Printer Friendly Version
Please forward
submissions to In the Vineyard to leaderpub@votf.org.
In the
Vineyard
"God with
us, Emmanuel"
For Catholics
all over the world, the year 2002 will long be remembered as a turning
point. Catholic laity everywhere voiced a resounding call for inclusion
in the healing and the future of our Church. The voices raised have
not abated while the number of concerned Catholics across the US
and around the world grows daily.
VOTF is well
aware that the source of this restored communion is the discovery
of the many gifts born of many voices. The survivors who spoke the
truth "made straight the way" for an awakened laity and an increasingly
supportive clergy. Only together do we animate Christ's words, "Where
two or more are gathered in My Name, there so am I." As we heard
in many parishes throughout Advent, Christ is born again and again
- our year, our day, our moment is ever new. This gift is nowhere
more evident than in the stories told in this newsletter.
Susan Troy,
national chair of VOTF Prayerful Voice, responded recently to a
media question about advice for the new interim administrator in
the Boston Archdiocese - Bishop Lennon. Her words mark the pilgrim
journey we share with fresh truth in a New Year for Catholics everywhere.
He
should see the victim survivors who have come forth with their stories,
and who have remained committed to the demand for truth, as the
new prophets and martyrs of our Faith. They point the way toward
the greatest truths of our Christian Faith - that light shall triumph
over darkness and that each individual is a Christ-bearer. The laity,
Voice of the Faithful, have learned these lessons from the victim/survivors
and our Faith is greater.
Our
resolve to change the structures that led to this crisis is growing
daily. Bishop Lennon must learn to trust those prophets and to trust
the faithful. I truly believe, after months of listening to hundreds
of Catholics throughout the archdiocese who have joined Voice of
the Faithful, that the true strength of the Church lies in these
very people.
Peggie
L.Thorp
Editor
In the Vineyard
Table of Contents
Page One
From the Executive
Director
Working Groups
Voices, Voices
Everywhere!
In
the News
In
Brief
- Linkup asks
for VOTF's support for their Annual
Healing Conference for survivors.
- Please join
the Paulist Center Community as they honor the recipient of the
2003 Isaac Hecker Award for Social Justice, Thomas P. Doyle,
O.P. Canon Lawyer, Chaplain. More
information
- Jesuit Theologian
Bill Clark to Speak in Maine Parishes on "The Role of the Laity
in Today's Church" Fr. Clark to Speak in Saco on Jan. 22 & Calais
on Feb. 2. More
information
- Jayne MacDonald,
Chair of Membership and Recruitment, reports a suggestion from
member Bill Sheehan. Bill proposes that every VOTF member identify
ten contacts - friends, colleagues, extended family - and ask
them personally to visit the VOTF website at www.votf.org. Bill
believes it is bound to grow our numbers, an imperative of future
success.
- Please note
Jim Post's speaking schedule
in the event you are in the area he is visiting and the meeting
is open to the public. Jim would certainly value the support and
the opportunity to meet fellow VOTFers.
- Remarks
by Steve Krueger at Feast of the Epiphany Memorial Vigil.
- Print
out the entire In the Vineyard newsletter to read at
your leisure or distribute to friends who don't have internet.
- Your donations
to VOTF help us maintain our website, assist new affiliates, and
provide regular communication to members and the media. You can
donate
online or mail a donation to us at PO Box 423, Newton, MA
02464. Thanks for your generosity, which has been tremendous.
Please
forward submissions to In the Vineyard to leaderpub@votf.org.
|