Contact: John Moynihan, jmoynihan@votf.org, (617) 558-5252,

For Immediate release

Voice of the Faithful Convention's theme is
“ Disciples in Action” October 19-20

Theologian Fr. Richard McBrien, lay activist Edwina Gateley and Judge Michael Merz, Chair of the National Review Board of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will be among the featured speakers at the Voice of the Faithful National Convention scheduled for October 19-20, 2007 at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence RI.

McBrien, one of this country’s best known Catholic theologians, is a past president of the Catholic Theological Society of America and winner of its John Courtney Murray Award "for outstanding and distinguished achievement in Theology." He has written a syndicated weekly theology column for the Catholic press since 1966, and is a frequent on-air network commentator for Church-related events. McBrien’s keynote address “VOTF and the Church: Where do we go from here?” will open the two-day convention.

Edwina Gateley will address the convention’s theme “Voice of the Faithful – Disciples in Action.” Gateley has dedicated her life to following the call of God. In the 1960s she founded the Volunteer Missionary Movement for lay people. Her ministry has taken her all over the world. She worked in Africa and her current work is in the Chicago area where she founded Sophia's Circle, which befriends and ministers to prostitutes and street people. Edwina's work has been publicly commended many times. She has been praised by the Governor of the State of Illinois, the Mayor of Chicago, the late Cardinal Joseph Bernadin, and former U.S. President Bill Clinton. Edwina is also an author who writes about prayer and spirituality. She draws upon her own experiences of time in the wilderness to assist others in their spiritual journeys.

Merz, a trial judge in Ohio, was named Chair of the National Review Board in June. The National Review Board was established by the USCCB in 2002 when the bishops adopted their Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The Board’s purpose is to collaborate with the USCCB to prevent sexual abuse of minors by persons in the service of the Church in the United States.
Other speakers of note include theologians Paul Lakeland, Leonard Swidler, Gaile Pohlhaus , Mary Doyle Roach, Francine Cardman, Gerald Fogarty, S.J. , and William Clark, S.J., as well as church sociologists William D’Antonio and Fr. Anthony Pogorelc and historian Dr. Joseph O’Callaghan.
Among the topics to be addressed in the nearly thirty workshops and panel discussions are: “Discipleship and its revival at Vatican II”; “Called to be Church: A model for participatory pastoral planning”; “Who says its time to blow out the candles?”, a panel on parish closings; and “Googling God”, a workshop on making the Church relevant to the 20-something generation.

The convention will also feature dozens of booths and information tables and an extensive Catholic bookstore. For more information: www.votf.org or call (617) 558 5252.

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Press contact
John Moynihan (617) 558-5252


About Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) 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 survivors of clergy sexual abuse, support priests of integrity, and shape structural change within the Catholic Church in full accordance and harmony with Church teaching.