VOICES, VOICES EVERYWHERE!

VOTF National

National Parish Voice has identified four US regions for purposes of affiliate coordination, communication efforts and future regional definitions and representation. These are as follows:

• WEST - Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico Colorado, Wyoming, Hawaii, Alaska
• CENTRAL - North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Michigan Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio
• SOUTH - Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida
• EAST - Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island

VOTF WEST

VOTF Arizona
Reported by Sandy Simonson

Membership in Arizona's fledgling VOTF affiliate has increased dramatically in recent weeks as the agreement between Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley and Bishop Thomas O'Brien was made public. Our group now has over 100 members, up from just 38 a few weeks ago, and the number increases daily.

"We feel that the agreement, while not ideal, represents the best that could be done for the victims of abuse and to remove authority from Bishop O'Brien so that a crisis of this magnitude does not occur again. However, we feel that the Pope should not stand in the way of O'Brien's resignation, as that may be necessary to begin the healing process in the Diocese of Phoenix" stated Sandy Simonson, Coordinator of VOTF in Arizona. Catholics in Arizona were glad to see an end to the investigation and were encouraged to see Bishop O'Brien take a step toward accountability. However, O'Brien recently insisted that while he transferred priests known to have abused children and did not notify the communities impacted, he did not commit a crime. This has resulted in local outrage, with many Catholics calling for O'Brien to resign, and many more contacting VOTF to find out how they can make a difference.

VOTF in Arizona intends to push for the full release of all records associated with the grand jury investigation and a full report from the County Attorney's office. Additionally, the affiliate will request a full audit of the diocese and prepare a statement for the National Council of Bishops this month.

In other news, the VOTF Arizona affiliate has raised funds to send three local SNAP members to the national SNAP conference this month, and has made progress in gaining support of local priests, who are very fearful of negative repercussions from the diocese in aligning themselves with VOTF.

VOTF SE WISCONSIN
Reported by Terry Ryan

Former Congressman Tom Barrett spoke to the VOTF members of the SE Wisconsin Affiliate on May 20th at Gesu parish on Marquette University's campus. Barrett explained pertinent areas of judicial history and legislative history/potential as it relates to clergy sexual abuse. He described two state supreme court cases that have impacted victims' legal rights in the state of Wisconsin. He also offered a possible solution to help obtain justice for past victims: looking at clergy sex abuse as a new cause of action and making that part of the statute retroactive. Barrett especially urged VOTF to persist until they succeed in obtaining justice for victim-survivors.

Legislation to make clergy mandatory reporters and to raise the statute of limitations for civil and criminal cases will be introduced in early June. While VOTF supports what legislators are doing for the future, we find it a sad commentary that the Church's position against retroactivity prevents past victims from seeking justice in the court system in our state.

On June 17th VOTF will celebrate the first anniversary of the founding of our affiliate by inviting all victims and supporters to a liturgy of healing for anyone abused physically, sexually, or emotionally. After the liturgy Fr. Michael Crosby, OFMCap, a well-known author and speaker, will address the group on "Reconciliation and VOTF: Is It Possible?"

Our Clergy Support Voice group will meet soon to select someone from the Milwaukee Archdiocese for a local "priest of integrity" award. The presentation of that award will occur during the June 17th gathering.

At the conclusion of our first year as VOTF members, we've been able to look back and feel that we have accomplished quite a bit...although there is much to be done, including membership recruitment for the future. We were the first organization in the Milwaukee Archdiocese to ask a victim-survivor to speak to a group of Catholics in a parish facility, and we recently submitted a letter asking Archbishop Dolan to convoke an archdiocesan synod so that serious issues could be discussed openly and honestly.

Although we have not received a response yet, a second reform group (CTA-Wisconsin) has echoed our call for a synod. We remain hopeful and believe that the Spirit is working in our midst, calling us all to a deeper commitment to our faith and to reforming the church that we love. We are grateful for the blessings we've received by being active members of VOTF, and we thank all of you people in Boston for lighting the fire that started this movement. Peace to all of you!

VOTF Colorado
Reported by Sheila Norris

Communication with our Archbishop: We are awaiting a response to our letter to Archbishop Chaput asking for clarification around some recent, disturbing decisions made. We are not questioning the archbishop's authority to make choices around firing; we are, however, gravely concerned about the lack of justice and compassion exercised in the making of these decisions.

