Contact: John Moynihan, jmoynihan@votf.org ,(617) 680-2131

For Immediate Release

Voice of the Faithful Supports National Data Base of Abuser Priests

August 8, 2006 - Voice of the Faithful supports the efforts of the O’Connell and Ellison families in seeking to force the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to disclose the names of all proven, admitted and credibly accused abusive priests. We would have hoped that this lawsuit would never have been necessary but that all of the Bishops would follow the lead of their brother bishops in a limited number of dioceses across the country who have already assembled such data and placed it on their respective diocesan web sites. We hope that all of the bishops will quickly and voluntarily “do the right thing” and establish an all inclusive national data base of abusive priests on the USCCB web site. This would be a significant step to helping to protect children throughout the country. For more information visit their web site at www.crusadeagainstclergyabuse.com.

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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.