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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.

 

 

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In the Vineyard
January 2003
Vol 2, Issue 1

Page One

From the Executive Director

Working Groups

Voices, Voices Everywhere!

Current VOTF members, please re-register as part of our database update. New members, please register.


Voice of the Faithful is recognized as one of the most promising lay organizations to evolve in the Catholic Church. Your support is absolutely necessary for us to continue. The online donation form and the mail in donation form are both quick and easy ways for you to participate, and we are most grateful.

VOTF™
Mission Statement

To provide a prayerful voice, attentive to the Spirit, through which the Faithful can actively participate in the governance and guidance of the Catholic Church.

Purple Cross

Our Goals

1. To support those who have been abused

2. To support priests of integrity

3. To shape structural change within Church
More

right line

Pray Each Day
at Noon

Jesus, Lord and Brother, help us with our faithfulness. Please hear our voice, and let our voice be heard. Amen. More

 

         

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