Companions on the Journey Series: Last month's "companion" was a local priest whose faculties were removed and his incardination process halted without just cause. There is no charge of sexual impropriety or abusive behavior. He is a man of God who has served in many diocesan parishes as a brilliant homilist as well as exercising a vital hospital chaplaincy ministry. There is no process of appeal in the diocese for him to seek recourse in. We are committed to supporting and walking with our brother through this difficult time.

Liturgy of Lamentations and Hope: This service will be held at an inter-faith chapel on June 25. We are creating a simple prayer service where people can voice their pain around their struggles in the Church so that movement toward healing, hope and revitalization is possible.

VOTF Central

VOTF Chicago, Il
Reported by Terry O'Connor

We are pleased to announce that a dozen VOTF Parish organizations have started meeting in the Chicago-land area. They include: Bloomington VOTF-Bloomington/Normal; Chicago VOTF-Chicago-West; Dupage County VOTF of Dupage; Gurnee VOTF at St. Paul the Apostle; Illinois VOTF-Priests of Illinois (confidential/invitation only); Inverness VOTF at Holy Family; Naperville VOTF-Naperville/Lisle; Oak Park VOTF at St. Giles; Oak Park VOTF at St. Edmonds; Palatine VOTF -Parishes of Palatine; River Forest VOTF at St.Luke's; Wheaton VOTF at Religious Education Community.

For more information, visit Chicago-West at www.voiceofthefaithful.org . Please also feel free to contact toc4186@corecomm.net or your local affiliate for any questions you may have on VOTF Chicago-land.

VOTF East

VOTF Northern New Jersey
Reported by Maria Cleary

Well, we certainly got our share of attention in NJ this past month! Archbishop Myers' critical words about Kathleen McChesney ( head of U.S. Bishops' Office of Child and Youth Protection) brought over 250 people to hear her speak at our May meeting. Her talk was well-received although it was short on specifics regarding the audit. She promises, however, to come back if we invite her - and we will.

We're thinking bigger these days. Two events are on the calendar for the Fall, and we're excited! On September 27, we will be having a workshop day on the Future of Catholic Ministry in New Jersey, during which we hope to examine the clergy shortage and how our dioceses are preparing for it. On November 15, our East Coast Affiliates are joining forces to put together a major conference at Fordham Prep/University in New York City. Let us know if you'd like to jump on board as we continue in our planning phase.
(Ed. Address questions to your Regional VOTF Leaders via the website at www.votf.org or e-mail to comments@votfnnj.org. Additional info in this issue under Regional Events.)

We sponsored a Thomas Merton retreat, led by Fr. Patrick Collins from Michigan, and we continue to meet on Saturday afternoons for prayer at our little chapel in Whippany. Please know that, at those times, we pray together with all of you, our VOTF brothers and sisters from whose faith and passion we draw our strength. Blessings from the Garden State.

VOTF Brooklyn, NY
Reported by Melissa Gradel

Brooklyn VOTF was very pleased to welcome Anthony Massimini as the guest speaker at our May meeting. Massimini is the author of The New Dance of Christ, Discovering Our Spiritual Self in a New, Evolving World. He attended the first session of the Second Vatican Council, lectures widely on contemporary spirituality and is a frequent advisor to VOTF. Dr. Massimini gave an impassioned talk about the role of the laity, and relationship of the laity and the hierarchy, as defined by Vatican II.

Our membership has grown to 400 in the Diocese and, with the ban lifted (LINK to Consecrated in Truth) June meetings are planned at several parishes!

VOTF Bridgeport, CT
Reported by Joseph F. O'Callaghan

Looking back at the work of our group in the past year, we note some of the work accomplished:

• Reflection on Lumen Gentium. Despite Bishop Lori's repudiation of the hand we extended to him to help in restoring the good image of the Church, we have done many things. We have studied Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, with particular attention to the first four chapters on The Mystery of the Church; The People of God; The Hierarchical Structure of the Church; and The Laity.
  
  
• Reflection on the Crisis in the Priesthood. We have listened to short presentations on the crisis in the priesthood with particular attention to the issues of celibacy; the aging and the shortage of priests; homosexuality in the priesthood; and the question of women priests.
  
