Bishop Frank Caggiano Visits VOTF Bridgeport
A report from Jamie Dance, Chair of VOTF-Bridgeport
Bishop Frank Caggiano was welcomed to the Congregational Church on the Green with a standing ovation by more than 160 people who gathered for Voice of the Faithful’s first conversation with the bishop. He began by speaking about the role of the faithful in the Diocesan Synod planned to open in the fall. “Our role”, he said, “is to share our faith, in order that we may deepen our union as the baptized children of God.”

The synod, called close to the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ papacy, will be a catalyst for renewal, and an opportunity for a second look at what it means to be Catholic. Recalling Pope Francis’ view that we are meant to be a “people of mercy,” Bishop Caggiano urged us to understand what it means to be family. Recalling his father’s words that he and his sister could fight, but only in the home since “blood is thicker than water,” the bishop admonished us that “Grace is thicker than blood, and it is by grace that we are incorporated into the Body of Christ. Communion shared brings us back to who we are and to the Truth.”
Click here for Jamie’s complete report.

Pope's New Commission Takes A Positive Step on Clergy Sexual Abuse
VOTF is guardedly optimistic at the announcement of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which was instituted this past Saturday, Mar. 22, having been originally announced Dec. 5, 2013.

A major reason for optimism this time is the commission’s initial composition. Five of the eight members are lay people, and four of those are women. One, Marie Collins of Ireland, is an outspoken, internationally known clergy sexual abuse survivor. In addition, the sole American on the commission, Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston has one of the better records on clergy sexual abuse among the Church’s hierarchy. He also has considerable experience supervising settlements and trying to clean up dioceses damaged when the extent of clergy sex abuse was revealed.

According to the Vatican, the eight newly named members of the Pontifical Commission are to prepare its statutes and define its tasks and “competencies.” From VOTF’s point of view, the principal tasks of the commission must include full transparency, a reckoning of all those involved in the scandal. Also, the commission’s statutes must guard against future secrecy and provide discipline for offending hierarchy. 

VOTF has been working to accomplish these goals for 12 years; SNAP, the international abuse survivor group, has called for justice for the past 25 years; and canon lawyer and survivor supporter Fr. Thomas Doyle presented his first report on clergy sexual abuse from his position in the Vatican embassy as long ago as 1984. Announcement of this new Vatican commission is long past due. For the full text of the VOTF release, see our web page.

The Times They Are A-Changin'
2014 Assembly Action Steps for Church Reform 
Rolling Stone magazine recently featured Pope Francis on its cover, with Pope Francis: The Times They Are A-Changin' as the cover story title. Times in the Catholic Church are indeed a-changin' under Pope Francis.

Francis talks-the-reform-talk, but many would like to see him walk-the-reform-walk. Meet him in the middle, halfway between what the hierarchy wants and what lay reformers want. Set VOTF on the right path by registering for the VOTF 2014 Assembly: Turning Talk into Action.

We'll meet at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford on Saturday, April 5. You'll be inspired by guest speakers John Allen and Fr. Tom Reese and fired-up by our workshop facilitators. Leave our 2014 Assembly packed for the road with ideas you can implement back in your parish and community.

Register online now for the VOTF 2014 Assembly. Visit our website homepage for links to more information. If you are a student, VOTF invites you to attend at the 50% discounted cost of $40. Use the downloadable registration form. Click here for directions to the Connecticut Convention Center.

Register by Mar. 28 to receive your free box lunch.

Free Online Seminar on Women Deacons with Phyllis Zagano
The Massive Online Open Seminar (MOOS) on Women Deacons: Past, Present, Future will run June 9-July 8, 2014. The seminar is just what it sounds like--a chance for you to join with other folks around the world to read, think and talk about the possibility of restoring women to the ordained diaconate in the Catholic Church.

