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

For Immediate release

Voice of the Faithful Supports the John Jay Causes and Context Study of the Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests

November 13, 2007 - Voice of the Faithful supports the ongoing work by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Fordham University in conducting this very important study and anxiously awaits the results. The repository of data that is part of this study cronicals abuse in the Catholic Church from 1950 to 2002. This in conjunction with new data and viewpoints gathered as part of this study will hopefully provide us all with some sound conclusions and steps for addressing the issue so it can never happen again.

"The culture of secrecy must be unveiled. We must understand how leadership in different dioceses responded and what contributed to that difference. We need to understand why some seminaries produced many abusers and others did not. We need this information so that we can replicate the good and abolish the bad," said Mary Pat Fox, President of Voice of the Faithful.

"It is important that John Jay get the necessary funding to complete the study from sources other than the bishops. A study about the actions of the bishops totally funded by the bishops will lack the credibility we MUST have if people are to believe the results. It has always been the intent for this funding to come from sources other than the bishops and we support this," said Fox.

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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.