AFFILIATE NEWS

VOTF EAST

VOTF Greater Philadelphia, PA
Submitted by Walter Fox

A half-day conference on the financial management of Catholic parishes will be held from 9 am to 1 pm on Saturday, April 23, at Cabrini College in Radnor, Pa., under the sponsorship of Voice of the Faithful of Greater Philadelphia.

The conference, entitled Parish Finance Council Conference 2005, has been organized by the Financial Accountability Subcommittee of VOTF/GP and will include speakers, panels and small-group discussions on topics of interest to members of parish finance councils and others concerned with fiscal issues confronting Catholic churches.

The keynote speaker will be David Castaldi, chair of the Parish Reconfiguration Fund Oversight Committee for the Archdiocese of Boston. A former chancellor of the Boston archdiocese, Castaldi is a founder and chairman of the board of trustees of Voice of the Faithful.

Among topics scheduled for discussion are canon law and church teaching on finance, planning parish budgets, church bankruptcies and parish property ownership, and parish closures and consolidations. For further information or to enroll call 610-853-1561 or e-mail: PFCONF2005@CS.com. There is no charge.

VOTF Boston, MA
From the Boston Council Newsletter

Steering Committee report:

We have completed a governance proposal for the Boston Council. It will be presented to the membership at the April meeting.

Ed Wade, Steering Committee member, has assembled a group of VOTF members from each of the five regions of the Boston Archdiocese to review a proposal for structural change in the Church. Once approved by the Boston membership, Ed will collaborate with VOTF members from other dioceses who are also working on the document. They will submit a final proposal for consideration at the national VOTF conference in Indianapolis this summer.

Mike Gustin, Steering Committee Chairperson, met with Jim Burns, S.J., the Director of a Parish Transitions Research Project at Boston University. This series of research studies is exploring the effects of parish reorganization in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. The goal of the study is to increase understanding of the impact of the changes and, if possible, to make recommendations to other dioceses and denominations facing a similar process in the future.

They are inviting Boston Catholics to participate in a survey about their personal experiences, both positive and negative, during this transition. Click here to complete the survey online.

Affiliate Events:

"A TIME FOR HEALING" - St. Susanna's, Dedham. We invite you to a very special adult education series during Eastertide, the time of Resurrection, the time of spring and new life, new birth, and new hope. Dr. Don Pachuta will present a four-week course on Healing on Monday nights April 11, 18, 25 and May 2, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at St. Susanna, 262 Needham Street, Dedham. We know you will find this course most valuable.

We hope that you will commit to all four sessions. In case you need to miss one, there will be a review of the previous session from 6:30-7:00 pm, on April 18, 25, and May 2. We will be using a bound notebook. You may bring one or we will provide one for you. Please note: The first three sessions will be in parish hall, and the fourth on May 2 in the church.

DIRECTIONS to ST SUSANNA: From Route 128, take exit 18 and head toward West Roxbury. St Susanna is approximately 1 mile down on right. Park behind the church and enter the parish hall through the door between the church and rectory.

"EXPERIENCES OF A PASTORAL ASSISTANT" - Sister Theresa Carlow, SND, speaks at St. Albert the Great, Weymouth. The Weymouth Voice of the Faithful welcomes Sister Theresa Carlow, SND, to their Tuesday, April 12th VOTF meeting. Sr. Theresa will speak on her experience as a pastoral assistant in a lay-led parish in the Midwest. The meeting will start at 7:00 p.m. in the St. Albert the Great Parish Hall, 1130 Washington Street, Weymouth, MA.

"RECONFIGURATION AND FINANCES" - David Castaldi speaks at Our Lady of Sorrows, Sharon. The Voice of the Faithful of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, Sharon, MA, welcomes David Castaldi on Thursday, April 21, 2005, in the Parish Hall, 59 Cottage Street, Sharon, 7:30 p.m. David Castaldi, founding member of the Voice of the Faithful, will be speaking on the issues of reconfiguration and the financial issues surrounding the closing of 83 parishes.

DIRECTIONS to OUR LADY OF SORROWS, SHARON: From Rte. 128/95 South, take Exit 10 ("Coney Street, Sharon"). Turn left. Follow this road for approximately 2.5 miles into the center of Sharon (traffic light). Continue straight (Post Office Square becomes Billings St.) for about 3/10 of a mile. Turn right onto Cottage Street. The church is 2/10 of a mile on the left.

REMINDER: The next Boston Area VOTF Council meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 13, from 7:00-8:30 p.m. at Our Lady Help of Christians, 539 Washington Street, Newton. All are welcome!

VOTF Winchester Area, MA
www.voffwinchester.org
Submitted by Bob Morris

A highlight for our group in March was a discussion with Fr. Bruce Teague, a featured speaker at the New England VOTF Conference in Worcester, MA in November 2004, and currently a chaplain at Beth Israel Hospital. Fr. Teague touched on many issues, including the current effort to abolish the statute of limitations for sexual abuse of minors. Fr. Teague had met with Attorney General Riley on that issue on the day he spoke to us. Fr. Teague's calm manner and willingness to engage everyone, regardless of point of view, won over the 60 people in attendance.

In March our small-group faith-sharing sessions met again. This initiative, led by Bill Murphy of St. Malachy's in Burlington and a team of dedicated discussion leaders, allows us to prove that we are truly "a prayerful voice, attentive to the spirit." Many thanks are due to Bill for his leadership on this initiative.

