National News

Statement to the USCCB
Submitted by Kris Ward

Background

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is reviewing the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

Voice of the Faithful national was able to obtain a copy of the Workbook the bishops are using for the review process.

A national Task Force, chaired by national vice president Kris Ward (co-founder and co-chair of the Dayton, OH affliate) was assembled and a Voice of the Faithful national response has been formulated.

The Task Force members are Thomas Myles, a director of the Long Island, NY Voice of the Faithful Affiliate, Patricia Gomez of Acton, MA, Dr. James Jenkins,, who resigned on principle in 2004 from the Diocese of San Francisco Review Board,

Voice of the Faithful has chosen to respond in two ways: submitting its comments and suggestions in the same manner as all bishops of the United States; and announcing separate recommendations aimed at making the Charter a reality in Catholic life and seeking a true restoration of trust between the faithful and its leaders.

Voice of the Faithful joins the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops review of the Charter for the Protection and Young People in a spirit of hope that the review and revision of the Charter will result in a strong instrument for the protection of the innocent and vulnerable and the production of a great good for the whole Church and society at large.

The bishops of the United States decided when the Charter was adopted in Dallas in June 2002 that a review would take place at the two (2) years mark.

The instrument the bishops are using is a workbook with proposed revisions presented to all of the bishops for comments by the Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse which is chaired by Archbishop Harry Flynn, Bishop of Minneapolis.

The bishops' deadline for responses is January 15. Voice of the Faithful will meet the bishops’ deadline with the submission of a Workbook and also an announcement of its recommendations.

Voice of the Faithful called upon the bishops in November 2004 to extend the time for comment in order to allow for more laity participation in the review process. Voice of the Faithful proposed that the comment period be extended to March 1, 2005.

The work of the national Task Force was vetted through its national policy forum comprised of Voice of the Faithful leaders throughout the country. The Task Force's comments and suggestions made to the Ad Hoc Committee's proposed text and the list of recommendations were approved by the national officers.

The process for the revision of the Charter will also include a meeting between representatives of the bishops of the United States and the Vatican. Voice of the Faithful understands that this meeting will take place sometime in January 2005. In March 2005 the Administrative Committee of the USCCB meets regarding the agenda for the bishops June 2005 meeting. The proposed revisions are expected to be voted on by the body of bishops at its June 2005 meeting in Chicago, Illinois.

The February issue of In the Vineyard, posting on the national website and communications to the affiliates and full membership will contain more information on the Task Force report.

VOTF Report Highlights

Voice of the Faithful advocates for the strengthening of the language and the intent of the Charter. Two years reflection and lived experience of the horror and sorrow of the survivors and the pain of the families and loved ones of those who committed suicide should call forth from us our best efforts to frame in words what the Body of Christ has suffered, not suffuse the situation in weak prose assigning it to history by use of the past tense.

Voice of the Faithful reiterates its strong opposition to self-reporting audits. Voice of the Faithful points to the 52 years surveyed in the John Jay Study as a stunning example of the failure of self reporting of sexual abuse by clergy.

The wisdom and lived experience of the survivors’ community must be sought and welcomed in the resolution of the crisis and restoration of trust in the Church

Voice of the Faithful commends the body of bishops for its announced intention not to roll back the provision of zero tolerance. This is the short-hand phrase used to mean that any priest or deacon against whom credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor are brought will be removed from active ministry in the Roman Catholic Church

Voice of the Faithful commends the bishops for the proposed addition of language in the new Article 10 which says, "The involvement of the whole Church, especially the laity, (emphasis added) at the national as well as the diocesan level, is essential to a credible and accountable response to the problem of sexual abuse by clergy (emphasis added). Voice of the Faithful heartily endorses the addition of this proposed language and looks forward to its implementation. Note: (new Article 10 differs from the original Article 10 because of a re-arranging of responsibilities in Articles 8, 9 and 10)

Voice of the Faithful commends the addition of a provision that stipulates every possible step must be taken to restore the good name of any cleric who is falsely accused.

