Letters to the Editor

(Below are only two of the many e-mails expressing concern for Patrick McSorley, a well-known survivor in the Boston, MA area. These two messages plot the course of VOTF responses. The outcome speaks for itself - Patrick was released from the hospital recently and appears to be doing well.)

"With so much focus on national news this week, let us all take a few minutes to pray for survivor Patrick McSorley who was found a few days ago in a Boston river and is fighting for his life at Mass. General Hospital. As most of you know, he has been a wonderful spokesperson for the survivors and a real hero."

"Are you all aware of the vigil for Patrick on Sunday (6/22) at the Cathedral (Boston, MA) 10:30 a.m. Please come for him and his family. Thanks."

Also in this month's batch:

"What a great newsy In the Vineyard update for June. My prayers will go with the reps. to St. Louis...and the story on the Wilson/Fallon hospitality takes me all the way back to the travels of Paul and how the Church was begun...guess we could call it 're-rooting' the Church. Thanks for all the information." Suzanne Battos

"Sorry to learn of the impending departure of Frank Keating from the review board. Another good man lost to the insidious dealings of the dark side of the Church. Another reason to keep fighting to make the church what it was intended to be. Can you imagine that Jesus had this horror in mind when He named Peter as the rock on whom He would build His Church? How did everything get this way - from a simple dinner with the twelve apostles to this? Your work on behalf of all Catholics is truly impressive. Know that your efforts are appreciated. Thank you."

"In the latest issue Roberta Monson is correct. The ONLY way to get the attention of the senior clergy is to withhold money. I have written of this before. We should organize a single Sunday when no one contributes. Personally I have stopped giving at my church even though I find no fault locally. I have written my bishop and the Pope to tell them of my actions and my promise to restart my contributions when most of the bishops involved have been removed. It is non-negotiable. In fact perhaps one Sunday a month I go to a Protestant Church for the sake of my spirit. Lets pick a day and organize now." Al Galli

"I was so sorry to read about Brendan Gunning leaving the Roman Catholic Church. What was done to him was inexcusable, but it seems to me that the whole Church is suffering for the sins of a few misguided men who unfortunately happen to be priests. Most of our priests are good and moral men. Hopefully Brendan will find peace in the Episcopal Church (founded by Henry VIII, who had a few skeletons in his closet, too).

The Catholic Church isn't the only denomination with clergy who have committed abuses. Acid (hatred) causes much damage to the vessel (person) it's stored in. Let's all build our Holy Catholic Church in spite of the damage some individuals have done. I myself am proud to be a member and will continue to support and pray for it. Christ forgave sinners - that's why He died on the cross. I will continue to pray for the abuse victims. God Bless." Peg

"I should like to respond to Brendan Gunning, if it is possible. Here in Australia we have had a great scandal involving the Governor General. He is the Queens Representative and holds the highest office in the land but has not the power of the prime minister who appoints him. Archbishop Hollingsworth, a member of the Church of England, the Church Brendan has joined, was found to have covered up sexual abuse for years and was accused himself. He compounded the felony by intimating that one of the victims initiated the affair. A child of 14! Suicide followed.

The resulting wave of hurt and indignation finally forced the resignation of a man enjoying the trappings of office. The obvious Church /State conflict will never be repeated. We await a new G.G.

Let me suggest to Brendan that humans are fallible and seeking refuge elsewhere is not the answer - stay and fight for reform. Our faith is like my diamond, it has had three settings and though their quality may vary the purity of the stone remains the same." Ann Bristow, N. S .W., Australia

"I am a strong supporter of VOTF, and have kept up on the information forwarded to me on my computer. I have been on a spiritual quest as a Catholic for some time now ever since so much of real life experience seems completely disconnected from the 'laws cast in stone' from Rome. That plus my knowledge of Church history repeatedly confirms Lord Acton's right-on quotation regarding the corruption of absolute power.

I live in Goshen, Connecticut, and was searching for a VOTF group that might be located nearby. Then, alas, I saw where the bishops in Connecticut (including other New England states) in Oct. '02 banned VOTF meetings on Church property. At that time Bishop William Tori of Connecticut said that VOTF threatens to tear the Church apart by promoting private dissenting opinions. I cannot believe the warped attitudes of some members of the hierarchy! Many thanks and keep up the good work." Ginny Stancs
(Note: We sent Ginny CT contact info.)

