Voice of the Faithful Conference
Being Catholic in the 21st Century: Crisis, Challenge and Opportunity
Sat., Oct. 25th, 9AM –6:30PM, Fordham
University, Rose Hill Campus
Topics To Include Restoring Trust & Credibility … Protecting Our
Children … Sexuality & the Modern Priesthood
New York, Sept. 17, 2003 – On Sat., Oct. 25th , Voice of
the Faithful affiliates from Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York,
in cooperation with the National VOTF, Inc., will offer a full day
of dialogue, reflection, and planning for the future, entitled,
Being Catholic in the 21st Century: Crisis, Challenge and Opportunity.
The public is invited to join in the conversation with authors,
scholars, theologians, journalists, abuse survivors and their advocates,
clergy, VOTF members, and other concerned Catholics.
The Conference’s exceptional line-up of speakers and panelists
will include authors Eugene Kennedy (The Unhealed Wound), Tom Beaudoin
(Virtual Faith: The Irreverent Spiritual Quest of Generation X)
and David Gibson (The Coming Catholic Church), editors from Newsweek,
Newsday, and the National Catholic Reporter, a member of the Boston
Globe’s Pulitzer prize winning Spotlight Team, and many other
luminaries.
Panels and breakout sessions will explore timely topics, such as
Restoring Trust & Credibility … Protecting Our Children … Sexuality & the
Modern Priesthood. Participants from diverse fields will provide
legal, psychological, theological, and personal perspectives on
these issues, and share their suggestions for the future.
An inspiring Mass of Healing and Hope will end the conference day
and will send participants home to their communities with renewed
confidence for the work ahead.
Why This Conference?
Being a good Catholic has traditionally meant being an obedient,
compliant Catholic. Showing respect for the clergy often translated
into never asking questions and doing whatever the priest asked
you to do. We have seen the tragic results of this approach when
exploited by predator priests and the bishops who protected them.
The pain and suffering of so many at the hands of trusted religious
leaders is the beginning of the story, but we cannot let it be the
end.
The Church in America is in the gravest crisis in its history.
Faithful Catholics have been shaken to the core by ongoing reports
of priestly sexual abuse and the discovery of an institutional culture
that concealed the truth. This crisis poses both a challenge and
an opportunity for Catholic laity, bishops, and priests who must
all work cooperatively to heal these painful wounds, rebuild trust,
and renew the Church in the 21st century. The Conference will explore
this crisis, as well as the challenges and opportunities of moving
forward. This event is not to be missed by concerned Catholics,
survivors of clergy sexual abuse, religion reporters, and interested
citizens.
Register today online for $35 per person and get full Conference
details, including program and list of speakers, at www.votf.org/octconference.
Press coverage is welcome. Pre-conference interviews can be arranged.
Contact Marie Ford Reilly, 212-426-3782, mfordreilly@prodigy.net.
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