Voice of the Faithful is disappointed in religious leaders who would propose to eliminate eloquent references to our Lord and direct text of Scripture relevant to the crisis in the proposed revision of the Charter. Voice of the Faithful advocates for the retention of all references to our Lord to remain in the preamble of the Charter.

Voice of the Faithful believes in and advocates for a major education campaign on the Charter, and that it be undertaken by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Review Board, the Office of the Child and Youth Protection, ands Voice of the Faithful.

Voice of the Faithful believes that the only way the Charter will become reality in Catholic life is to ensure that it becomes part of parish life. This means that the Charter must be readily available, easily accessible, and well distributed in parishes to current and new members, to school children, to participants in CCD, all sports, and other extra curricular activities which take place in the parish.

Voice of the Faithful will make available to its affiliates a checklist for use in determining the parish compliance with the provisions of the Charter. Voice of the Faithful encourages formation of affiliates in parishes but will be happy to provide a copy of the checklist to parishes that do not currently have a Voice of the Faithful affiliate.

2005 Convention Update

Friends, it is time to develop the program, organize events, and recruit volunteers for a convocation of Catholics you will never forget! Over the next few weeks, we expect to keep you in the loop with a regular Convention Update. Meanwhile, you ask – “What can we do?” For starters, make plans now to be in Indy in July. Organize your affiliate members into working groups. And, if you live in the Midwest, please read the next item!

Catholic Contacts Wanted - Especially Hoosiers!
In preparation for our 2005 National Convention in Indianapolis on July 9-10, 2005, we are calling on other Catholic organizations as well as the many Catholics “in the pews” who are active in various ministries in our Church. The list below is not exhaustive and is geared to the Midwest (Indianapolis). We invite your suggestions and welcome volunteers to help plan this moment in Church history – contact Ann Carroll at anncarrollvotf@yahoo.com. There is a place for you!

Are you an alumna/alumnus of a Catholic school in the Midwest?
Ancilla College
Aquinas College (Grand Rapids, MI)
Benedictine University (Lisle, IL)
Bellarmine University
Catholic Theological Union
College of Mount St. Joseph
DePaul University
Dominican University (River Forest, IL)
Fontbonne University
Franciscan University of Steubenville (OH)
Holy Cross College (Notre Dame, IN)
John Carroll University
Lewis University
Loyola University - Chicago
Marian College
Marquette University
Notre Dame
Saint Joseph’s College (Rensselaer, IN)
Saint Louis University
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (IN)
Saint Mary’s College (Notre Dame, IN)
Saint Xavier University (Chicago)
University of Dayton
University of Saint Francis (Fort Wayne, IN)
Ursuline College (Pepper Pike, OH)
Walsh University
Xavier University (Cincinnati, OH)

Do you know someone from a religious order in the Midwest?

Are you a member of any of these groups (or know someone who is)?
Catholic Health Association (CHA)
Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA)
Knights of Columbus (especially in the Midwest)
National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers (NSCFLM)
National Association of Church Personnel Administrators (NACPA)
National Association for Lay Ministry (NALM)
National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA)
National Pastoral Life Center (NPLC)

Working together, we can “Keep the Faith, Change the Church”!

VOTF National Election results

The candidates’ resumes and statements are still on the web site for those who have not been “introduced” to re-elected incumbents president Jim Post and vice-president Kris Ward, and to newly elected secretary Gaile Pohlhaus and treasurer Julie Rafferty. Election statistics follow (additional information is on our web site):

ELECTION RESULTS
A total of 1456 electronic ballots were cast.

A total of 140 written ballots were cast.

