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Their purpose was two-fold; to participate in a memorial tribute to the many victims of clergy abuse who are no longer with us; and to call upon the assembled members of the clergy to acknowledge the culpability of the hierarchy in its failure to address this tragedy as it unfolded and take the necessary action to protect children.
Paul Kellen of "People of Conscience" read the names and brief histories of some of the survivors who have died. Paul Kendrick, of VOTF, Maine, is working vigorously to get Bishop Malone to release documents pertaining to numerous priests. Maine’s AG released files of 21 priests, now deceased, but accused of sexual abuse. The evidence and documents are not all present. The diocese has held back some of the papers. Unless all of the evidence is released and the perpetrators named, it will remain difficult for other victims to come forward. Paul Kellen closed the program with the following remarks: "We wish to conclude with a few messages. One, for our brother and sister Catholics, “business as usual” means more abused children. Two, for Bishop Tobin, lofty words and phrases about healing are ‘business as usual.’ We will know you seriously heed the counsel of Jesus if you seek justice for Mary Ryan. (Mary is a survivor who for years has been refusing to take a cash settlement and continues to challenge the diocese in court to obtain the release of all documents pertaining to her abuse.) We ask you to call off the legal attack hounds. Open the files and reveal the truth. For as Pope Leo XIII told the world there can be no healing without justice. Three, for the hierarchs, your splendid display in the procession here is ‘business as usual.’ We ask you to hear your fellow Catholics in Voice of the Faithful speaking in their inspiring resolution, passed on Saturday, September 18, 2004.” The resolution follows: WHEREAS
The Voice of the Faithful hereby resolves that no bishop or other hierarch who, knowing of the sexual abuse of minors by any priest, has failed to remove the priest from any exposure to minors or to take any other effective step to protect the people of God, or who has concealed the risk of abuse presented by such priests from the people to whom such priest was assigned to minister, should be permitted to hold any position of ecclesiastical leadership in the Church. The Voice of the Faithful directs the officers of the organization to advocate for the implementation of this policy in the Church and to take such steps as they consider advisable to secure that goal. Paul concluded, "We suspect that if this resolution were adopted today's procession would be a significantly shorter."
From
VOTF New York City - Preparing for Change in the Archdiocese
of New York In Acts of the Apostles 1:15, which is the reading immediately preceding the Pentecost reading when Matthias was welcomed into the apostles’ midst, we read: "One day Peter stood up to speak to the brothers - there were about 120 people in the congregation...." Fast forward to 2005 on the eve of Pentecost when about 120 representatives of 41 parishes in the Archdiocese of New York gathered in the basement of St. Ignatius Church to address the upcoming church closings. The symbolic significance of our number was not lost on anyone. The day was focused on the Laity and Clergy working together and taking on more responsibility to ensure that prospective closings in their areas would respect those faith communities in as smooth a transition as possible. The attendees included ten priests. We had experts discuss the spirituality of a parish; the future of the parish and the role laity must play; current lay ministry education; best practices on church closings and reorganizations; and some training on how to work with your pastor. We also had a panel discussion of parishioners in the Archdiocese who have experienced closings/mergers; some experiences were very bad and some were very positive. The difference in the two could be summed up under communications, involvement and respect. The attendees broke up into neighborhoods or vicariates and formulated recommendations for the Archdiocese on what they felt they needed to have done prior to the announcement of the closings and what needed to be done after the announcement - the announcement is slated for September. These recommendations are being presented to Bishop Sullivan who is in charge of the "realignment." All of the attendees completed "commitment cards" in which they agreed to request a meeting with their pastor to discuss what collective action they can take. The day was a HUGE success. Anyone wanting to hear more about this day and the next steps the NYC strategy team is taking can contact Mary Pat Fox MPFOX1@aol.com More from VOTF New York City – an invitation to sign a petition Thomas J. Reese, S.J. was recently forced to resign as editor of America magazine. If you are as outraged as we are, join us in signing a petition of protest and signing it online. You can also print out a copy of the petition in order to gather signatures, by clicking here: (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be obtained for free online.) We will post the results of the petition on our web site. The petition and signatures will be presented to Archbishop William J. Levada, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in early July. Click here and follow the instructions there about how to send out your own email invitation. We have found that many people are willing to sign this petition but they may not have access to email. A group of us gathered over 500 signatures one Sunday after Masses at our Parish. To sign the petition the signatories do not have to be VOTF members. This petition provides an avenue for all to express their concern and objections on this matter. Please mail the signed petitions to us at the address on the bottom of the petition page prior to June 30th so they can be included in the presentation to Archbishop Levada at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in early July. From
