VOICE OF THE FAITHFUL: FIGHTING FOR CATHOLICS
James E. Post
President, Voice of the Faithful
Delivered at St. Francis Xavier RC Church, New York, NY
October 29, 2002

Thank you. I am pleased to be with you and to speak about Voice of the Faithful.

This is an exciting time to be a Catholic. We are meeting in New York tonight. Other VOTF groups are also meeting this week across this country and internationally, from Europe to Asia-Pacific. Voice of the Faithful is becoming a worldwide network of people (25,000) who are excited to be working for change.

Voice of the Faithful is a remarkable organization. It is less an organization than a movement, driven by a spirit that grows stronger and more compelling each time people meet in its name. There is a spirit in this church today. It is the spirit of hope. It is the spirit of renewal. Some would say it is the Holy Spirit. Who are we to disagree?

As you know, Voice of the Faithful has recently been in the news. When the Vatican announced its decision to reject parts of the Dallas Charter for the Protection of Children from Sexual Abuse (October 18, 2002), who spoke for the American Catholic laity? Voice of the Faithful.

Why does the media look to Voice of the Faithful? Because Voice of the Faithful has become a clear and reasoned voice for millions of American Catholics who have wept for their Church, for the victims of clergy sexual abuse, and who are determined to ensure change.

Voice of the Faithful is fighting to be what many American Catholics are seeking: A voice that speaks for the "great center" … those millions of us who are at neither the traditionalist nor progressive extremes. We are Church-loving singles, parents, and grandparents who treasure our faith and feel the need stand up and be counted in this time of crisis.

I am grateful for the invitation to speak at St. Francis Xavier Church in New York. This city and this church are an important part of the modern Catholic Church. Throughout our nation's history, great social justice causes have been promoted — fought for — by Catholics from New York. This is the city of Dorothy Day, Al Smith, Fiorello LaGuardia, Mario Cuomo, and so many other Catholic leaders. This is where Irish, Italian, Spanish, German and Polish Catholics fought for child labor laws, health care for women and children, public housing, and social welfare for all women and men. On these and so many other social issues, the Catholic Church stood on "the right side of history" because it stood on firm moral ground. It had a moral voice.

Times have changed.

American Catholics stand at a crossroads today. One road leads to the "pay, pray, and obey" traditions of earlier times. The other is the road to accountability, openness, and involvement of the laity in Church affairs. VOTF stands for the latter and that's what I want to talk with you about this evening.

The American Catholic Church is struggling to regain its place on the right side of history. And it needs the help of American Catholics in New York and every city in the nation to do so. The clergy sexual abuse crisis is the worst in the entire 500-year history of the Church in North America. The need to heal and to reclaim our moral credibility is enormous. Voice of the Faithful is fighting for American Catholics.

Tonight, I will talk about Voice of the Faithful and the state of the American Catholic Church. I will address three basic questions:

• Who we are?
• What we have accomplished?
• What challenges do we face?

WHO ARE WE?

At our convention in July, I said that it was an "exciting time to be a Catholic." Little did I realize HOW exciting things would become.

As you know, we have been banned from meeting in church facilities in certain dioceses. I am grateful that Cardinal Egan has chosen not to follow the lead of Bishop William Murphy in Long Island, Bishop William Lori in Bridgeport, CT, Bishop Thomas Daily of Brooklyn, or Archbishop John Myers in Newark, NJ. I believe they are travelling down the wrong road and I am pleased that His Eminence is not following.

My wife was born in Greenwich Village and grew up in this city. I know that New Yorkers were born to lead, not follow.

I hope Cardinal Egan's action can rightly be interpreted as a sign that he does not fear the message of Voice of the Faithful, as do his brother bishops.

But I will speak quickly, just in case!

Some years ago, religion scholar David O'Brien wrote a book entitled, From the Heart of the American Church. This book examines the influence of Catholic education on American life. Professor O'Brien interviewed many prominent Americans and asked how Catholic education had influenced their lives. Michael Harrington, an activist of an earlier era, explained that his Jesuit education had taught him two things: Ideas have consequences, and, then, you're responsible. Let me repeat that: Ideas have consequences; and, then, you're responsible.

