What Do You Think?

This month we ask readers to consider the thoughts of Thomas P.Rausch, S.J., excerpted from America magazine by Paul Kendrick co-founder of VOTF Maine. Paul's letter to VOTF president Jim Post and others precedes the America excerpt. Please send your comments to leaderpub@votf.org.

Excerpt from Paul Kendrick: As you know, Bishop Joseph Gerry will not allow certain VOTF affiliates in Maine to hold meetings on Church property. I am beginning to think, "So what?"

Many of the people who attended VOTF meetings in the past just aren't coming anymore. It's not that they don't want to be a part of the VOTF mission - they just don't want to go to meetings. I'm one of them. Weekly e-mail updates would better serve our purpose.

We need to stop demanding "permission" to gather in church basements under the VOTF banner. Instead, we need to get busy. If we truly want to participate in the "Church of the 21st Century," there is much to be done now. Using the principles of Catholic social teaching as our "conscience," we have a unique opportunity to awaken our fellow Catholics to the true mission of our church. If we are calling for more "lay participation," then let it begin with us.

Justice and accountability for victims and survivors must not only be our first priority, but must color everything we do and stand for. We must engage ourselves in personal contact with victims and their families. Being in the presence of innocent suffering will change our hearts and minds. We must speak on their behalf whenever and wherever we are called to do so. We must not be afraid. We must not care what others say and think.

It is time for us to issue a public statement telling Bishop Gerry that his banning policy has no effect on us. VOTF members are already meeting on Church property as concerned Catholics actively engaged in social justice missions.

The poor are the Church. What can we do today to help fulfill this mission? Let our fellow parishioners come to know us as the most active people in our parish. Let's set a policy among ourselves of "Attraction not Promotion," aimed not at the bishop and his lieutenants, but rather towards our fellow Catholics and parish priests.

I have come to the conclusion that whether or not Joseph Gerry "allows" us to meet on Church property no longer matters. In fact, I am more convinced than ever that by continuing to object to Gerry's actions, we are only fueling the same power and arrogance that we speak so loudly against. Each time Gerry reiterates his banning policy, he drives his thumb into us just a little bit harder. This is reminiscent of our childhoods, as when a parent or a teacher abruptly dismissed our good intentions. By caring about the bannings, we remain children. We remain the ones who are told what to do. Instead, we must rise up, become adults, rejoice in our Baptism and most importantly, fully participate in our individual parishes. Then, we are no longer banned. We are engaged in helping our Church return to it's true mission. We become a "Voice" in our parishes. Jim, your help in speaking as a strong national VOTF presence assures that our message remains clear and forceful.

America excerpt:
"Particularly lacking is a realistic vision of how VOTF might work with bishops and local churches, given the nervousness of hierarchy and pastors. There are at least three models of how V.O.T.F. might contribute in the practical order to the renewal of church structures. One sees V.O.T.F. as a structure parallel to that of the diocese, a second understands it as an advocacy or pressure group, and a third seeks to incorporate V.O.T.F. members at all levels of the life of the local church." (Thomas P. Rausch, S.J., is the T. Marie Chilton Professor of Catholic Theology at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, Calif. His latest book is Who Is Jesus? An Introduction to Christology (Liturgical Press).)

November's "What Do You Think?" question: What model for VOTF will best suit our Church? Respond to leaderpub@votf.org.

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