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

For Immediate Release

VOICE OF THE FAITHFUL PROTESTS EXCOMMUNICATIONS
IN DIOCESE OF LINCOLN NEBRASKA

December 12, 2006 Newton, MA - Voice of the Faithful is deeply disturbed at the action of both Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln NE and Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, head of the Congregation for Bishops. In our goal to be a “voice” for faithful Catholics we call for an explanation of the process by which this decision was made. We are competent, educated people who understand the long history of this serious action and we see no justification for denying any person access to the life of the Church simply by virtue of her or his membership in a select group. Voice of the Faithful condemns the process by which a class of people was summarily excommunicated by a single bishop in the US. Instead, VOTF follows the long tradition of the Church where excommunication should be practiced rarely and individually with careful discernment.

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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.