American Catholics are the beneficiaries of two powerful sets of ideas. From our national democratic tradition, we have learned that freedom is important; that accountability is essential; and that free speech and the right of assembly are fundamental rights. From our Catholic faith, we have learned that morality matters, that individual conscience is critical, and that we have baptismal responsibility to work for the good of our Church.

This is the DNA that we share as American Catholics in 2002. Like the double helix, these ideas are entwined in our belief system and in our lives. We believe in these ideas. And because we believe in these ideas -and the values the represent — we are responsible to see they become values in practice.

One year ago, our nation learned the price we had to pay for our democratic freedoms. Faith in our nation and faith in God were joined. Our Catholic faith provided support for thousands of grieving Americans.

This year, we have learned what it means -and what it takes — to be a true American Catholic who believes in morality, accountability, freedom, individual conscience, and Catholic responsibility. As I said, ideas have consequences. And, then, you're responsible.

THE STORY OF VOTF

On a Sunday morning in February, I sat down to enjoy a cup of coffee and the morning newspaper. Anticipating a relaxing hour, I discovered instead a story that would change my life. To my disbelief, on page 1of the Boston Globe was the story of how Cardinal Law — my archbishop-had reassigned a priest named John Geoghan from parish to parish over the course of many years despite a lengthy list of allegations of sexual abuse.

Geoghan's hideous actions were knowingly and deliberately covered-up. Church officials suppressed information, paid hush money to settle cases, enforced confidentiality agreements, and authorized hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees to ensure that this information was not made known to Catholics in the Archdiocese of Boston.

As the weeks passed, revelations of the systematic cover up by the Cardinal and his auxiliary bishops -some who now lead dioceses in the metropolitan New York-New Jersey area-continued to fill the press. The administrative fingerprints of Brooklyn's Bishop Thomas Daily and Rockville Centre's Bishop William Murphy are among those documented in this tale of malfeasance. This was a conspiracy of church leaders to keep the truth from the people they are supposed to serve. It was a conspiracy perpetrated for decades.

At our local parish, hundreds of parishioners turned out for a weekend of "listening sessions" run by lay members of the congregation. Asked why they were present, one after another said, "My faith matters to me. And I can't believe what I have learned about our Church leaders."

The outrage and anger were widespread. A weekly meeting of 100 turned into meetings of 300, 400, 500 and more attendees. We moved to larger quarters. We ran simultaneous meetings in two locations. Our steering committee began meeting several nights a week to plan the programs and the logistics.

Something phenomenal was happening. Catholics were coming from other parishes and other states (Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania). Meetings were taking place in other communities. Catholics wanted to talk and they wanted to take action. Some protested; many others prayed.

Voice of the Faithful sponsored a mass of healing and reconciliation in April; an overflow crowd of 800 attended. Survivors of abuse were invited to speak to our group. One said that he had been trying to generate support for survivors for 10 years. Voice of the Faithful was the first Catholic group to invite him to speak about his experience. There were tears in his eyes and tears in our eyes as we heard his story, glimpsed his pain and then his joy at finally seeing hundreds of Catholics who cared.

And then there was the web site. One of our members, a dot.com entrepreneur, created a web site to facilitate internal communication. Once it was operational, www.voiceofthefaithful.org became the vehicle for hundreds of others to learn of our activities. A grassroots network of caring, concerned Catholics was forming.

Through the web site and the print and television media that began to cover us, Voice of the Faithful established an identity and a visibility that drew thousands to our activities. We were blessed with diverse talents. Women and men with organizational skills facilitated meetings. Volunteers did everything, including helping the media understand, respect, and share our story with local, national, and international audiences. (The media quickly included local, national and international reporters. One night we had reporters from The Irish Times, The Economist, New York Times, LA Times, and both ABC and NBC news.)

And what was that story?

Ours is a story of how anger and outrage evolved into a determination to be part of the solution to this tragedy. The clergy sexual abuse crisis is a cancer on the Church. And like a cancer, it must be rooted out.

Power is at the heart of the scandal. It is the power of an adult to force a child to submit to rape. It is the power of an institution to shield these crimes and keep these secrets out of sight.

What tears at the conscience of so many American Catholics is the realization that moral core of the Church has been compromised by administrators who were ready to sacrifice everything -even the Church's very moral integrity-to prevent the truth from being known.

