“The
restoration to the clergy and people of their baptismal
right to elect their
own bishops is a necessary step toward re-membering our dis-membered
Church (as Francine Cardman so eloquently put it). By taking
that step we will be helping to make the Body of Christ healthy,
whole and entire once again.” From Joe O’Callaghan’s “Reflection on the Body of Christ” in
this issue
VOTF at Work in the World
VOTF
reacts to grand jury finding of responsibility in abuse suit against
the Philadelphia Archdiocese. Read
More.
We hope
you can join us on Sunday, October 23 for a Boston College
Church in the 21st Century symposium: “Voice of the Faithful:
Findings from a Study of a Social Movement within the Catholic
Church” with lead researchers William D'Antonio and Anthony
Pogorelc, Catholic University of America, 1:00 p.m. – 5:00
p.m., Robsham Theater. For more information, please visit the
web site or call 617 552-0470.
Be sure to check www.bc.edu/church21 for ongoing opportunities
and to request your free copy of Resources, a service of the C21
Center and now the second largest Catholic publication in the United
States.
The mother of a survivor of clergy sexual abuse addressed
the quarterly meeting of an Archdiocesan Pastoral Council in
Ohio. She is a member of the VOTF Dayton, OH affiliate. Archbishop
Daniel E. Pilarczyk is the Archbishop of Cincinnati and attends
all meetings. At this meeting, the Auxiliary Bishop was present
as well as the Council’s chairperson Judge Michael Merz, a member of the National Review Board. Read “In a Mother’s Words: Watch Your Language” under
Commentary.
Selective Silence Under Fire: Rockville Center, NY, VOTF Long Island challenges
the silence around their archdiocese’s finances.
LI VOTF is also trying
to right another wrong. "A former official in the Catholic diocese on Long Island who was barred from priestly duties after being accused of molesting boys is prominently listed on the pastoral staff of a Great Neck, N.Y., parish.” The
story appeared in the Sept. 17 issue of the New York Times.
Silence is
not an option at Our Lady Help of Christians in Newton, MA. “Our
Lady’s” is
a documentary about how one Newton, MA parish found their voice in the
aftermath of revelations of sexual abuse by clergy. The film was shown
last night at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and is part of the Boston
Film Festival Oct 6-10. For ticket information click here. Survivors
and survivor advocates around the US
are struggling against silence as bishops refuse
to release
names of priests who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of children
; on
this subject, the Catholic League’s William Donohue responds to VOTF member
Paul Kendrick. See Letters
to the Editor.
Long-time survivor
advocate, VOTF supporter and author of Vows of Silence Jason
Berry analyzes the sound of silence around Archbishop Levada in the
current issue of San
Francisco magazine. The
US Justice Department has asked a Texas court to dismiss a lawsuit
naming Pope Benedict XVI, click
here.
The Vatican is launching an investigation into the presence of gay men in seminaries and Fr. Himes of Boston College wonders when the bishops will break their silence in their own chanceries. See the September 16, 2005 National Catholic Reporter editorial and article, Boston Globe and Catholic News Service coverage:
VOTF National
and VOTF Boston continue to work on passage of Senate Bill 1074, An
Act Relative to Charities, sponsored by MA State Sen. Marian Walsh. The affiliate
is now focusing on the bill’s move from committee to full Senate. To offer
or receive some help and/or ideas in this effort, please contact John Moynihan
at
jmoynihan@votf.org. Outside of MA?
Remember: The actions taken in Boston with regard to working with your state
legislature are emerging as a model for any affiliate in the US.
Parish leadership is
changing faster than any single parish can appreciate. A newly released study
confirms
that in the past ten years, the number of parishes led by lay people – inclusive
of lay religious – has
doubled. Six out of ten parish coordinators are women and about half of all
coordinators preach. See the current issue of National
Catholic Reporter
and
for an overview of the state of lay ministry, click here.
- The VOTF Falmouth,
MA event “The Parish of Tomorrow” couldn’t
happen at a better time. VOTF member Anne Southwood reports in
Affiliate
Highlights. For additional coverage, click
here.
- School closings in several
cities across the country – among them Chicago, New York City (Brooklyn),
Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis and Boston – spark a resolve to “plan for
the future.” See America magazine
Aug.29-Sept. 5 issue
and Catholic
News Service.
- In June, Boston College
held a 3-day conference of priests & scholars. Boston College magazine recaps
the proceedings, which covered a wide range of topics, including the
priestly "cultic" model
vs. the servant model, the moral right to associate, priest and parish
burnout, etc.
National Representative Council welcomes the newly elected representative from Region 12 (WA, OR, ID, MT, AK) Linda L. Mains. Read the NRC Update under Council
Notes. Identify your Council representative.
BRIEFLY NOTED
Justice Anne Burke, the keynote speaker at the VOTF Indianapolis Convocation in July, has been named by U.S. Catholic Magazine
as the recipient of the 2005 U.S. Catholic Award “for furthering the cause of women in the church.” The
magazine has been published for 70 years by the Claretian Missionaries. The
award will be presented in Chicago, IL on Oct. 3. Watch upcoming issues of U.S.
Catholic.
Northern New Jersey
affiliate of VOTF participated
with several other reform-minded groups in a forum entitled “Other Voices” that
drew close to 150 participants. Theresa Padovano, co-facilitator of the affiliate
speaking for VOTF, based her talk on the decrees of Vatican II, which called
for a Church featuring a “collegiate (structure), openness and inclusiveness.
Are we seeing this happen?” she
asked. For more on this gathering, click here.
Site-Seeing Reminder:
The “Abuse
Tracker” is a service provided by National Catholic Reporter.
It provides news of abuse reports all over the world with links to the
relevant media coverage. Also, check in at bishop-accountability.org for
updates on bishop accountability; SNAP is focusing their survivor
support efforts on victims of hurricane Katrina as well as the recent total
loss by fire of the home of an Ohio SNAP leader.
Letter
to the Editor - In the last issue, we invited readers
to comment on the place of the laity in choosing speakers in their parishes.
Several dioceses in the US require permission from the bishop prior to
issuing the invitation. Two responses captured the many received on this
subject. Also, an exchange between VOTF member Paul Kendrick and Catholic
League president William Donohue. Click
here.
CALENDAR NOTES:
-
USCCB meeting, Washington,
DC November 14-17. The agenda will be posted the week before the meeting
at www.usccb.org. See the August 25 Vineyard for link to NCR “gleanings” of
the upcoming meeting. Also note, the VOTF Representative Council will
also be meeting November 12-13 in Washington, DC.
-
To add your upcoming
event to the VOTF calendar, just go to the web site at www.votf.org, click
on PV
calendar
in the right-hand column and follow the directions. To see what’s going
in any affiliate in a given week, click here.
What Do You Think?
If you’ve read the recommended
coverage on parish leadership, inclusive of the statistics on current lay
ministries as well as the VOTF Falmouth, MA discussion recap, what above
all other points made (or not made) strikes you? Write to pthorp.ed@votf.org.
Next issue of In the
Vineyard: October 6. Please send comments and/or inquiries
to pthorp.ed@votf.org
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