Contact: John Moynihan, jmoynihan@votf.org, (617) 558-5252, (617) 680-2131 cell

For Immediate release

Voice of the Faithful Chooses Bishop Geoffrey Robinson
for “Priest of Integrity” Award

Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) will present its “Priest of Integrity Award” to Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, retired auxiliary bishop of Sydney, Australia tonight at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock in Long Island, NY.

The award will be presented by Daniel Bartley, VOTF president, in recognition of Bishop Robinson’s “compassion, pastoral leadership and courage in responding to the sexual abuse crisis and confronting its causes at a time when more than ever there is a need for such witness from a member of the hierarchy.” The event, sponsored by the Long Island Chapter of VOTF, begins at 7:00 PM (48 Shelter Rock Road, Manhasset, Long Island). Robinson is the seventh recipient of this prestigious award.

In addition to accepting the award, Bishop Robinson will speak about his newly published book, Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church. Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus. The book, first published in his native Australia, while receiving critical acclaim has also caused controversy. Robinson, who is in the midst of a speaking tour throughout the U. S. and Canada, has been denied permission to speak on Church property by Bishops in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Diocese of Orange County CA.

Bishop Robinson argues in his book that the tragedy of the sexual abuse scandal impels all Catholics to re-examine the fundamental issues that permitted the abuse to take place, including Catholic attitudes towards power and sexuality.

VOTF believes that the ban on Bishop Robinson speaking at Catholic sites harms the Catholic Church.

“Is this the way American bishops respond to Pope Benedict’s call to do everything possible to heal the Church?” asks Dan Bartley, president of Voice of the Faithful. “Why is a loyal Catholic bishop prevented from asking honest questions in his search for the truth in the aftermath of the worst scandal in the modern Church?”

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Press contact

John Moynihan (617) 558-5252, (617) 680 2131 ©

About Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) VOTF is a worldwide movement of concerned mainstream Catholics formed in response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis. The group’s mission is 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. Its goals are to support survivors of clergy sexual abuse, support priests of integrity, and shape structural change within the Catholic Church in full accordance and harmony with Church teaching.