News from National
VOTF Releases Statement on Irish Audit
For 36 years, leaders of six Roman Catholic dioceses in Ireland not only mishandled clergy sexual abuse and were not held accountable for abetting abuse, but also failed to establish reviews totally independent of Church influence, according to VOTF’s reading of reports by Ireland’s National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church released Nov. 30.
Despite what auditors considered “marked improvement” of child protection practices in these diocese, they also turned up past significant errors in judgment by bishops; protection of priest perpetrators rather than child victims; lack of plans to safeguard children; mismanagement of allegations, including allegations not being referred promptly to state agencies; transfer of priests to cover-up abuse; and the use of clergy appointed by bishops as “designated officers” to whom abuse concerns are reported, which calls into question whether they can make judgments independent of Church hierarchy.
Continued: http://votf.org/vineyard/Dec2_2011/ireland.html
Media Coverage of the Irish Dioceses’ Abuse Audits
Most media coverage has criticized the audits, but others find hope for positive change in the audit’s findings.
Reminder: Nominations Deadline
All nominations for VOTF Officer positions—President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer—must be submitted by midnight (EST) Dec. 5, 2011. Job descriptions for the four officers are posted here.
The criteria for candidates to be placed on the ballot are as follows:
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A member of VOTF for at least two (2) years
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Commitment to serve a two-year term
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Support of the VOTF statement of officer duties and responsibilities
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A letter of support from a VOTF member in a leadership position: affiliate, local, or national level
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A 250-500 word statement of interest (why I am interested in running) and willingness to serve
Please note that all documents must be received via email by midnight EST on Monday, December 5: nominations@votf.org
Ron DuBois, Chair of the Nominating Committee
Prayerful Voices
Voice of the Faithful Prayerful Voices asks you to join their on-line intercessory prayer group open to members and friends of VOTF. At the present time, the focus of this prayer group is on providing prayerful support for initiatives sponsored by Voices in Action Teams actively engaged in transforming our church. This is not a discussion group, nor will it entertain individual prayer intentions, as important as they may be. Comments by members will not be posted to the listserv but will be read and passed on to the appropriate persons or group.
From time to time, we post specific prayers and we ask each member to download the prayer and then pray it daily. We started with a relatively small group of members, but we hope to expand it to hundreds and perhaps even thousands of members and friends of VOTF. Having a multitude of people praying the same prayers every day is a powerful expression of our hopes for the church, the Body of Christ.
Whether you are already working within VOTF or are perhaps homebound and unable to participate in other ways, you can always give your prayerful support—and that is perhaps the most important participation of all.
If you are interested or simply want more information, please contact Mary Farmer at Bridgbldr@aol.com
Young Girls Again Are Prohibited from Serving Mass
Young girls have been prohibited from serving Mass by the pastor of Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church in the Diocese of Arlington, Va.
In 2006, even as he ended a long-standing practice that excluded girls from altar service, Arlington Bishop Paul Loverde authorized diocesan priests to continue to exclude them. The result today is that 60 percent of the Arlington diocese’s parishes have no girl altar servers. At Corpus Christi parish a recent decision by pastor Rev. Michael Taylor to revoke the practice of girl altar servers sparked angry outcries from moms, dads, grandparents and others who see the injustice in Gospel terms, not in the legalisms of Catholic Canon Law to which the bishop and priests cling as support for their man-made practices.
Nearly 70 parishioners gathered outside the Arlington chancery Sunday, Nov. 20, to protest the exclusion of girls from altar service. Voice of the Faithful supports these lay Catholics and encourages lay Catholics everywhere to stand similarly against Catholic hierarchs who betray Gospel teachings.
“Restricting altar service to boys contradicts Jesus’s core teachings and perpetuates a dysfunctional clerical culture in the Church,” says VOTF trustee Bill Casey of Alexandria, Va.
VOTF has identified clericalism as the pattern of behavior in which clergy view themselves as different, separate and exempt from the norms, rules and consequences that apply to everyone else in society.
“In light of this clericalism,” Casey says, “the practice of excluding girls from altar service counters scripture. Jesus persistently directed his teachings and healings to the interests of the marginalized groups in the society of his day. He preached a kingdom of God without privilege, rank or entitlement—a message aimed squarely at the religious leaders who taught and behaved quite to the contrary.”
Similar controversies over girl altar servers have occurred elsewhere, in Phoenix, Ariz., and Lincoln, Neb., for example.
The Washington Post has an online poll asking readers if they think girls should be allowed to serve as altar servers. If you are interested in voting, you will find the poll here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-buzz/post/poll-should-girls-be-allowed-to-be-altar-servers/2011/11/18/gIQAlL5ZhN_blog.html
Voice of the Faithful Focus, Dec. 1, 2011
Highlighting issues we face working together
to Keep the Faith, Change the Church.
Cardinal Law Retires from Basilica Post
Former Boston Archbishop Cardinal Law has resigned from his prestigious position as archpriest of the basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome and his seat on several Vatican congregations, including the Congregation for Bishops, which advises the pope on bishop selection and assignments. Since leaving Boston for Rome after resigning as archbishop of Boston is 2002, Law has remained highly influential in the Church. Here are links to media coverage in which VOTF was interviewed (click here for VOTF’s statement):
Six Irish Dioceses Publish Abuse Audits
For 36 years, leaders of six Roman Catholic dioceses in Ireland mishandled clergy sexual abuse and were not held accountable for abetting abuse. Moreover, they have failed to establish reviews totally independent of Church influence. Most media coverage has criticized the audits, but others find hope for positive change in the audit’s findings. Click here for VOTF’s news release.
Belgian Catholics Issue Reform Manifesto; 6,000 Sign
The week before Advent, four Flemish priests issued a Church reform manifesto that to-date 6,000 Catholics have signed. The manifesto in part calls for parish leadership to be entrusted to trained laypeople, communion services to be held even if no priest is available and married men and women to be admitted to the priesthood.
Clericalism and Abuse Crisis
VOTF’s conclusions regarding the John Jay College report on the causes and contexts of clergy sexual abuse are analyzed in-depth by the Bilgrimage blog. Click here for VOTF’s news release and link to full conclusions.
Catholic Church Knew of Abuse for Decades
The Catholic Church was aware of child abuse at orphanages and other institutions throughout the Netherlands as early as 1954, according to documents found by researchers in church archives.
http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2011
/11/catholic_church_knew_of_abuse.php
Read the rest of Focus here...
Submit Your Views on the New Mass Liturgy
For English-speaking Catholics attending Mass this past Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent, the highly anticipated new Missal translation became reality, having replaced an earlier translation. You have been invited by the managing editor of US Catholic, a Catholic-oriented general interest magazine distributed nationally and on the Internet, to voice your opinion on the widely debated new liturgy. Please send your personal response to the new missal, in no more than 400 words, to www.onlineeditor@uscatholic.org.
Letter to the Editor
Note: An edited version of the following letter was recently published in Newsday.
Dear Editor:
While it is true that sex abuse of children has infected many institutions including the Catholic Church, there is one major difference that needs to be addressed. What if Penn State recognized the abuse by Coach Sandusky; had him arrested, but failed to remove from office any of the officials that looked the other way? Would this be tolerated by world opinion?
Yet, this is what happened in the Catholic Church! None of the bishops who moved priest pedophiles from parish to parish have been disciplined by Rome. As a practicing Catholic and a member of Voice of the Faithful, I see how this grave injustice continues to threaten the Church’s credibility. With neither malice nor vengeance, I believe Rome needs to remove these bishops in order to restore its standing as a leader in the moral lives of its people.
Edward J. Thompson, Sr.
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. |
