COUNCIL Coverage

ADVISORY: All members of the representative council should now be on the VOTF_National_Representative_Council@yahoogroups.com. If you are not, please contact gaile.pohlhaus@villanova.edu for an invitation.

VOTF President Jim Post - Remarks to Representative Council Meeting
July 14, 2004 in Newburyport, Mass.

Good afternoon. I want to thank the members and affiliates of Seacoast Voice of the Faithful for hosting today's meeting and providing such warm hospitality. Several months ago, I spoke to these affiliates in Amesbury, MA and I know how committed our friends in the Seacoast region are to the mission and goals of Voice of the Faithful.

It has been 60 days since the last meeting of the Representative Council (in Hartford, CT). The past two months have produced important and unprecedented developments in the Catholic Church in America.

In June, amidst intense pressure, the USCCB voted to approve a second round of audits as called for by the Charter. I won't rehash the story, as we all know it too well - a handful of bishops tried to hijack the auditing process, calling it too expensive, time consuming, unnecessary, and criticizing the National Review Board as too independent. The public outcry created a message the bishops could not ignore and a second round of audits was approved (and a major research study).

VOTF had an active presence in Denver where the bishops met in "retreat" at the Inverness hotel and conference center. VOTF vice-president, Kris Ward, delivered a policy speech to the SNAP conference that preceded the USCCB meeting. Kris' words were a carefully thought-out statement of VOTF's commitments to the cause of justice for survivors of clergy sexual abuse. We wanted this speech to be a strong statement of our continuing commitment to our goal of providing support to survivors of abuse. It was. (Kris' speech is available on both the VOTF and SNAP websites.)

Although Kris and ED Steve Krueger were escorted out of the Inverness Hotel by security guards, they did deliver binders including more than 25,000 signatures on petitions calling on Pope John Paul II, Vatican officials, and U.S. bishops to take action to meet with international survivors of clergy sexual abuse, to hold bishops accountable, and to aggressively implement protective measures. The binders were handed over to Sr. Mary Ann Walsh, Communications Director for the USCCB, and are being delivered to the Papal Nuncio, as well.

We also communicated our support to Judge Anne Burke, interim chairperson, and other members of the National Review Board. We commended their work to date, and urged greater efforts to persuade bishops of the need for continued auditing. A similar letter of encouragement was sent to Kathleen McChesney at the Office of Youth and Child Protection.

In late June, I traveled to Australia on business. While in Melbourne and Sydney, we met and talked with VOTF leaders. In Melbourne, we had lunch with Adrian Farrell, who helped found VOTF last year, and Peter Kaufman, our current coordinator. We were joined by a survivor who was amazed to learn that so many people care about her situation and that of other survivors, and separately, a priest from New Zealand who is helping Samoan victims of clergy sexual abuse. It is very gratifying to know that the work going on by VOTF affiliates gives hope to people everywhere. (See more notes on the Post trip in the June issue of In the Vineyard.)

Two important developments took place in early July. First, the Archdiocese of Portland (OR) filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition with a federal bankruptcy court. This unprecedented action was taken in response to pending litigation involving survivors of alleged abuse by priests in that archdiocese. The action captured national attention and put a spotlight on the legal tactics of dioceses as they confront outstanding cases. The bishop of Tucson is also considering a bankruptcy filing, and there are reports of other bishops considering such action as well. It is regrettable that bishops are unable to find alternative ways of resolving these cases. I recognize the complexity of these situations and believe we should urge negotiation and mediation wherever possible as the preferred way to deal with these cases.

On July 9-10, The Church in America Leadership Roundtable, an ad hoc group of Catholic laity, met in Philadelphia to discuss current challenges in three areas: governance, human resources, and finances. The meeting focused on developing recommendations for practical actions. Transparency and accountability were high on the consensus list of themes. Such meetings are bringing together Catholics across the political spectrum to urge essential changes.

In the past two weeks, a flurry of e-mail conversation has focused on the role of the Representative Council and other parts of VOTF. The discussion is an important one. We are two and one-half years old, and there is a need to reassess how well our organizational processes, systems and structures are working. We are asking the question, "What must we do to take VOTF to the next level of accomplishment?" Changes are necessary and the officers, board of trustees, and Council steering committee are addressing this question. There will be more to report in the next few months.

Finally, as we take stock of where we are, it is important to recognize how far we have come in two and one-half years. We are organized, we do have a focus, and we are working hard to promote necessary change in the Church.

Children must be kept safe from sexual abuse in our Church. Survivors must receive justice for the injuries sustained in our Church. We must keep our promises to children, to survivors, and to one another. We must not drift away from the work to be done. We must keep the promises we made to heal the Church and restore the moral integrity lost during this scandal. Much remains to be done.

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