"The
voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the
way of the Lord, make his paths straight." Mt 3:3
In
this Issue:
Responding
to the John Jay and
National Review Board Reports
Events,
Etc.
- Another
VOTF milestone in the recent publication of the
VOTF genesis story by Jim Muller and Charles Kenney
Keep the Faith, Change the Church. The first
VOTF story is now in bookstores and available at Amazon.com.
Voice of the Faithful is making a limited time offer
of signed copies of Keep the Faith, Change the
Church by the authors. Your
purchase of this
signed copy for $50.00 including
shipping and handling will help support Voice of the
Faithful and the important work we continue to do
in returning responsibility to Catholicism. Click
Here.
- Jason
Berry and Gerald Renner, authors of Lead Us
Not Into Temptation and Vows of Silence - The Abuse
of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II will be
speaking at St. John the Evangelist School Hall in
Wellesley, MA on Tuesday March 16th 7:30 pm - 9:00
pm.
-
Scandal
and Sunlight – What the John Jay
Study Means to Catholics,
Remarks of James E. Post President, Voice
of the Faithful St. Patrick and St. Anthony’s
Roman Catholic Church, Hartford, CT
- From
Hartford, CT to St. Louis, MO and on to San Francisco,
CA - VOTF is engaged in and hosting conferences
and symposia; VOTF Mayflower, VOTF Boston and VOTF
South Shore affiliates to host VOTF Priest of Integrity
award recipient and survivor advocate Fr. Tom
Doyle. All are welcome to hear Fr. Doyle speak
at St. Albert the Great Church, Rt. 53 (1130 Washington
St.), E.Weymouth, MA on Sunday, March 21, 2 pm. For
directions, visit
www.angelfire.com/rock2/kevinzip/voice.htm .
- Have
a few free hours next week? Spend some at Boston College.
Monday, March 15, 2004 . Check www.bc.edu/church21/
for more information
Parish
Pastoral Councils
-
Get
ready! Read
the VOTF Structural Change statement and
watch for more details in coming months - the Primer
on "Organizational Structures of the Catholic Church"
is nearing completion for distribution. This document
will prove to be an historic development in responsible
Catholicism.
-
How
healthy is your Parish Pastoral Council? Consider
the VOTF Boston, MA survey of parish pastoral councils
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=51127395154
-
Confused
about Parish Pastoral Councils? You're not alone.
Archbishop McCarrick of Washington, DC thinks there's
a parish pastoral council, the so-called "lay voice"
in our Church, in every parish "in the world." So
he said to Tim Russert on NBC News "Meet the
Press." Wrong. (see the program transcript at
www.msnbc.com);
Gaile Pohlhaus, PA, found this web site on parish
pastoral councils quite helpful: http://www.west.net/~fischer/
and/or http://users.adelphia.net/~markfischer/
Parish
Closings - Coming to your neighborhood?
Something
to think about - prayers, poetry, a homily and your
opinion
- Timely
advice in A Sermon for Our Time - New Orleans,
LA pastor reminds listeners, "Compassion is action."
- "Spirit
Be Free" - a survivor's invocation.
- VOTF
Prayer for Lent
- What
Do You Think? VOTF member responds to Fr. Andrew
Greeley's column "Forgiveness Can Happen"; responses
to last month's Fr. Helmick's essay "Task for the
Next Church Council."
- Letters
to the Editor - Where's yours? Write to leaderpub@votf.org
- See
our very
first "Corrections" entry!
-
Donate
- Join
- To
receive the winter VOTF quarterly Voice please call
the office at 617-558-5252 or contact your Council
Rep.
- REMINDER:
To contact an affiliate in your area, just go to VOTF
Parish Voice, identify your state by region, click
appropriately and you're there.
- Please
send comments and inquiries to leaderpub@votf.org
- Copy
deadline for the April 2004 issue is Friday, March
26.
- Our
postal address is VOTF, Box 423, Newton Upper Falls,
MA 02464-0002
Voice
of the Faithful, VOTF, "Keep the Faith, Change the Church,"
Voice of Compassion, VOTF logo(s), Parish Voice, and
Prayerful Voice are trademarks of Voice of the Faithful,
Inc.
Voice
of the Faithful is a 501(c) 3 tax-exempt organization.
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In
the Vineyard
March
2004
Volume 3, Issue 3
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A wilderness,
indeed. There are many ways to assess the wilderness in our
Church. Let's consider one view using a VOTF lens.
Step One:
A voice for the laity "goes public" on March 9, 2002. Tuesday
of this past week marked two years since VOTF took its first
public steps into the arena of Church reform. On that day
in 2002, the "new kid on the block" attended the Boston Convocation
hosted by Cardinal Law. Organizations and parish representatives
from all over the archdiocese gathered to voice their outrage
over revelations of clergy sexual abuse. We also gathered
to state our hopes and expectations; VOTF continues to stand
by the document we presented that day (LINK). Conclusion two
years later? The message is worthy.
Step Two:
Following intense public pressure and media exposure, the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) commissioned
a National Review Board (NRB) that would study the extent
and causes of the crisis and publish those findings. This
effort culminated in the release on February 27, 2004 of the
John Jay College of Criminal Justice report and the NRB report.
Conclusion two years later? Voices matter.
Step Three:
The much-touted release of the John Jay and National Review
Board reports did little to relieve pain, provide hope or
remediate much for Catholics who are expecting bishop accountability
or Vatican intervention. What it did accomplish, however,
is a modicum of clarity - the debris of deception will not
move, and has not moved, of its own accord. Conclusion two
years later? Again - voices matter..
Among
many other commentators and observers, National Catholic
Reporter recognizes all of the above. The current issue's
editorial (March 12, 2004) compares two ads that appeared
on the same day in the New York Times - February 29.
One was a USCCB ad, which "had a ring of finality about it."
The other was the VOTF ad, promoting the VOTF Petition Drive.
According to the editorial, the VOTF message "had the sound
of a campaign getting underway. Which view prevails, those
who think the issuance of the reports marks an end to a difficult
chapter or those who think the event marks the beginning of
a process aimed at essential reforms, could well determine
the future shape and tone of the Catholic Church in this country."
As we
said to Cardinal Law over two years ago, "We are the Church;
we are the People of God." Conclusion two years later? We
are the Church; we are the People of God.
The campaign
is under way.
Peggie L. Thorp, Ed.
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