Voice of the Faithful Press Conference

Boston, MA — Faneuil Hall — Friday, July 19, Good afternoon. I am Paul Baier, chairman of the Response of the Faithful Lay Congress sponsored by Voice of the Faithful, which will take place tomorrow at the Hynes Convention Center. With me is Mary Scanlon Calcaterra, also a founding member of Voice of the Faithful, and David Clohessy and Mark Serrano of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP.

We are here at Faneuil Hall for a reason. This is hallowed ground in the history of our country, the place where voices have been raised for over two-and-a-half centuries in the search for justice and liberty. Mindful of the tradition of free expression that marks this building and plaza, we raise a new voice seeking cooperative representation, this time in the Catholic Church.

The Church is in the midst of a crisis of trust. In Rome, the pope spoke; in Dallas, the bishops spoke; now, in Boston, the mainstream Catholic laity speaks. We respond in a spirit of hope that the leadership of our beloved Church will be accountable to the people they govern, and that the people they govern will exercise their right to participate responsibly in policy and administration. Greater lay involvement and openness are inextricably tied to justice when pursued in prayerful guidance by the Holy Spirit. For what was done in darkness has been revealed as grave injustice to all who call the Church to witness to the truth. John Adams called Faneuil Hall the cradle of liberty, and indeed it is the truth that will set us free.

All of us must be accountable to speak openly and transparently about the issues raised by the sexual abuse scandal. The issues Voice of the Faithful cite revolve around our core message of justice for survivors, support for priests of integrity, and the laity's need for representative structures of governance. If healing and reconciliation are to be achieved, then we need to cleanse the deep wound of hurt by speaking truth to power on these matters, even if they are painful. Only then will trust be restored.

We call on the bishops to vigorously enforce the Charter and Norms they agreed to in Dallas, specifically zero tolerance, or permanent removal from ministry "for even a single act of sexual abuse of a minor, past, present or future." We are concerned that, while this is being done in many dioceses, there are those where it is not. Since the bishops acknowledged in their own words that restoration of trust "will begin with the actions we take," delay works against progress.

We commend the bishops for stipulating the inclusion of a majority of laity on all diocesan review boards and appellate review boards. The national review board is another avenue of lay review we favor. We understand, however, that, historically, the effectiveness of such review boards has been spotty, since recommendations have been ignored, and important matters not brought to their attention. To minimize these concerns, we recommend that all such boards include survivors as a matter of principle, and that serious consultation with survivor advocacy groups be sought on review board appointments. This oversight in Dallas must be corrected, since the perspective of survivors is critical to any group dealing with abuse. Furthermore, we look with grave concern on appointments to those boards that may be vigorously questioned by survivors themselves, based on their personal experience.

We applaud the bishops' agreement to "develop a communications policy that reflects a commitment to transparency and openness." These are sorely needed, and priests who have spoken out forthrightly in their parishes are often greeted with standing ovations. However, what we find particularly troublesome are things like:

• New Hampshire's bishop announcing and acting on a zero tolerance policy while the policy distributed to the public still allows for reassignment; New Hampshire's chancellor telling a reporter that he doesn't have time to explain the difference between what the bishop says versus what the published policy says; the chancellor stating that the diocese always abided by the law, while neglecting to mention that the law required no action; in other words, claiming credit for doing nothing;

• San Diego's bishop parsing his definition of "is" when releasing incomplete data on the costs of abuse, by listing only out-of-pocket expenses, not the total cost including payments from insurance and the abuser's estate;

• The Sacramento diocese setting up a victim hotline manned by a lawyer/mediator who shares confidential data with insurers and the diocese, violating traditional counselor/ patient confidentiality in the minds of victims. These actions - and there are still far too many of them - heighten the cynicism of the laity, instead of building trust.

Finally, we call on the bishops to work honestly and proactively with civil authorities, using both civil and canonical procedures to close loopholes and tighten the system to protect children. Canon law alone has not been sufficient in the past to assure protection. Where revisions are needed to implement the bishops' new policy, they must be sought. Provisions in civil and criminal law such as the statute of limitations, release of all documents on abusive priests, mandatory reporting by all clergy, and contributory negligence clauses that apportion blame to parents and victims are all issues that Voice of the Faithful is studying carefully. We seek the input of survivor advocacy groups on these matters of bishop accountability, and would now like to offer SNAP a chance to address them and any other concerns.

SNAP - five minutes?
Hello, I am Mary Scanlon Calcaterra, the survivor support chairman at Voice of the Faithful. Let me review what we are doing to move beyond words and get down to work. Five initiatives are being pursued: the development of Parish Voice chapters across the nation and abroad (for example, inquiries have already been received from Germany, Scotland and Australia?), a database of priests involved in abuse to help survivors learn about their molesters and make contacts with other victims, a bishop monitoring form to follow compliance by our local bishops with the norms adopted in Dallas, fundraising for survivor advocacy groups, and establishment of a Voice of Compassion Fund to allot contributions to agencies and services affected by cutbacks. We are accountable for our actions just as the bishops are for theirs.

Tomorrow, Voice of the Faithful will take the next steps designed to educate, organize and pray. The laity needs to understand its role as specified in canon law, Vatican II documents and the history of the Church. Dr. Anthony Massimini, a theologian from Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, and Dr. Leonard Swidler from Temple University, will speak on models and ideas for a constitution of the laity. Rev. Thomas Doyle, a canon law expert; Professor Steven Pope from Boston College, and Professor Michele Dillon from the University of New Hampshire will present on the authority for lay participation in Church governance; and Dr. Francine Cardman of West Jesuit School of Theology will speak on the early history of the Church. Rev. Gary Hayes, president of Linkup, a survivor support group, and Mark Serrano from SNAP will talk about what's really needed in services to the sexually abused. We will hear their stories and let them know they are not alone anymore. Another panel will address how to protect our children and establish safe parishes.

Organizing Parish Voice chapters to work for change is high on the agenda. Experienced Voice leaders will explore listening session techniques and step-by-step procedures to build a viable presence in as many parishes as possible. Other topics include the dilemma of priests and how to help them, creative financial initiatives for the laity and young adults as the new catalysts for change. In keeping with its goal of supporting priests in their ministry, Voice of the Faithful will present its first Priest of Integrity Award to Rev. Thomas P. Doyle, a canon lawyer and advocate for victims, who has worked for 18 years to help the Church face priest sexual abuse responsibly. The Congress will close with a mass and Eucharist, calling thousands of Catholics across the spectrum of opinion, to pray together for healing, reconciliation and the restoration of trust in our Church leadership.

The bishops have an exemplary record of reaching out to the marginalized in our society: the poor, the sick, the immigrant, the vulnerable, and the aged. We call on the bishops to reach out to those who feel marginalized within their own church - the laity, devoted men and women whose hearts yearn for true healing made visible in action and deed. We urge the bishops to trust that we, too, want to build a prayerful, loving church for the future. Today, tomorrow and henceforth, hear our voice, the Voice of the Faithful.