Updates from
VOTF’s National Assembly
2014 Assembly Workshop Summary: Survivor Support
VOTF's first Priest of Integrity Award recipient, Fr. Thomas P. Doyle, presented the workshop "Supporting Survivors: What You Can Do" at our April 5 Assembly.
 Contrary to what bishops would like us to believe, Fr. Doyle says, the clergy abuse crisis is far from over, and you can take concrete, critical steps to bring about real change and greater healing for survivors/victims.
Fr. Doyle provided this outline from his workshop:
Clergy Sexual Abuse and the Church Today: Turning Talk into Action
You also may be interested in the compendium Fr. Doyle has compiled of reports, books, documents, films, and other resources pertaining Clergy Sexual Abuse: Abbreviated Bibliography.
Register NOW for Women Deacons Online Seminar
Registration for the Massive Online Open Seminar (MOOS) on Women Deacons: Past, Present, Future is now open. The seminar will run June 9-July 8, 2014. It's part of Hofstra University's online education effort.
Instructors for this FREE seminar are Gary Macy, William T. Ditewig, and Phyllis Zagano, all noted researchers and authors of articles and books on the women's diaconate. Dr. Zagano also is the 2012 recipient of VOTF's Catherine of Siena Award.
To register here, follow the directions below. Then review the materials needed for the seminar and the course outline.
Listen to the VOTF Workshop on Clericalism
A reporter from WESU-FM (NPR station) in Middletown CT sat in on one of the Clericalism sessions and posted the recording. You can hear it on their web site:
Are Clergy Nearer to God than Thee? Voice of the Faithful Takes on Clericalism
Reasonably Catholic, WESU-FM, Apr. 29, 2014
Vatican Commission Rep Invites Emails
To receive communications, especially from other survivors, about her role on the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, survivor and advocate Marie Collins has created a special email address: collmar2014@gmail.com
She says that the address is “for anyone who wants to write to me”—a brave invitation in today’s world of anonymous online slanders and attacks. We pray that those who can best support and provide data for Ms. Collins or who most need her assistance will reach her more easily than those who aim only to hurt.
Please join us in praying for her continued strength and work.
Reason to Celebrate?
This year, the local Catholic organization, Mid-Michigan Voice of the Faithful (MM VOTF), will be ten years old. Formed in the tri-city area in 2004, this group is an affiliate of the organization that began in 2002 in Massachusetts as a response to the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. Since then, it has grown to over 30,000 members in the United States and in 21 countries. If many have never even heard of this group in the past years, some may ask how this is relevant to Catholics here in the tri-city area?
When the first people joined together for VOTF, they were shocked, hurt and upset. They saw the great injustice of the sexual abuse by clergy and the following cover-up, and they demanded that changes begin in our church. VOTF became committed to a mission to provide a prayerful, Spirit-filled way for all Catholics to actively participate in the guidance and governance of the present-day Church. This follows Canon Law, which states that the laity “have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons.” (Canon 212 §3)
In this context, people believe they can embrace the VOTF goals to support the survivors of clergy sexual abuse, as well as to support priests of integrity. They also feel they can follow the goal that encourages work to shape structural change within the Catholic Church. This group finds that there is a lot to learn about their religion and what has been unfolding in this country and around the world. During monthly meetings, they began to learn more about the Church. By being grounded in prayer and through talks, readings, presentations and sharing information, they developed new understandings. Stories of individuals, clergy, educators, and others, all showed a “bigger picture” of events, history and viewpoints.
