NEWS from National
As we prepare to spend this Christmas with our friends and family, Voice of the Faithful wishes a joy-filled celebration to all our members and friends. May the peace of the Infant Jesus and the joy of His Mother be with you all in this blessed season. We are grateful for everything you have done to “keep the faith” and “change the Church” this year.
Dan Bartley
Message from the Vineyard editor
As we go hurtling towards 2010, I would like to take this time to wish everyone a merry and blessed Christmas and a safe and joyous new year. May our hope and prayers for our beloved church be answered.
Siobhan Carroll
Thank You to LI VOTF
The National Office of Voice of the Faithful would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the Long Island VOTF for all their hard work and dedication in organizing and hosting a wonderful 2009 Conference. Attendance was high and the program was inspiring. On behalf of the rest of VOTF we would also like to thank LI VOTF for their generous donation of $6,000 that will help fund VOTF into 2010.
Thank you for your generosity!
PS. If you were unable to attend the LI Conference and are interested in viewing a DVD of the events, the National Office has received the DVDs of the whole National Conference in Long Island. The 5-DVD set costs $50.00, including postage. We also have DVDs of Sr. Joan Chittister's presentation and of Fr. Tom Reese. These are $20.00 each. You can order online here, or print out this form and mail it in.
(Note: Special orders are available only on the printed form.)
And if you would like a sneak preview of Sr. Joan’s presentation, we have a small excerpt from that speech here.
A Reminder about Dues: Dec. 31 Deadline
As previously communicated by the Board of Trustees in emails and letters and on our web site, the deadline for 2009 dues is December 31. Please note that members must pay dues by this date in order to vote in the elections early in 2010. For more information, please see the letter from the Board of Trustees.
Update on Ireland
The foundation is secure; the superstructure needs radical repair.
By Sean O’Conaill, VOTF Ireland
The crisis of the Irish Catholic Church continues, but it is essentially a crisis of leadership, not of faith. True, our faith in our leaders has been most seriously shaken, but our leaders were never our God.
Our God will be with us again this Christmas, as constant as ever - reminding us of the sacredness of childhood.
With the Murphy Report of November 26th we learned that four successive archbishops and five serving and former auxiliary bishops of Dublin had put the interests of the Catholic clerical system before the interests of children.
Continued
http://votf.org/vineyard/Dec23_2009/ireland.html
VOTF issued the following statement on the resignation of Bishop Donal Murray
“The resignation of Bishop Donal Murray in Ireland is one of the few times a bishop has stepped down after failing to protect children from sex abuse by priests in the Catholic Church. We believe that such accountability is required of any bishops, in Ireland and elsewhere, who have failed in their responsibilities as pastors and leaders of our Church.”
To read the rest of VOTF’s statement
http://www.votf.org/pressrelease/press-release-for-immediate-release/8351
Priest of Integrity Nominees
Two priests, Reverend Joseph Fowler and Reverend Donald Cozzens, were honored
as Priests of Integrity at VOTF’s National Conference, “Making our Voices Heard,” held on Long Island NY on October 30-31, 2009.
Along with these two, there were four other priests who were nominated for recognition. This issue of In the Vineyard focuses on Reverend Tuozzolo and the work he is doing for others and for the good of our church.
Reverend Leonard J. Tuozzolo, C.S.Sp., was nominated by the Northern Virginia Affiliate of VOTF. For the past nine years, he has been pastor of Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Arlington VA. A member of the Spiritan order, he recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.
Rev. Tuozzolo has supported VOTF from its beginnings. In 2002, he attended its first meeting and invited the group to hold regular meetings and events in the parish hall. He continually encourages the members by welcoming, supporting and assuring them that it is his privilege to have the affiliate in his parish. He promotes VOTF activities and on several occasions has held religious services in support of victims. One was an affiliate-conducted Liturgy of Lamentation and another was a Healing Mass that later was emulated by the Diocese.
As Rev. Tuozzolo prepares to leave the parish to become director of his order’s retirement community, the people he has served so well find it fitting to recognize him for his leadership, his love and his support for the mission and goals of VOTF.
We honor Reverend Leonard J. Tuozzolo for his faithful dedication as a servant leader in his parish and his religious community.
The Real Meaning of Christmas?
Submitted by Tom K. Lloyd
Does anyone know the real meaning of Christmas? Probably not. Each of us has our own way of celebrating Christmas and it usually makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Of course, we also know that the holidays are the worst time for some people, invariably leading to depression, family battles, a resumption of alcoholism, or some worse fate. Needless to say, the real meaning of Christmas is not to be found in either of these paths.
Christmas is full of great stories of mythical proportions. And we know such stories represent the “dreams” of humanity. Here I don’t mean the ideals of humanity but actually dreams similar to the personal dreams we have each night. A reflection of what is going on in our unconscious. The way we celebrate Christmas is a reflection of what is going on in the unconscious world of people who want to partake of this celebration. The Jungian collective unconscious.
Continued
http://votf.org/vineyard/Dec23_2009/meaning.html
Site Seeing
Author James Carroll discusses the Church’s hold on American politics in the New Catholic Times.
http://www.newcatholictimes.com/index.php?module=articles&func=
display&ptid=1&catid=11&aid=1413
For your viewing calendar: PBS is hosting the national television premiere of “Scenes from a Parish” on Dec. 29, 2009, at 10 p.m. Information on the showing is here:
http://www.itvs.org/pressroom/press_detail.php?pressId=6685
The Irish Independent reports on the Pope considering documents as Murray awaits fate
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/pope-will-consider-documents-as-murray-awaits-fate-1973812.html
In the New York Times,
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/nyregion/21diocese.html?_r=1
Catholics as political powerhouses?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/magazine/20george-t.html?_r=1&scp=10&sq=princeton&st=cse
Questions, Comments?
Please send them to Siobhan Carroll, Vineyard Editor at Vineyard@votf.org. Unless otherwise indicated, I will assume comments can be published as Letters to the Editor.
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