  
• Three Groups reflecting on the Three Goals. Breaking into smaller groups, we have reflected on the three goals of Voice of the Faithful
  
  
• Support for Survivors. We have listened to David Cerulli, Buddy Cotton, Linda Allegretti and representatives of SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) and have offered our help to them especially in organizing a Connecticut chapter. The St. Paul Affiliate also hosted a meeting of Survivors First.
  
  
• We continue to reach out to priests of integrity.
  
  
• Incorporation. We have established a Steering Committee or Board of Directors, drawn up a constitution and by-laws and we have incorporated Voice of the Faithful in the Diocese of Bridgeport as of February 28, 2003 in order to be a continuous instrument for making our views known. We are awaiting recognition from the federal government as a non-profit tax exempt organization.
  
  
• Voice of Compassion - Bridgeport Fund. We have established the Voice of Compassion - Bridgeport Fund as an alternative means of financial support for the charitable and educational works of the diocese. We do all these things because we, as members of Christ's Body, the Church, are responsible for its well-being.
  
  
• Conference at Fairfield University. Last month we held a conference "Crisis in the Church: A Workshop for the Laity" at Fairfield University. Paul Lakeland who arranged the use of Fairfield's facilities gave us a stimulating discourse in the morning. Two successive panels were held in the afternoon. David Cerulli from SNAP, Peggy Fry, from St. Jude in Monroe, and Eleanor Craig Green of Westport spoke about their experiences of being abused by priests. Jim Butler, and Joe O'Callaghan addressed the question of the parish pastoral council and diocesan pastoral council, respectively, while Mary Jane Range commented on the issue of financial accountability on the parish and diocesan levels. The day closed with a moving liturgy celebrated by Fr. Jim Bowler of the Fairfield community.

We note a persistent determination to work for the renewal of the Church. Despite the efforts of Bishop Lori and his spokesman, Joseph McAleer, to blacken our reputations and to cast us as not quite orthodox, we are determined to continue our work of renewing and reforming the Church.

(Ed. For a more detailed chronology of the VOTF Bridgeport, Conn. 2002-3 year, please contact the coordinator on the website at www.votf.org under Parish Voices.)

VOTF Winchester, MA
Reported by Bob Morris

On Monday, May 12, our group commemorated its first anniversary (and 45th meeting overall) with an appearance by Father James Keenan, Professor of Moral Theology at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge. Fr. Keenan spoke about the characteristics of hope - a quality we all need as we continue upon the marathon that we started last year. Fr. Keenan also spoke about his desire for collaboration between VOTF and the Boston Priests' Forum.

On Saturday morning, May 3, our group sponsored "Parish Voices Gathering," a meeting attended by about 60 members of Parish Voice groups in Gloucester, Topsfield, Reading, Chelmsford, Cambridge, Hingham, Westwood, Boston, and other locations from eastern Massachusetts. Mary Ann Keyes, Parish Voice Director for VOTF, was in attendance and spoke to the group. VOTF Vice President Ann Carroll also attended. The series of workshops on issues such as "What Works, What Doesn't", "Dealing with Bannings," and "Membership - Building and Retaining," sparked some lively discussions and a general desire to ensure that this type of sharing and collaboration continues on a regular basis.

On Thursday, May 8, an article in The Boston Globe's NorthWest section focused on our group, as well as groups in Chelmsford and North Andover. The article emphasized that many VOTF members have long been active in the Church as CCD teachers, Eucharistic ministers, members of Parish Councils, etc. The article also highlighted the commitment, dedication and spirit that have been the hallmark of our group, and so many other Parish Voice groups in the Boston area and nationally.

VOTF Northampton/Springfield, MA
Reported by Ann Turner

At our next meeting in early June, our group will meet to discuss "A Genuine Role for the Laity?" - how the laity can participate in the pastoral planning process. The recent diocesan film on forming pastoral councils will be shown, and discussion will focus on how the laity can be active participants in Church governance. We will also explore how VOTF can help promote more lay involvement.

Also on the agenda: Working groups are being formed to focus on the goals of Voice of the Faithful; support of priests, support of victims, and working for structural change.

We are trying to move into a more action-oriented phase of our organization, with working groups forming and having their own separate meetings.

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