Continued
Focus
Highlighting issues we face working together
to Keep the Faith, Change the Church
Vatican: 848 Priests Defrocked for Abuse since ’04
“The Vatican revealed Tuesday (May 6) that over the past decade, it has defrocked 848 priests who raped or molested children and sanctioned another 2,572 with lesser penalties, providing the first ever breakdown of how it handled the more than 3,400 cases of abuse reported to the Holy See since.” By John Heilprin and Nicole Winfield, Associated Press
-- Vatican Tells of 848 Priests Ousted in Decade, By Nick Cumming Bruce, The New York Times
U.N. Panel on Torture Presses Vatican Envoy on Abuse
“The Vatican faced sharp questioning by a United Nations panel on Monday (May 5) about whether it failed to abide by an international treaty against torture in its response to the sexual abuse of children by priests.” By Nick Cumming Bruce, The New York Times
-- Vatican Defends Record on Sexual Abuse to UN Panel, By Josephine McKenna, Religion News Service
-- Vatican Could Face Flood of Torture-Related Abuse Lawsuits, By Josephine McKenna, Religion News Service
-- Facing U.N. Grilling, Vatican Envoy Pushes Back, By John L. Allen, Jr., The Boston Globe
Clear Rules Eyed on Church Sex Abuse
“The Vatican commission advising Pope Francis on sexual abuse policy will develop “clear and effective protocols” to protect children from pedophile priests, including procedures to hold church authorities accountable if they neglect to act on cases of abuse, Vatican officials said Saturday (May 3).” By Elisabetta Povoledo, The New York Times
-- Pope Francis Sex Abuse Panel Gets Real on Accountability Protocols, By Josephine McKenna, Religion New Service, in National Catholic Reporter
Head of Vatican Doctrinal Congregation Confronts LCWR for Noncooperation
“The Vatican chief of doctrine has accused U.S. women religious leaders of not abiding by a reform agenda the Vatican imposed on their leadership organization following a doctrinal assessment of the group. Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, told the leadership group they were ignoring procedures for choosing speakers for their annual conferences and questioned if their programs were promoting heresy.” By Dennis Coday, National Catholic Reporter
-- Vatican’s Doctrine Chief Blasts U.S. Nuns for Disobedience, By David Gibson, Religion News Service
-- Sartain: ‘I Am in Full Agreement’ with Muller’s LCWR Concerns, By Dennis Coday, National Catholic Reporter
-- Cardinal Gerhard Mueller Rebukes U.S. Nuns for Honoring Feminist Theologian Elizabeth Johnson, By Yasmine Hafiz, The Huffington Post
-- Cardinal Kasper, the ‘Pope’s Theologian,’ Downplays Vatican Blast at U.S. Nuns, By David Gibson, Religion News Service
-- CDF Prefect Tells U.S. Nuns They Were Wrong to Honor Elizabeth, By Grant Gallicho, Commonweal
Read the rest of this issue of Focus by clicking here …
America’s Favorite Pastime!
Baseball sage Yogi Berra may not have said many things he said, like, "It ain't over 'till it's over." But that's certainly true when it comes to VOTF and Church reform. What else do America's "favorite pastime" and the presentations at the recently concluded VOTF 2014 Assembly have in common?
For the answer, just open our 2014 End-of-Fiscal-Year Appeal. You'll receive it soon in the mail. Read Mark's letter and then flip it over to see a list of VOTF's 2014 projects and prospects.
Here comes the pitch -- Don't forget to use the form at the bottom of the appeal letter to give generously to support our never-ending task of reforming and healing our Church -- or donate now by clicking here.
Thank you and God bless you for giving with a glad heart "for God loves a cheerful giver," as St. Paul said (2 Cor 9:7, NAB).
Inviting Input on Bishop Selection for the Good of the Church
By James D. Rooney of the VOTF Bishop Selection Committee,
This article first appeared in the April edition of We are Church
What a difference a year makes in the Vatican, where Pope Francis invites more input from cardinals on governance and the faithful on family matters. But it's the same old story in several other cities like Chicago and Los Angeles where new allegations of dioceses mismanaging clergy abuse claims suggest wider input is also needed in bishop selection.
In the early Church, local clergy and the laity elected their own bishops. St. Augustine of Hippo was locally chosen, and St. Cyprian described the practice as "based on divine teaching and faithfully followed in practically every province." Pope Celestine declared, "The one who is to be head over all should be elected by all."
Rome gradually assumed more control over the process as temporal leaders interfered with local Church affairs. But many dioceses throughout Western Europe retained wide latitude in choosing their bishops. It was not until 1917 that Canon Law reserved the appointment of bishops solely to the Pope with few exceptions.
Continued
Calendar of Events
There are two book groups left in this academic year at Saint Susanna in the Parish Hall, 262 Needham Street, Dedham. Both programs will be held on Monday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. as follows:
Father Steve’s Book Group (Three Sessions) In what is now a tradition, the group will read and discuss a current book in the area of Faith and Religion, specially selected by Father Steve Josoma, Pastor of Saint Susanna Parish. Father Steve has selected as this year’s book Quest for a Living God, by Elizabeth A. Johnson, CSJ, Professor of Theology at Fordham University, New York (Continuum Publishing, 2007). It was originally last year's selection until the Marathon bombings led Father Steve to select the Kushner book dealing with issues of bad things happening to good people. Quest for a Living God is available in hardcover and paperback online at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble’s web sites. It can also be obtained through almost any book store, but call ahead, as they may have to order it for you. You can also contact your local library, which should be able to order it for you through its library consortium.
Minuteman Library Net, which services Dedham and Needham, has several copies.
You are expected to have read the first third of the book for the first session on May 5, but if you missed the first session – please join anyway! (On this page, Quest for the Living God is the last book on the second row of icons. If you click and order from that icon, VOTF receives a portion of your purchase price—a nice way to buy a good book and donate at the same time.)
May 12 – Book Group continues.
May 19 - Book Group concludes.
Want to Learn More About the Bible?
The editors of America are launching an online site -- “The Living Word: Scripture in the Life of the Church,” a two-year, multi-platform project in collaboration with the American Bible Society aimed at promoting deeper engagement with the Bible.