As with most organization, there has been considerable discussion over the voter turnout for VOTF officer elections. While the 4% response rate has been found by many similar (larger and older) organizations to be as “good as it gets,” some members were concerned about what appeared to be “low turnout.” The good news is that this election produced a 50% increase across the board – nominations, candidates and voters. To have generated that much increased interest and participation in barely three years is gratifying. In addition, we heard from dozens of members that they didn’t vote for a variety of understandable reasons – mechanical difficulty, unfamiliarity with the candidates, and a feeling of disconnectedness.

Like so much of the change we work toward, fine tuning our communication and electronic systems takes many hands, unremitting perseverance and time. Eileen Hespeler, our web manager, and Rick White, our interim Executive Director, worked through an enormously complex set of electronic and other challenges with patience and humor. The outcome is a team of leaders with broader geographical representation: Jim Post and Julie Rafferty are Massachusetts residents, Gaile Pohlhaus is in Pennsylvania and Kris Ward in Ohio. We wish all of our new officers Godspeed in the months ahead. Here they are!

Jim Post

Kris Ward

Julie Rafferty

Gaile Pohlhaus

Governance

Members of the steering committee, governance committee, and the officers met on Wednesday, Jan. 5. Some progress was made toward a resolution of how the national membership would be represented. There are still outstanding issues under discussion. However, it was pointed out that individuals could propose amendments to whatever is the final resolution.

As a result of continuing discussion among the groups mentioned above, the steering committee has changed the allocation of the number of representative seats on the representative council with regard to each of the fourteen regions. The allocation is based on affiliates and members within the region.

The proposed allocation follows:

East 1	CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT	5
East 2	NY	3
East 3	NJ, PA	2
East 4	DC, DE, MD, VA, WV	2
Central 6	MI, OH	2
Central 7	IL, IN, WI	2
Central 8	MN, ND, SD	1
Central 9	IA, KS, MO, NB	1
South 5	AL, KY, LA, MS, TN	1
South 10	AR, OK, TX	1
South 14	FL, GA, NC, SC	2
West 11	CA, HI, NV, UT	2
West 12	AK, ID, MT, OR, WA, WY	1
West 13	AZ, CO, NM	1
TOTAL		26

Office News and Needs

Mark Mullaney, chair of the Executive Director Search Committee (see December In the Vineyard) advises that resumes are being accepted and reviewed for the position of VOTF National Executive Director. The following ad will also appear in an upcoming Commonweal magazine:

Voice of the Faithful, Inc. a rapidly growing grassroots Catholic lay movement formed “to provide a prayerful voice, attentive to the Spirit, through which the Faithful can actively participate in the governance and guidance of the Catholic Church,” and with more than 30,000 members in 200 + affiliates worldwide, is seeking an individual with strong administrative and leadership abilities for the position of Executive Director over VOTF national office functions and member services.

Reporting directly to the nationally elected President, the Executive Director is responsible for the effective management, coordination, and integration of financial resources, staff support functions and personnel, and technical systems, to ensure their alignment with the mission and goals of Voice of the Faithful, and specifically, with the national goals and priorities established by the elected leadership. He/she will do so working closely with the Board of Trustees, nationally elected officers, elected regional leadership, and a national representative council.

The successful candidate will need to demonstrate the ability to provide effective leadership as Voice of the Faithful continues to evolve. He/she must have an understanding of the mission and the goals of VOTF; a track record of successful leadership in a major regional or national organization preferably non-profit; a strong financial and budgetary background; development (fund raising) experience; and a collaborative management style. The position involves working with salaried staff professionals and volunteers. It is expected that the successful candidate will be a practicing Catholic committed to the goals of VOTF.

Potential applicants are encouraged to visit here for more information. Applicants should send a thorough summary of their job history and qualifications, along with salary history and job references to Pat Myers at pat_myers@futuremanagementsystems.com or mail their information to Future Management systems, Inc. 900 Cummings Center, Suite 214-U Beverly, MA 01915.

VOTF is also looking for an experienced Office Manager. Please contact interim Executive Director Rick White at 617-558-5252

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