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For Immediate ReleaseVoice
of the Faithful Urges Next President of U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops to Develop Transparent Mechanisms for Accountability
Organization Calls on Bishops for More Financial Transparency
and to Include Survivor Input into Comment Period
Newton, MA and Washington, DC – November 15, 2004 – Members
of Voice of the Faithful are urging the next president of the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops to develop more standardized, comprehensive
systems of accountability to prevent the future abuse of children
within Catholic parishes. The U.S. Bishops will be electing their
new president at their annual meeting this week. The organization
of lay Catholics believes that the next president of the Bishops
conference must build upon the increased recognition for justice
for survivors, promote processes of accountability, and empower
meaningful involvement and shared responsibility for lay men and
women in the Catholic Church.
“We are at the beginning of a new presidency within the
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which means new opportunities
for transparency and accountability within the Catholic Church
in the United States,” said James E. Post, president of Voice
of the Faithful. “Voice of the Faithful, as well as other
lay Catholics, have made it clear that the Catholic Church’s
renewal is tied to Episcopal accountability, which must include
meaningful lay participation and responsibility. How have the Bishops
held themselves accountable? What process have they put in place
to make Episcopal accountability a reality? How will the next president
support justice for survivors and empower lay Catholics? These
are essential questions for the future of the Catholic Church.”
“Two years ago, the Bishops pledged themselves to the principle
of ‘Fraternal Correction.’ We are urging the new president
of the USCCB to develop a framework for Episcopal Accountability
and Fraternal Correction,” said Kristine Ward, vice president
of Voice of the Faithful. “That framework must include Vatican
input, as well. Pope John Paul II’s comments in September
that the U.S. Bishops must have ‘a commitment to creating
better structures of participation, consultation, and shared responsibility’ were
encouraging to us. We believe that the Bishops and the Vatican
can work together to turn the words of ‘Fraternal Correction’ into
a reality that is part of the fabric of the Church. Voice of the
Faithful stands ready to help the U.S. Bishops, and the Church
as a whole, develop this system of accountability.”
The organization is also calling on the next president, and the
body of Bishops, to promote greater financial transparency within
dioceses across the country and to include survivor input into
the review of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young
People.
Members of Voice of the Faithful believe that the lack of accountability,
and the complete absence of processes of accountability, has become
an epidemic within the Catholic Church that has manifested itself
not only through the clergy sexual abuse crisis, but also in the
recent bankruptcies in Portland, Oregon, Tucson, Arizona, and most
recently Spokane, Washington and the massive reconfiguration effort
in the archdiocese of Boston. “It is clear that the next
president will also be dealing with issues surrounding the financial
viability of the Catholic Church, which, considering the Catholic
Church’s importance to education, health care, and social
services in the U.S., will affect the American public as a whole.
We need financial transparency within all dioceses across the country,
and we need effective mechanisms for monitoring how money is being
spent,” said Suzanne Morse, Communications Manger for the
organization. “One way for the Bishops to achieve financial
transparency is for them to voluntarily agree to the financial
reporting requirements of non-religious non-profits.”
Additionally, the organization recently sent a letter to Bishop
Wilton Gregory asking him and the Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse
of the USCCB to solicit the survivor community and concerned Catholics
for their input into the review of the Charter for the Protection
of Children and Young People. According to the letter from Post, “The
maintenance of these strong policies and effective mechanisms [in
the Charter] is of great importance to all Catholics, especially
to families with children. We hope that the review will serve to
strengthen the protections invested in it, not weaken them.” Members
of Voice of the Faithful believe that the Charter has established
some institutions of transparency and accountability within the
Catholic Church, and want to see the Charter strengthened.
//end
About Voice of the Faithful: Voice of the Faithful
(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 victim/survivors
of abuse, support priests of integrity, and shape structural change
within the Catholic Church in full accordance and harmony with
Church teaching. VOTF’s supporting membership exceeds 30,000
registered persons from 50 U.S. states, 39 countries and 210 Parish
Voice affiliates throughout the world.
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