Press Releases
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VOTF National Statement — Voice of the Faithful Sees Church Legal Pressure Crippling SNAP Effort to Protect the Vulnerable
NEWTON, Mass., Mar. 13, 2012 – Church reform movement Voice of the Faithful stood with SNAP (Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests) during a press conference in Washington, D.C., today, as SNAP continues its efforts against forceful disclosure of confidential information about sexual abuse victims. The press conference was held in front of the…
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VOTF National Statement — Voice of the Faithful Sees Victory for Laity in Vatican Reversal of Cleveland Church Closings
NEWTON, Mass., Mar. 9, 2012 – The Roman Catholic Church reform movement Voice of the Faithful sees a clear victory for the lay voices in our Church in the Vatican’s reversal earlier this week of church closings in the Cleveland Diocese. Many resolute Catholic lay people in the Cleveland area have been battling the closing…
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VOTF National Statement — Voice of the Faithful Agrees Conspiracy Memo in Priests’ Case “Shocking”
NEWTON, Mass., Feb. 28, 2012 – A newly discovered memo proves Philadelphia archdiocesan officials engaged in a conspiracy to cover up clergy sexual abuse in 1994. The memo also proves the Catholic Church reform group Voice of the Faithful’s long-held contention that Church hierarchy have covered up clergy sexual abuse to protect the Church’s reputation…
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Voice of the Faithful National Statement — Catholic Church Reform Movement Voice of the Faithful Cautions Hierarchy
World’s Catholic Church leaders meet at Rome Symposium on Clergy Sexual Abuse Feb. 6 NEWTON, Mass., Jan. 24, 2012 — The Roman Catholic Church has yet to develop an effective worldwide response to clergy child sexual abuse, even though widespread abuse was evident by the mid-1990s, exploded into crisis in the United States in 2002…
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National Statement — After 10 Years of Clergy Sexual Abuse Headlines Voice of the Faithful Sees No Certainty Children Are Safe
NEWTON, Mass., Jan. 5, 2012 – More than 130 people had come forward to tell their stories of childhood sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priest Fr. John Geoghan, reported The Boston Globe on Jan. 6, 2002. Over the next decade, around the world and as recently as last month in The Netherlands, came revelations that…
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Emily & Rosemary Fund for Women in the Catholic Church Awards $5,000 to Former Michigan Teacher
NEWTON, Mass., Dec. 21, 2011 – A Michigan teacher fired from her position at a Catholic elementary school has been awarded $5,000 in the fourth round of grants from the Voice of the Faithful’s Emily & Rosemary Fund for Women in the Church. These grants support women who have lost employment in the Catholic Church…
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Voice of the Faithful Repeats Calls for Transparency & Accountability as Dutch Report Widespread Clergy Sexual Abuse
NEWTON, Mass., Dec. 20, 2011 – Another chapter in the horrific story of worldwide Roman Catholic clergy child sexual abuse began Dec. 16 when a commission established by the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands released its report. “In the Netherlands, as elsewhere, clerics who perpetrated sexual abuse on helpless children could do so first…
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News Release — Irish Audits Show Clergy Sex Abuse Won’t Stop Without Accountability, Independent Review
NEWTON, Mass., Dec. 1, 2011 – For 36 years, leaders of six Roman Catholic dioceses in Ireland not only mishandled clergy sexual abuse and were not held accountable for abetting abuse, but also failed to establish reviews totally independent of Church influence, according to Voice of the Faithful’s reading of reports by Ireland’s National Board…
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Assessing the New Missal Translation
After more than a year of objection and resistance from English-speaking Catholics, including several bishops and many liturgists and translators, in Advent 2011 the Vatican imposed its new translation of the Missal for regions where English is the predominant language. Here’s a compendium of reflections published in preparation for the new translation: Fr. Anthony Ruff,…
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VOTF National Statement — Young Girls Again Are Prohibited from Serving Mass
NEWTON, Mass., Nov. 23, 2011 – Young girls have been prohibited from serving Mass by the pastor of Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church in the Diocese of Arlington, Va. In 2006, even as he relinquished a long-standing practice that excluded girls from altar service, Arlington Bishop Paul Loverde authorized diocesan priests to continue to exclude…