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Contact: John Moynihan, jmoynihan@votf.org ,(617)
680-2131
For Immediate Release
Voice of the Faithful Responds to "No Confidence"
New
York's Cardinal Edward Egan
October 17, 2006 – Voice of the Faithful of Manhattan was saddened
to hear of Msgr. Howard Calkins resignation as Vicar of the Southern
Westchester Vicariate. Disagreement does not mean disrespect. Open and
honest communication is critical to healing in the Catholic Church. Such
communication was sorely lacking in response to the clergy sexual abuse
crisis and its absence is readily apparent in light of the recent “no
confidence” letter re: Cardinal Edward Egan, archbishop of New
York.
Voice of the Faithful can attest to the lack of availability of Cardinal
Egan. Three letters were sent requesting a meeting with the Cardinal
to offer our help after the clergy sexual abuse crisis erupted. Beyond
the initial “thank you but the Archdiocese is handling this” response
to the first letter no future response was received. Not long after our
attempts at communication a group of 88 priests also requested a meeting
with Cardinal Egan and received virtually the same response. We continue
to share their frustration.
Vatican II reminds all Catholics of their baptismal responsibility to
be actively engaged with their faith. We must also have faith in one
another and work together to improve the ongoing crisis in our Church.
VOTF’s current campaign for financial accountability is an effort
to improve our Church by holding our Church leaders accountable. It is
not helpful that the members of the Archdiocese of NY have not seen financial
statements from the Archdiocese in more than 20 years. When people are
not forthcoming with information, lack of trust begins. Clergy abuse,
the response of their enablers, and financial scandals continue to weaken
remaining trust in our Church leaders. Our bishops “moral authority” is,
sadly, becoming an oxymoron. This is a defining moment for Cardinal Egan – to
take the time to listen to his fellow priests, as well as lay leaders.
Yesterday’s letter from the Council of Priests states, "As
today's meeting has shown, it is possible to meet and discuss any issue
with Cardinal Egan, and if any priest has a concern he can raise it and
discuss it at any time."
Mary Pat Fox, President of Voice of the Faithful and a member of the
VOTF NY affiliate leadership teams states, “We hope that the Cardinal
will also take this opportunity to meet with lay leaders who have concerns
including representative from Voice of the Faithful to discuss among
other items:
- The climate of secrecy and fear under which the clergy must work
- The status of the realignment program
- The failure to publish financial statements for the archdiocese,
as was promised
- The current VOTF petition for accountability
- VOTF access to Church property for meetings”
Meanwhile VOTF will continue to keep the faith and
change the Church.
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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.
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