America and the American Bible Society will examine how the church can more fully promote a more biblically literate and personally engaged Catholic population .“The Living Word” project will include commissioned articles in print and online, Web-only content such as blogs, podcasts and videos and live events to connect authors and readers across all platforms.
Content for "The Living Word" will be organized around five themes drawn from "Dei Verbum": Conversion through Scripture; Praying with Scripture; Worshipping with Scripture; The Aesthetics of Scripture; and The Theology of Scripture.
To learn more http://americamagazine.org/about-living-word
Letters to the Editor
I hope VOTF will continue to follow the ongoing results of the Vatican’s investigation of the LCWR. This week’s news from the meeting in Rome was interesting in that there seemed to be no further mention of “radical feminism” or of what the nuns are NOT talking about; instead, the focus was on nondoctrinal content in speeches, papers, and their honoree’s book Quest for a Living God. I’m not familiar with that book or the concept of Conscious Evolution that the CDF thinks is leading the sisters to a heretical position but I’d like to know what all the fuss is about and would be glad to hear from VOTF on it.
Peace,
M. Annette Joseph
Response from Donna B. Doucette:
Thank you for asking about the fuss. At the risk of over-simplifying, and knowing that I am entering a battlefield with so many players already eager to espouse a viewpoint, here are some of the thoughts I have had while reading this past week’s news about CDF and LCWR.
“Conscious Evolution” is Barbara Marx Hubbard’s approach to a world where, she believes, we are all evolving into a “universal human”—a new type of human, among whom the first seen in history are Isaiah, Buddha, Zoroaster, Socrates, Plato, Jesus, Mohammed ... Ms. Marx says the new human is one who consciously chooses the path of evolution, to “recreate the world in new ways.”
You might guess from this tiny glimpse why the CDF would consider Conscious Evolution to be a problem. However, to assume from Ms. Marx’s appearance at an LCWR meeting that somehow all the nuns were set upon a path of participating in, believing in, or even caring about such theories is a huge leap. One might equally argue that if Cardinal Muller reads a book by Karl Marx he is therefore a Communist. In other words, if the simple act of listening to another’s ideas about the world and religion changes one’s own views irrevocably, you and I might be Catholics one morning, Islamists the next, Tories if we read a history book, Nazis if we read books from the ‘40s … or perhaps Cardinal Muller only thinks this malady strikes women?
Quest for a Living God is a fascinating study of how humans faced with so many horrific, destructive forces in the modern world—the Holocaust, slavery, poverty beyond the imaginations of Westerners, for examples—not only retain a belief in God (remarkable enough) but also expand it into perceptions and “truths” that help them cope with the devastating realities they see. I have not finished reading the book (my schedule is tight and I find myself re-reading chapters just for the interest of seeing “through another’s eyes” instead of going onto new chapters). But it is clearly a survey or compendium of the many ways we humans have tried to perceive God’s presence and interaction within today’s world.
I also have read the complaints by the U.S. bishops, Sr. Elizabeth Johnson’s response to their complaints, and the statements by various theological societies about how the USCCB ignored its own protocols and processes in order to come up with the secret “j’accuse.” Sr. Elizabeth’s review makes sense, and a comparison of the passages cited against the claims made by the bishops’ committee shows easily that they are making conclusions inconsistent with the actual words written. Plus, it seems to me that if you cannot speak directly with the person who wrote the book and must violate your own rules to reach your condemnation, the fault lies not with the one you accuse.
These are a few of my thoughts on this issue, but I must hasten to add that this is not “VOTF” speaking—it is my one voice. VOTF would not make an official statement on what appears to be a dispute unrelated to our mission and goals. We do, we have, and we will again, call for dialogue and respect for any theologian, nun, priest, or lay person whose good works are unfairly dismissed or condemned—as we have done for Sr. Elizabeth Johnson and many others targeted by Vatican Curia officials. We also seek to reform those structures that lead to such unjust actions within the Church.
But today, in this issue, it’s just me responding to your thoughts.
Response from Ron DuBois:
My own personal response to this message focuses on why the bishops object to Johnson’s book, “Quest for the Living God.” What the bishops really objected to is the fact that she takes an inductive approach to God, beginning with current issues and current knowledge and theologizing up to a different understanding of God than tradition holds. The bishops want theologians to argue deductively, i.e. beginning with traditional doctrines and showing how current issues can be explained by traditional understandings of God. To me, the latter approach simply will not truly face the issues at hand.
We can’t continue to do theology deductively as it has been done in the past. New knowledge, especially knowledge about science, cosmology evolution, ecology, women, different cultures, etc., simply can’t be dealt with by way of traditional doctrine. We need a new understanding of God based on our knowledge that the universe is at least 3.8 billion years old, and that we are on the verge of creating the next extinction in the history of our world. We also need a new understanding of women that is not clouded by the centuries of paternalism, both in the Church and the world as we have known it.
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. |