A twisted logic prevailed among too many administrators. Our Church is supposed to protect the innocent and punish the guilty. Instead, we see case after case in which the bishop and administrators punished the innocent and protected the guilty.

John Geoghan, Paul Shanley, Ronald Paquin, Joseph Birmingham and dozens of other sexual predators were allowed to continue their rampage of rape and abuse because bishops had no moral trip wire.

Yesterday, Bishop Thomas Daily's deposition in the Paul Shanley case was released and it provides another chilling example. Bishop Daily clearly states that he knew of Shanley's record, yet he assigned him to another parish where more unsuspecting children were victimized. Where was Bishop Daily's moral compass? Where was the moral trip wire? Why didn't he end the career of such a notorious predator priest?

THE CASE FOR REFORM

The case for reform could not be clearer. The clergy sexual abuse crisis has revealed a deep need for change in the governance and decision making processes of the Catholic Church. After months of discussion, American Catholics are developing a pretty clear vision of what must change.

Morality. Our Church lost its moral compass in dealing with these sexual abuse crimes. Our moral compass must be reclaimed. Children must be protected. There is no alternative.

Accountability. Those who have abused children must be punished. Sexual abuse is a crime and American civil law must hold predators accountable. John Geoghan will likely spend the rest of his life in prison. Paul Shanley may face the same fate. Their life of sexual abuse must come to an end. There is no alternative.

Integrity. The harms caused by abusive priests are incalculable. Lives have been ruined, and many survivors of clergy sexual abuse have been altered forever. Justice must be provided for survivors. The needs of each victim/survivor are likely to be different. The Church must commit to righting these terrible wrongs. There is no alternative.

Power. We know that power corrupts. And, as Lord Acton said so well, "absolute power corrupts absolutely". The structures, culture, and decision processes that contributed to this crisis must be changed. American bishops demonstrated an incredible willingness to hide the truth and cover up the crimes. Concentration of power must be tempered with the realization that a necessary check and balance is essential. There is no alternative.

Ideas have consequences; and, then, you're responsible.

Voice of the Faithful consists of people who are determined to make a difference by restoring a moral compass to the Church. We are demanding that perpetrators of sexual abuse crimes be punished. We insist that those who covered up the deeds be reprimanded. We are working for social justice toward victims and survivors. And, we are insisting on structural changes to help ensure such evil actions do not occur in the future.

WHAT HAVE WE ACCOMPLISHED?

A few weeks ago, I attended a meeting with VOTF members in North Andover, MA where our group had been banned from meeting on church grounds. In the course of our discussion, one member asked, "What have we accomplished? Is there any reason for hope?"

It is a good question and it has been on my mind. Here is my assessment:

First, what began as anger and outrage has been turned into something tremendously positive. We work with survivors; we support priests of integrity; and we are making a difference in these relationships. We are building a better Church.

Second, we have organized more than 25,000 Catholics who care enough to read our materials, use the web site, participate in e-mail discussions, and "get involved" in some way in the life of the Church. This "great conversation," as one member called it, has been accomplished in less than 9 months.

Third, we have reached out to survivors of abuse and earned their confidence by listening to their stories, respecting their experiences and views, providing various forms of support, and collaborating with survivor groups such as SNAP and LinkUp. Governor Keating — head of the National Review Board-has commented on the importance of this work during his recent speeches and he complimented VOTF in a meeting I had with him several weeks ago.

Fourth, we have stirred the thinking and imagination of academics in Catholic colleges across the nation. We are working with Boston College and other colleges to seriously study and re-think the role of the laity in the Church of the 21st century. This may be one of our enduring contributions because we have energized academics and scholars in canon law, theology, and pastoral ministry to rethink these issues through the example of our work in time of crisis.

Fifth, we have established VOTF as a legitimate organization — a voice — for Catholics. The media reports with a deeper understanding of who we are, how we operate, and what we hope to achieve. We are no longer just a curiosity, but a serious participant in the life of the modern American Catholic Church. Companies spend many years and millions of dollars to build such awareness ... we did it in a few months.

CHALLENGES: THE BANS

If we are such a positive force, why do some people seek to stop our growth by banning VOTF members from meeting in church facilities? We wonder about that too!

Voice of the Faithful has a clear right to exist under canon law and civil law. The Church cannot take it away. But there is a fear that VOTF is dangerous to established power. Therefore, certain bishops have decided that the objective should be to control us by making it difficult for us to operate. Bans on use of church property are the manifestation of this mindset.

