the angrier we grew. Our numbers swelled. Weekly meetings drew dozens at first, then hundreds, and finally so many that we could not hold the crowd. The call for change in our Church was loud and clear.

We gave ourselves a name, grounded in the language of Vatican 2 - "sensus fidelium" - the "sense of faith" held collectively by the followers of Christ. We called ourselves Voice of the Faithful and we have tried to honor that voice every day since then. In six months, we organized a convention for more than 4,200 people from many states, including Minnesota, and international guests as well. Voice of the Faithful extended the invitation - thousands of Catholics accepted and thousands more have followed.

In their defense, some bishops pleaded the "old law" defense - they were obliged to protect the Church from scandal. Secret payments were made to survivors with confidentiality clauses to prevent public scandal. In all of this, they lost sight of the transcendent law, Christ's law, which said "protect the children."

The moral core of our Church had been compromised by those who over-valued the institutional trappings of clerical privilege and power and under-valued the importance of protecting the innocence of children. To keep meaning in our faith, we had to act. We had to change the way the Church operated. This was not about doctrine and dogma. It was -and is-- about how we shall live in, and for, justice.

Phil's Story

Many stories of pain and hope have taken place over nearly three years. One remains vivid and illustrates why Christian witness and the "voice of the faithful" are related in these times.

We invited Phil, a survivor of clergy sexual abuse, to speak to our group. Several hundred were present as he rose to speak. He told of his childhood, his life as an altar boy, his abuse at the hands of the parish priest. The pain was etched in his face. He told us how he had been trying to get attention of Church officials for 10 years. And in all that time, this was the first time any Catholics had invited him to speak. "You did not want to know me … or to know that I existed."

Tears rolled down his cheeks, and as I looked around, I saw tears on the faces of others around me. We had seen "Christ's face" in Phil - the pain, the suffering, the call for help - and the hope.

This is our witness. Phil, like Christ, is our brother.

Three Questions

In all that has happened over three years - and much has happened - nothing has helped me understand what we are doing, and why, more than Phil's story.

In our lives, each of us must face three questions: (1) Who am I? (2) Why am I here? (3) How shall I live my life? If we are fortunate, at the last moment of life on Earth we will have answers to those questions. Jesus gives us many means - many tools - to find the answers to these questions.

Voice of the Faithful has helped me and thousands of other Catholics find the answers. I am a Catholic. I must try to help others. I must live my life as a husband, parent, and grandparent in a way that teaches through action. I must live my life, not as the Sadducees with their twisted view of the law, but as Christ inspired us to do. It is faith in action, and faith through action.

Where will this lead?

I do not know where all of this will lead. Three years ago I could not have imagined standing here at St. Joan of Arc to speak to you. But in these three years, I have met thousands of Catholics who want a Church that is open, inclusive, and morally sound. They do not want a Church that is filled with the vestiges of "old law" thinking that favors formality over Christian values.

Ours is a faith that "dares to speak," as Fr. Donald Cozzens has recently written in his new book of that title.

• We dare speak of issues that are painful to discuss.
• We dare speak to bishops who still refuse to listen.
• We dare to listen to survivors of clergy sexual abuse and make their story part of our story.
• We dare to reject the view that scandal was the worst thing that could happen to the Church - and to embrace the essential message: Christ's Church could not tolerate and sanction sexual child abuse by priests and other adults.

This is a witness born of conscience.

Conclusion

Our motto, as you may know, is "Keep the Faith, Change the Church."

As the baseball season came to an end this year, the Red Sox put up billboards across New England that used the first part of the motto-- "Keep the Faith". I kept looking for the second part of the message: "Change the Church"!

Of course, the change we need isn't to be found on billboards. It is to be found in the faith and within each of us. We must be the change we wish to see in the world.

Voice of the Faithful believes that the laity - women and men - must take their rightful place alongside clergy and bishops in the governance and guidance of our Church. In so doing, we will be living Christ's essential message. By embracing this responsibility, I believe we will find new ways to address the issues and challenges of our times.

After all, this has been a year of miracles.

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