Contact: Suzanne Morse 617-680-2131, smorse@votf.org

For Immediate Release

Voice of the Faithful Calls On Catholic Bishops to Continue and Strengthen Audits

Group Decries Bishops’ “Manipulation” of Lay National Review Board

Newton, Mass. – May 14, 2004 – Voice of the Faithful leaders stated today that recently released letters from U.S. Catholics bishops to Bishop Wilton Gregory questioning the work of National Review Board (NRB) chair Justice Anne Burke demonstrate “fraternal collusion rather than fraternal correction” among some of the bishops.

Additionally, members are reacting to the release of a letter by Burke charging that the U.S. Catholic bishops had manipulated the work of the NRB, the board created by the Bishops to help make the Church safe for children. This letter, along with letters from various bishops asking for a delay of the implementation of the second round of audits, are posted on the National Catholic Reporter’s website. Voice of the Faithful leaders are calling on the bishops not only to immediately fulfill their obligation to the Dallas Charter by continuing the second round of audits and agreeing to the recommendations provided by the Office for Child and Youth Protection (OCYP) in January.

“It seems that some of the bishops are determined to force the issues surrounding clergy sexual abuse into ‘history,’” said James E. Post, president of Voice of the Faithful. “It is astounding that Bishop David Ricken of the diocese of Cheyenne claimed that ‘the bishops need a bit of a break.’ Neither the survivor community nor the lay men and women so horrified by the revelations of the past few years have the luxury of taking a break from this scandal. That any bishop would seek to ‘take a break’ rather than provide real leadership amazes me.”

“These letters appear to be more like fraternal collusion rather than fraternal correction,” said Steve Krueger, executive director of Voice of the Faithful. “On February 27th, the National Review Board recommended that the bishops implement ‘fraternal correction’ as a means of regaining the trust of faithful Catholics after their mismanagement led to 50 years of clergy sexual abuse. Some of these bishops seem to have taken the concept and turned it on its ear to protect themselves, rather than children. Such actions have eroded the progress that has been made and take us back to step one.”

“The bishops promised, in 2002 in Dallas, to create and maintain safe parish environments for children. That they are seeking to go back on their promises in such a short time is astounding,” said Post. “The Dallas Charter authorized the establishment of an Office for Child and Youth Protection to provide a vehicle of accountability and assistance to dioceses. The OCYP is charged to assist individual dioceses in the implementation of ‘safe environment’ programs, to assist in the development of appropriate mechanisms to audit adherence to policies, and to produce an annual public report on the progress made in implementing the standards in this Charter. That language comes directly from the Charter itself – the bishops promised to conduct an annual report, and any delay can be construed as a breaking of that promise.”

In January, Voice of the Faithful called the audits a first step to restoring the confidence of lay Catholics but expressed concern that the audits were self-reports by the Bishops. Leaders of Voice of the Faithful also identified a culture of secrecy and authoritarianism that allowed this scandal to occur for decades.

Voice of the Faithful acknowledged the set of recommendations the OCYP issued to help close important gaps. Among them was a recommendation for long-term implementation of the audits. As was stated in the OCYP’s report, “Failing to create a long-term plan for accountability and response to the crisis of sexual abuse of children and youth would undermine the substantial efforts that have been made thus far. A short-term solution would be perceived as insensitive to the lifelong pain suffered by victims and as showing an unwillingness to recognize that cases of such abuse remain unreported or could occur in the future.”

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About Voice of the Faithful: Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) is a worldwide movement of concerned mainstream Catholics formed in response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis. The group's mission is to provide a prayerful voice, attentive to the Spirit, through which the Faithful can actively participate in the governance and guidance of the Catholic Church. Its goals are to support victim/survivors of abuse, support priests of integrity, and shape structural change within the Catholic Church in full accordance and harmony with Church teaching. VOTF’s supporting membership exceeds 30,000 registered persons from 50 U.S. states, 38 countries and 197 Parish Voice affiliates throughout the world.