National News

A Time for Action
With the Pope’s visit to the UK making headlines throughout the world, and his continued apologies for the sexual abuse scandal ringing in our ears, we at VOTF wonder, are repeated apologies enough?

Catholics all over the world are waiting for action. We urge the Pope to create a global policy along the lines of the US policy on child abuse. This policy needs to come directly from the Vatican.

Repeated apologies will lose their credibility in the absence of action. It is time for action from the Vatican. Words are not enough.

To read what others are saying about the Pope’s visit, click here
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/
pope-calls-church-be-humble-model-abuse

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/
0,8599,2020145,00.html

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/09/15/
uk.pope.visit/index.html?iref=topnews

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/
faith/article7011943.ece

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/
09/16/uk.pope.poll/index.html

A Fond Farewell
To the wonderful members of Voice of the Faithful,

After some careful discernment I have decided to take at position at a PR agency in Boston. I hope this move will help further my career as a public relations professional. I will begin work the first week in October.  My last day at Voice of the Faithful will be September 30th.

Since coming to Voice of the Faithful two years ago I have learned so much about the true potential of the Catholic Church. I have been truly inspired by the hard work and dedication that each and every one of you show everyday in all that you do for Voice of the Faithful.  I urge each and every one of you to continue on the path towards keeping the faith and changing the church.  It cannot be done without your help.

Wishing you the best for the future,
Jessica Lillie Ciccone

Ireland Update: New Priest Association
As the news from Ireland and other countries continues to sound so bleak—more revelations of long-time abuse, more exposure of bishops who hid news about abusers—one bright spot emerged on Sept. 15 in Ireland. There, in a meeting that expected to gather perhaps 50-75 priests to form an association, some 300 priests responded to the call to organize the Association of Irish Priests, an association that aims to provide a voice for the clergy there.

It is yet one more sign that reform of the Church, while long and difficult, simply cannot be quashed.

To read more:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/
2010/0916/1224278993367.html

VOTF Ireland Visits the US
Weymouth and Winchester VOTF affiliates recently welcomed Sean O’Conaill, a founder of Voice of the Faithful in Ireland, on his visit to the US. Sean spoke at both affiliate meetings this month to share how despite the current situation he is still hopeful and has big plans for the future.

To read more:
http://www.votf.org/vineyard/Sept23_2010/winchester.html

Book Review

Church: Living Community
By Paul Lakeland
Reviewed by Ron DuBois, PhD

There is much talk today about re-establishing Catholic identity, though not much effort to define “identity.” Paul Lakeland has provided us with a way of thinking about Catholic identity in light of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council. This book is a very readable addition to a growing effort to produce an inductive theology of the Church.

To read more:
http://www.votf.org/vineyard/Sept23_2010/book.html

Site Seeing

Church wins fight to stay open
http://www.masslive.com/chicopeeholyoke/
republican/index.ssf?/base/news-29/1284880539151990.xml&coll=1

Sister Sandra Schneiders looks at the unintended consequence of the papal visitations to the nuns
http://ncronline.org/news/women-religious/when-good-bad-things-happen

Clergy Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church
Reflections 1984-2010 (part 2 in a series)
By Tom Doyle

Clergy Abuse -- Part of the Essence of the Institutional Church?

The overall phenomenon of clergy sexual abuse can be considered in the form of four concentric circles:

The center:  at the core the smallest circle is the actual physical and sexual assault on vulnerable children and adults.  The sexual abuse constituted the essence of the first wave of scandal but this led to revelations of other forms of abuse perpetrated on the believing community, not the least of which has been the continuously emerging stories of various forms of financial abuse.

To read more:
http://www.votf.org/vineyard/Sept23_2010/doyle.html

Calendar

North Shore-Seacoast & Lynn VOTF Affiliate
Sunday, October 17, 2010, 7:00 to 9:00 P.M.
“The Lay Person in the Church:  What Happened”
Reverend William Clark, S.J.
Associate Professor Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross
Immaculate Conception Parish Center, 5 Court  Street, Newburyport

FREE FILM AND LECTURE BY JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR JASON BERRY
Acclaimed investigative reporter and author Jason Berry will give a free public lecture at Trinity College Wednesday, October 6. Mr. Berry will be visiting Trinity College as the third recipient of the Moses Berkman Memorial Journalism Award, in recognition of his exceptional career and especially his investigative work on the issue of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. His lecture, “The Catholic Church in an Age of Scandal,” will take place at 4:15 p.m. at the Rittenberg Lounge, located on the second floor of the Mather Student on Summit Street, on the campus of Trinity College in Hartford. It will be followed by a public reception.
For more info
http://www.votf.org/vineyard/Sept23_2010/berry.html

Letters to the Editor

To the Editor,
Good job!! Articles are interesting, relevant, and remind us that there is a VOTF out there and working.
B. Ott

To the Editor,
There is a mixed message in the August 10th pronouncement from the USCCB on “Messages Children Hear in Safe Environment Programs.” While on the face of it, this information piece would appear to be a gesture in the direction of solidarity among all the faithful, I for one am left with one of those “little weird” feelings Ms. Doerr refers to in her (Dare we say pedantic?) itemized list.

Is it just me who gets the feeling that I'm once again being “groomed” with tropes about the presumptive superior wisdom of Bishops in all matters; or the legalistic notion that abuse is about individuals—perpetrators and victims—not institutional misconduct, or God-forbid, parish-wide cowardice; or the promotion that training “arms” children to protect themselves—contrary to the reports of Drs. Gomez and Finklehor that training is not as much about prevention as it is about mitigating the consequences of abuse that went un-prevented by a vigilant adult community.

I'm sorry, once-again, to conclude that the USCCB “just doesn't get it yet.”
B. Mullins

To the Editor,
Thank you for sharing the ""Prophetic Voices of Our Church" (http://www.votf.org/propheticvoices). If more people—both religious and lay people—would speak truth to power as these individuals have done the church and world would be better off. I join the prayers of others for a better Roman Catholic Church and especially adoption of the VOTF recommendations.

In addition to our prayers, I encourage all Roman Catholics to speak up and to express their dissatisfaction by redirecting their financial support of the church. Dollars that I used to pledge and contribute to my parish and my Diocese now are distributed to VOTF, pro life organizations, and other worthy charities. I have reduced my weekly cash donations to my local parish by about 75% but continue to support my parish by donating tangible items that the church needs and through volunteering. I do contribute for specific purpose such as DSA, CCHD, and priests' retirement. However, I am giving prayerful consideration to ending all weekly cash contributions to my parish. Parishioners need to understand that a portion of every dollar contributed in the weekly collection goes to support the Diocesan structure and the Vatican and this serves to perpetuate the dysfunction in the church at the Diocesan level and worldwide.

I want to thank VOTF for your work, your prayers, your advocacy, and for giving people like me hope for a better Roman Catholic Church and a better future.

D. Mott
Hickory, NC

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.