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

For Immediate Release

VOTF Pushes for Disclosure of Clergy Abuse Cases
Submitted to Vatican at National Representative Council meeting.

November 17, 2006
Newton, MA - The National Representative Council (NRC) of Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) met on the weekend of November 11-12 in the St. Louis MO area. The NRC are democratically elected representatives from each of the fourteen diocesan regions of VOTF.

In a statement on Diocesan “Disclosure of Submitting Cases” of alleged clergy abuse to the Vatican, the NRC declared:

“Church officials should promptly inform the public by all means possible of cases of known, admitted, or credibly accused abusive clergy that have been submitted to the Vatican and should keep the public up to date on the progress and disposition of the cases.”

The statement stands in stark contrast with the actions of the Archdiocese of New York which is currently conducting a secret tribunal into sexual abuse allegations against Monsignor Charles Kavanaugh. VOTF affiliates in New York and Ohio in separate statements have recently spoken out against the secrecy under which this tribunal is being conducted.

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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.