Bans are morally wrong.

Bishops stand on moral quicksand when they prevent faithful Catholics from using buildings that have been built and paid for by parishioner donations. Worse, every bishop who has issued a ban order has done so without meeting local or national VOTF leaders. Several base their actions on reports in e-magazines, notoriously suspect sources, and screeds from ideological perspectives that accuse VOTF of being "dissidents" and having a "hidden agenda."

Legitimate questions about mission and purpose can and should be asked about every organization. But due process, and basic fair play, is certainly called for in such situations. The bishops squander their pastoral authority when they refuse to talk with VOTF leaders.

Last week, Bishop Daily banned VOTF from using church facilities in the Brooklyn diocese. Why? On what basis did he make such a decision? The official announcement said, "He is concerned with the potential the meetings have to foster disunity in the Diocese of Brooklyn." How interesting that this concern for "disunity" comes from the bishop who gave Paul Shanley a free pass to rape and abuse children. Where is your moral compass, Bishop Daily?

Bans are also self-defeating.

Voice of the Faithful members are Catholics who teach CCD, serve as lectors and eucharistic ministers, work on service projects, and reliably contribute to meeting pay the parish bills. They are, in the words of one supportive pastor, the "salt of the earth" Catholics that every parish relies upon.

And, as Bishop Murphy has learned in Rockville Centre, banning does not stop Voice of the Faithful organizing. At the first meeting after Murphy's ban was imposed, more than 600 Catholics showed up. At the second meeting, more than 800 showed up! Americans don't like to be told they can't exercise their democratic rights to assemble, discuss their faith, and utilize facilities they have paid for. I suspect Bishop Murphy will soon find both the heat -and the heating bill- going up in his newly renovated mansion.

Bans serve to close doors and close minds. At a time when the American Catholic Church is suffering the worst crisis in its 500-year history on North American soil, refusing to talk is the worst possible course of action for church leaders to pursue.

The bottom line is quite simple: It is not credible for an American bishop or pastor to say to American Catholics: "On Sunday you are welcome to pray and pay; but on Monday, the doors are locked to you; so please stay away!" It's not American. It's not Catholic. And it should be stopped immediately!

CONCLUSION

The Vatican decision to turn down parts of the Dallas Charter places responsibility squarely on the shoulders of America's Catholic bishops to straighten out the mess they have caused. I believe this intensifies pressures on each bishop to implement the core commitments of the Charter. To do so, they must promote dialogue and cooperation among four parties.

Bishops must facilitate a collaborative effort between priests, survivors, and the Catholic laity (men and women; parents and grandparents; young and old). There must be a four-sided table. This crisis underscores the need for bishops who know how to manage in a world of new realities.

Baltimore's William Cardinal Keeler understands the challenge. He wrote to every household in the archdiocese and said: "The simple, painful truth is that the Church did not go far enough to protect children from sexual abuse. After much reflection, … I have decided that we must be more open and transparent in our efforts to eradicate this evil within our Church."

Our Church is 2,000 years old and it has demonstrated an ability to adapt to new realities. It can survive amidst the new realities of the 21st century as well.

To many observers, Voice of the Faithful is what the Second Vatican Council contemplated: a real voice for, and of, the laity.

What are we looking to achieve? We need a place for the laity in the decision-making processes of the Church. We need a four-sided table and we can't heal the Church without it. Change is needed and it can be achieved. Last week, we sent a letter to all bishops in the United States, along with a copy of a statement describing our approach to structural change. The early returns are coming in. Bishop James Timlin of Scranton, PA wrote: "How can anyone be against collaboration, dialogue and cooperation? So, I commend your efforts to work with the Church and to bring about needed healing in this whole area of sexual abuse. It behooves you to be part of the solution, rather than be part of the problem."

Ultimately, we are fighting for what one of the many women religious supporting Voice of the Faithful described as "A Church that would make Jesus smile." That pretty well summarizes our purpose and our message.

Voice of the Faithful is fighting for American Catholics and for American Catholicism. It is fighting for reform that blends our best democratic ideas and our best Catholic ideas. It is fighting for a Church that will, indeed, make Jesus smile.

Thank you.