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Voice
of the Faithful Focus – A bi-weekly
brief update highlighting both a problem in
our church and
some progress being made as we work together to Keep
the Faith, Change the Church.
Bishop Robert Finn, 53, a priest of the St.
Louis archdiocese and a member of the conservative
Opus Dei
movement, has been the ordinary of Kansas City-St.
Joseph diocese since May 24 2005. He has completely
turned the diocese upside down by removing lay persons
from important positions, canceling an excellent lay
ministry program, and shutting down social outreach
programs. For full details read
the May 12th lead story
in NCR.
Voice of the Faithful commends the Vatican
for imposing restrictions on Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado,
the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, because
of multiple accusations
of sexual abuse. We applaud Jason Berry and Gerald
Renner whose book Vows of Silence first brought this
case to widespread public attention. We take particular
note of the courage of Juan Vaca one of the first of
Maciel’s victims to come forward. Mr. Vaca’s
story of abuse opens Vows of Silence. Also, it is appropriate
to note the significant part played in this Vatican
action by members of the Survivors Network of those
Abused by Priests (SNAP), VOTF and all those who have
brought the clerical abuse crisis to the attention
of the world. Without all of these voices, working
in concert over decades, an abuser might have continued
to remain abusing “in plain sight.” It
would be our hope that the Vatican’s investigation
will include a close look at the Legionaries of Christ
to determine if Maciel has promoted a culture of abuse
in the organization. For all Catholics, the Vatican’s
action reflects a greater degree of awareness and concern
than has previously been demonstrated. May it continue.
Above all, we pray that the victims of abuse by Maciel
will find themselves one step closer to healing. And
we pray for all victims of abuse by clergy worldwide
that they too will know the same relief. For more information click here.
Look
for the next In the Vineyard edition to be sent on
June 8th. |