Finally, our affiliate has begun discussing the action phase of the Many Hands, Many Hearts initiative of the Parish Voice office. We have devoted two meetings thus far to identifying an issue on which we can take action. We have been blessed that Suzy Nauman, a co-founder of our affiliate, has taken time from her Parish Voice duties to lead us in this effort.

VOTF SOUTH REGION

VOTF Palm Beach County, FL
Submitted by Ed Hill

After several months in planning, the Palm Beach County Affiliate conducted its first major program since its founding in April 2003. On Saturday, March 19, a Healing Program in recognition of, and compassion for, victims of sexual abuse by the clergy, was held from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm at the Lighthouse Center for the Arts facility in Tequesta, FL. Over 100 people attended. The program consisted of three distinguished speakers, including Dr. Eugene Kennedy, Fr. Donald Cozzens and Dr. Jon Connelly. Speakers were introduced by Kristine Ward, national VOTF Vice President and Peter Amann, President of the Palm Beach County affiliate. The theme of the program bears the same name as Fr.Cozzens’ recent book Faith That Dares To Speak, which includes a chapter on VOTF.

Dr. Kennedy opened the discussion with topics from his subject, “The World, the Flesh and the Catholic Church,” which touched on the origins of the current crisis in the Catholic Church, and where we might be headed unless significant changes, including dialogue, are initiated at the hierarchic level. Dr. Kennedy is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Loyola University, Chicago, and author of over 40 books on Psychology and religion, as well as novels, plays and biographies. Several of his works were offered for sale and signing during lunchtime.

Next was Fr. Donald Cozzens speaking on selected topics from his own recent work Faith That Dares to Speak. He currently teachers and is a Resident Writer at John Carroll University, Cleveland. Based upon his experience as vicar of clergy and religious, and as president of St. Mary Seminary, he was inspired to write his award winning book The Changing Face of the Priesthood, subsequently translated into six languages. Three of Fr. Cozzens’ books were also available for sale, including Sacred Silence. It is worthy of note that all of the program’s consigned books were sold out, an indication that the audience liked the messages of our speakers.

At the conclusion of the morning program, a complimentary lunch was enjoyed by all. The afternoon program began with a presentation by Dr. Jon Connelly, a Diplomate in Psychotherapy, specializing in sex therapy and hypnotherapy. He is a staff member at the Jupiter Medical Center and founder of the non-profit Institute for Survivors of Sexual Violence, which trains mental health professionals all over the United States. A most interesting part of Dr. Connelly’s program included a courageous presentation by a patient who recovered completely from her long battle with abuse-driven guilt, shame and loss of self worth through special techniques developed by Dr. Connelly.

The Healing Program concluded with a half-hour Prayer Service in a garden area near the Arts facility on one of the most gorgeous days in Florida in weeks. For that we must have surely been blessed from above! The Prayer Service was arranged and conducted by the Prayer Service committee members with Kristine Ward participating. Copies of the Prayer Service are available on request.

By all accounts, our Healing Program was a resounding success and will serve as a model of inspiration for our future VOTF affiliate programs. We are thankful and grateful to all for the hardworking and caring people who contributed to that success, including our local affiliate members and national VOTF support, especially Kristine Ward. Special thanks and appreciation are given to Dr. Kennedy and Fr. Cozzens for the important and powerful messages they brought to our Healing Program. PHOTO A: Fr. Donald Cozzens signing copies of his book Faith That Dares To Speak PHOTO B: Eugene Kennedy, Loyola University, Chicago

VOTF Louisville, KY
Submitted by Vince Grenough

On April 9th Kristine Ward, vice president of Voice of the Faithful, spoke passionately to an attentive crowd of young and old at Bellarmine University about “Accountability in the Catholic Church.” After her talk I drove Kris and Colleen Powell, a member of our local VOTF affiliate, out to the LinkUp Farm at Fox Hollow for a visit with Sue Archibald and other staff members.

As we drove past Bardstown Road on the Watterson Expressway Kris asked, ”Oh, isn't that the road that leads to the Abbey of Gethsemani? I've always wanted to go there.” After a brief discussion I agreed that I would be happy to drive her to Gethsemani the next day after she went to the 9:00 a.m. Sunday Mass at Community of the Epiphany with Margie Zoeller, a founding member of our local affiliate. When we arrived at Gethsemani shortly after noon, we went to the Guest office and introduced ourselves to Brother Stephen, identifying ourselves as Voice of the Faithful members. Immediately, Brother Stephen's face lit up. He thanked us enthusiastically for the good work that VOTF does for the Church and assured us of his support and prayers. What a wonderful way to be welcomed to the Abbey!!

I then asked him if we could possibly see Abbot Damien Thompson for a few minutes. (Last summer, Abbot Damien had attended one of the dialogues we have been having with our priests, and we have stayed in communication with one another since then.) Brother Stephen phoned Abbot Damien and told him about our request to meet with him. Within a minute he was in the Guest area greeting us like old friends and said, “Let's go sit somewhere.” He walked with us across the parking lot to three metal chairs under a big tree that was just beginning to sprout its new leaves. Our animated and wide-ranging conversation went on until the 5-minute bell for the Hour of None sounded. As we walked together toward the Chapel, Abbot Damien assured us again of his admiration for Voice of the Faithful and for other groups who are helping to bring about needed reforms in our Church. He wished Kris a safe journey to the Vatican where she will go to be present for the Conclave.

How nice it is to know that these monks support Voice of the Faithful and keep us in their prayers! Let us keep them in our prayers as well.

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