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

For Immediate Release

Voice of the Faithful Leaders Call for Financial Transparency in Response to Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon Filing for Bankruptcy

July 6, 2004 – Newton, MA and Portland, OR – Voice of the Faithful leaders are calling for financial transparency in the Catholic Church in the wake of today’s announcement by the archdiocese of Portland, Oregon that it has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in bankruptcy court. The archdiocese of Portland, Oregon is the first to file for bankruptcy in the nation.

“This is bad news for the entire Catholic Church in the United States,” said James E. Post, president of Voice of the Faithful. “The institutional Church has been in decline for decades – vocations, attendance, and donations are down in many dioceses across the country. In the past few months, we have seen huge settlements paid out because of poor supervision over many decades. We have seen dioceses forced to close dozens of parishes. Now, we have the first archdiocese in the country filing for bankruptcy – the Church continues to reap the bitter fruit of the clergy sexual abuse crisis.”

“The responsibility of this bankruptcy filing lies with the Bishops who refused to deal with this for too many years,” said Steve Krueger, executive director of Voice of the Faithful. “A failure of pastoral leadership caused clergy sexual abuse to go unnoticed for fifty years, and we have seen the effects of that failure in both human and financial costs in places as varied as Boston, Dallas, and Portland, Oregon. But this action does allow for a new beginning, if the institutional Church begins to work in a meaningful, collaborative way with lay Catholics. The Church has an opportunity – today is the day to begin financial accountability and transparency in the Catholic Church.”

“Here in Portland, we are concerned about what the future will hold for the archdiocese, as well as fairness to present and future victims,” said Gayle Bache, co-chair of Voice of the Faithful – Western Oregon. “What will the consequences of this action be for the many Catholics here working to create strong Catholic communities? What will happen to the spirit of the people who have invested time and hard work? Hopefully, this will give us the chance to review the financial documents of the archdiocese, to understand how it works, and how the money we donate is used to advance the mission of the Catholic faith – it means that there is a tremendous occasion for renewal of the spirit, but the archdiocese must be as willing to achieve renewal through transparency as we are.”

//end

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, 39 countries and 203 Parish Voice affiliates throughout the world.