There are several questions that will be discussed during the seminar: 1. In the past: who were the women deacons in the early church? Were they ordained? What did they do? Why did they disappear? 2. In the present: when was the diaconate rejuvenated, and why?H there been consideration of women in the diaconate? 3. In the future: what are the obstacles to women in the diaconate? How can these challenges be addressed? What would it mean for women to be ordained?
Each of the first four days of each week will contain readings and lectures--about one hour's worth of work per day. Each Friday, the Discussion Board will open for three days. Where possible an instructor or teaching assistant will join in. Course books (listed below) may be ordered by clicking the book image below. Each course book is available electronically or in paper.

The Seminar will run on CourseSites: https://www.coursesites.com/

Optional Celibacy: A Growing
If you are attending our Optional Celibacy workshop at the Assembly, you may want to check out the work VOTF has assembled so far http://votf.org/priest-support/259. You may also be interested an upcoming teleconference hosted by FutureChurch, The Gift of Marriage to the Priesthood. Anthony and Theresa Padovano will take part in a conversation about the gift of marriage to the priesthood and the likelihood that Pope Francis will bring in needed reforms. The telconference will be held on April 12 from 3-4. To learn more, or to register, go to http://futurechurch.org/.

Focus

Highlighting issues we face working together to Keep the Faith, Change the Church

Pope’s Commission a Positive Step on Clergy Sexual Abuse
“A major reason for optimism this time is the commission’s initial composition. Five of the eight members are lay people, and four of those are women. One, notably, is an outspoken, internationally known clergy sexual abuse survivor, Ireland’s Marie Collins. In addition, the sole American on the commission, Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston has one of the better records on clergy sexual abuse among the Church’s hierarchy. He also has considerable experience supervising settlements and trying to clean up dioceses damaged when the extent of clergy sex abuse was revealed.” Voice of the Faithful National Statement
 -- Francis Names O’Malley to Vatican Antiabuse Panel, By John L. Allen, Jr., The Boston Globe
 -- O’Malley, Abuse Survivor Named Members of New Vatican Clergy Abuse Commission, By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter
 -- Pope Names Members of Anti-Abuse Group, By Laurie Goodstein and Jim Yardley, The New York Times
 -- Member of Vatican Abuse Commission Says ‘Put Victims First,’ By John L. Allen, Jr., The Boston Globe
 -- Boston Cardinal, Abuse Survivor among Members of Vatican Commission, By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
 -- Survivor of Clerical Abuse Vows to Use Place on Vatican Commission to ‘Speak Out as Always,’ By Nicola Anderson, Irish Independent
 -- Abuse Survivor Says New Vatican Commission Must Achieve Real Change, By Sarah MacDonald, Catholic News Service
 -- Victims Protest New Vatican Sex Abuse Commission, By WCVB-TV

Pope Accepts Resignation of High-Spending German Bishop
“Pope Francis on Wednesday (Mar. 26) accepted the resignation of Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, the bishop of Limburg, whose extravagant spending on renovations for his personal residence angered his congregation and ran afoul of the pontiff’s message of humility and modesty for the Roman Catholic Church.” By Melissa Eddy, The New York Times

25 Years into Fight Against Clergy Sex Abuse SNAP Soldiers On
“When Barbara Blaine founded the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests in a Chicago homeless shelter she ran in 1988, it was a small group looking for support and healing. It was more than a decade before public outrage at sex abuse in the Catholic church peaked in the early 2000s, and SNAP’s members had few people they could turn to except each other. Twenty-five years later, the organization is considered by many Catholic observers to be the main American advocacy group for victims of clergy abuse. But support groups remain at the core of SNAP’s work.” By Dan Adams, The Boston Globe

Failure to Report Child Sex Abuse in Victoria Punishable by Three Years in Jail
“Victorians who fail to report suspected child sexual abuse and workers who cover it up will face jail. The premier, Denis Napthine, declared the era of cover-up and silence over. ‘Every adult in Victoria who is aware of child sexual abuse must report it to police,’ he said.” By Australian Associated Press in The Guardian

Click here to read the rest of this issue of Focus...

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.