Below is an excerpt of a letter written by VOTF Brooklyn, NY members Anne and Ed Wilson to the Washington Times following that paper's negative editorial remarks regarding VOTF. The final letter comments on recent Washington Post coverage of the bishops' conference in St. Louis.

"Responding to your editorial ("A Few Bad Shepherds," June 18, 2003): We are members of the steering committee of Brooklyn Voice of the Faithful. We find ourselves strongly in accord with your critical views about the resignation of Gov. Frank Keating as chair of the National Review Board, established in 2002 by the U.S Catholic Bishops. You call 'sad and inexplicable' the fact that 'many bishops still act like the answer to priest sex scandal is more covering up.' We absolutely agree.

However, we also find it sad and inexplicable that your answer to Voice of the Faithful's efforts to address this scandal is to smear us with unsupported and slanderous accusations. You say we are comprised of 'leading dissenters on church teaching' about a number of sexual/gender issues. We challenge you to support that spurious allegation. And you call us a 'faction of rabble-rousers.'

If this is your usual mode of discourse, we are surprised you object to Gov. Keating's choice of words.

Voice of the Faithful is a nationwide group of centrist Catholic lay people formed last year in Boston in immediate and direct (not 'ostensible') response to the scandal and Cardinal Law's failure to deal adequately with it. Our goals are to support survivors of priest sexual abuse, to support priests of integrity, and to seek change in the authority structure of the church to address the misuse of power that you decry.

Our beliefs have been held by Bishop Daily of Brooklyn to be in accord with Church teaching. If you wish to know our beliefs, consult our Web site.

We support Catholic moral standards. Among those standards is one of the Ten Commandments: 'Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.'" Anne and Ed Wilson

Additional comments on the same Washington Times article:
"I see some good news in this attack. If we were not becoming more and more influential, inspired by the Holy Spirit, these apologists for those who have committed treacherous deeds would not even be acknowledging us.

So while response is in order, so is some celebrating for our continuing focus on our mission and goals and its attractiveness to so many Catholics. I hope we will retain that focus. As the hymn says "Here I am Lord, is it I Lord? I have heard you calling in the night, etc". We are going, the Spirit is leading and we are holding His people in our hearts. It is a great honor for me to be in this movement. KFCC, indeed!" Bill McQueeney, St. Anselm Parish Voice, Sudbury-Framingham, MA

"Indeed, we are not a "radical" leftist group, we are not dissenters and we most certainly are not rabble-rousers. We are the Eucharistic Ministers, Lectors, Greeters, Religious Education Instructors, altar servers, choir members and members of parish and financial councils, among other things. Our dedication to the Church of Jesus Christ, our Church, is unflagging and unquestionable. Such ad hominem attacks upon faithful Catholics is reprehensible and cries out for retraction and apology." Steve Sheehan

"After all we've heard about the leadership of the church, I am grateful there are still 'revolutionaries in their pews.' The alternative would be empty pews. We, the Church, need to come together to resolve our crisis, restore trust, learn from the past, and grow in faith and love." Ann Zouvelekis, member of Voice of the Faithful, Northern NJ Affiliate

"In today's Washington Post editorial section, E. J. Dionne, Jr. quotes Scott Appleby, a professor of religious history at Notre Dame who said, 'We're in the month 18 of the most serious crisis in the history of the American Catholic Church, and we have yet to hear from the leading figures in the Church about how we should make moral, ethical, theological and spiritual sense of what happened.' Instead, at the Bishops' meeting in St. Louis, we hear quite different messages from Church leaders.

As reported in a story on page 2 of today's Post, the Pope's ambassador to the U.S. said. 'Some real problems within the Church have been magnified to discredit the moral authority of the Church.'

Bishop Gallante of Dallas, Texas said that whenever the clergy show 'feet of clay, it's an opportunity for people who don't like what we teach to say we're hypocrites.' Bishop Sullivan of Brooklyn said that the scandal 'has distorted the image of the Church' and that 'nobody knows the real story of what the Church has done' for the poor, the sick, and the homeless. Cardinal George of Chicago observed that the bishops have not received credit for removing all past abusers from ministry and that while there's still work to be done, "it's procedural. What we promised to do a year ago, we've done.'

I wonder what letters St. Paul would write to the faith communities of today if he visited them the way he did in the early days of the Church. I for one would want to be in South Arlington rather than in St. Louis." Bill Casey

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