VOTF Cleveland, OH The Diocese of Cleveland ordained only one priest in May as the priestly roster continued to fall. At the same ceremony, it ordained nine permanent deacons, bringing the total to 192 in a diocese that didn’t have any at all in 1971. There are now 18,000 deacons worldwide, Ken Piechowski, director of the diocesan deacon program, told the St. Christopher Parish Voice on May 3. Of those, nearly 14,000 are in the United States. Of the Cleveland deacons, 38 are full-time diocesan employees. The others are unpaid “weekend warriors” at parishes. But that doesn’t mean they’re part-time deacons. They are deacons on the same weekdays that they are plumbers, opticians, teachers, accountants, salespeople, doctors and lawyers. “There’s a great deal of ministry that takes place,” Piechowski said. “There’s some really good witness in living that particular lifestyle and being a sign of the Church in those areas. I think that’s one of the unsung virtues of the diaconate.” Piechowski was in insurance before and after he felt the call to ministry. He attended night and weekend seminary classes. Though single men may be ordained, all the current Cleveland deacons are married; his wife also took classes. When he was asked to work full time for the church, he and his wife prayed before accepting the cut in pay. He still does double duty; besides his work at the diocese, he is administrator of the small Polish parish where he grew up. Still, he misses the opportunity to be church to people in the workplace. “Deacons minister 24 hours a day,” he said. From VOTF Rockford, IL – What Happened On Pentecost Sunday? Vineyard readers learned last month that VOTF Rockford, IL members determined after two years of requests for permission to meet on Church property and repeated requests for a meeting with Bishop Doran that they would remain in the church following Mass on Pentecost Sunday and hold a meeting. Almost 75 people attended a Mass at St. Peter Cathedral in Rockford, IL (Rockford Diocese) with support from many VOTF affiliates in the Chicagoland area. Aimee Haraimani (Boston) VOTF National was in attendance, as was Janet Hauter, acting Regional Coordinator of a three-state region (IL, IN, WI). Attendees all wore red recognizing the Pentecost theme and wore VOTF buttons. A “pre meeting” in the parking lot in advance of Mass helped organize the many who were unfamiliar with the Church and the plan for the morning. Mass en masse: The readings were clearly inspired as they spoke about the Church being One Body and how we must act from our gifts to follow the lead of the Spirit. The day’s theme coupled with the readings reaffirmed our purpose and clarified why Pentecost was the day we were to be present. Target/s: The target of this action was twofold:
The local ABC affiliate television station and the Chicago Tribune were there. The T.V. station interviewed Mike, Janet, Aimee, Geneva representatives, and Don Bondick, from Rockford. Additional Notes from Mike Mastrioanni: Mike Mastroianni, Rockford regional coordinator, asked participants to sign up to make a call to the bishop on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, asking him for a time to meet either in person or on the phone. Mike and Pat LaSalle, other local coordinators, had prepared what to say when calling with a summarized list of concerns, should a meeting take place. Mike also mentioned that a “Letter to the Editor” action would be good, and that another recommendation was to email the Pope and tell him what is going on in our area. Aimee and Janet spoke about the upcoming national convocation, the upcoming Regional Representative elections, the Bishop’s conference in Chicago in June, and other business. We adjourned at 1:45. Father David Beauvais, a VOTF member, and the only vocally supportive clergyman in the city, along with all those who spoke out in the media, are hopeful that good will come of so much faith-filled commitment. Boise, Idaho is struggling with recent news about their Bishop. For the story, go to The Idaho Statesman on 5/27 A 5/28 article noting SNAP's response. Diocese of Covington, KY agreed to the largest settlement to date for victims of abuse by clergy and other church employees. For New York Times (AP) story, click here. In Orange County, CA, thousands of once-confidential Church documents were released. The documents detail sexual abuse by priests and expose the extent to which clergy members, one now a bishop, concealed the accusations of abuse. The story appeared in the New York Times on May 19, 2005. Go to bishop-accountability.org for additional details and the Los Angeles Times story. The Milwaukee diocese rescinded its intention to do unannounced searches of priests' rooms after a deluge of protests from laity and religious. Read more. VOTF
Palm Beach County, FL Photos from the March 19th Healing Program in recognition of, and compassion for, victims of sexual abuse by the clergy. To read the text please click here.
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