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Voices, Voices Everywhere!

Voice from SE Wisconsin
Reported by Terry Ryan

VOTF-WIS met on 11/13 at St. Matthias Church. Members broke into six working groups: Structural Voice, Clergy Voice, Survivors Voice, Parish Voices, Financial Voice, and Legislative Voice. Each group identified specific goals and action plans that they would pursue. The entire group then voted approval of those objectives.

Members of VOTF-WIS also approved a proposal to partner with CTA on the full disclosure project. As a result, we sent a letter to Archbishop Dolan requesting full disclosure of the numbers involved in the clergy abuse scandal and the financial cost to the archdiocese.

VOTF-WIS will not have a formal meeting in December. However, Fr. Michael Crosby will speak about the crisis in the Church at the next VOTF meeting on January 9, 7:00 p.m. at Our Lady of Lourdes parish. A brief social will follow his presentation.

Voice from Grand Rapids, Michigan
Reported by Laurel Hill

We are meeting monthly at St. Robert of Newminster Parish in Ada (suburb of Grand Rapids). Our initial meeting was organizational, at which time we voted to form an affiliate. In September, Dr. Robert Marko, a theologian from nearby Aquinas College, spoke on "Vatican II Directives to the Laity." In October we formed work groups to address the three VOTF goals. Each group worked to come up with concrete suggestions to advance their goal. In November, a local therapist addressed our group on "The Legacy of Childhood Sexual Abuse." Our next meeting is scheduled in January.

Our group includes survivors, parents of survivors and interested Catholics from many parishes. We have corresponded with our Bishop by letter and by sending him the minutes of each meeting. While he has responded via letter in a general way and said he appreciates being kept informed of our group happenings, he has not responded directly to our request for a meeting. We continue to ask for such a meeting in each letter, and we also continue to request the identity of our Diocesan Review Board.

We have received balanced press coverage in Grand Rapids. Both the TV and newspaper media have given us measured, non-sensationalized reports, and they continue to point out that we still don't know who the members of the Review Board are, nor have we gotten our requested meeting with our Bishop.

Our VOTF group counts among its members Steven Kelly, a survivor and SNAP member, who traveled to Washington, DC for the bishops' conference. Steven was able to speak directly to Bishop Gregory and Cardinal Law, and was also flown to New York as a guest on the Phil Donahue show that aired on November 27. Needless to say, we're very proud of Steven's courage in advocating for victims. Also, we are happy to report that all of the survivors in our group have stated they feel more supported by our VOTF group in the past few months than they have in all of their years dealing with the diocese on these issues.

We continue to seek pertinent speakers for our gatherings, to identify ways that parishes might support abuse victims and their families and to work on changing the state law in Michigan that presently excludes clergy from reporting cases of abuse.

Please keep us in your prayers, as we continue to pray for all of you!

Voice from New York City, NY
Reported by Maria Coffey and David Pais

David Pais and I were recently designated regional co-coordinators of the NYC Affiliate, which covers Manhattan, Staten Island and the Bronx. We agree with Jim Alvord in Bridgeport, CT, Melissa Gradel in Brooklyn, NY, Maria Cleary in NJ and Paul Kendrick in Maine. The affiliates are out here - we have both the capability and the desire to support you in Boston in this crisis - this is our crisis, too. We are ready to hear from VOTF National in order to plan an appropriate supportive response as Boston faces this new wave of abuse documentation.

Perhaps, this is the time to reinforce the concept that VOTF is not just a Boston organization. It is an organization of troubled, saddened and angry Catholics nationwide. Please fold us into your planning and thinking. We, too, are passionate about keeping the Faith and changing the Church.

Voice from Brooklyn, NY
Reported by Anne and Ed Wilson, Organizing Committee

A group of 10 parishioners of the Brooklyn Oratory at St. Boniface have been meeting informally since attending the Boston Conference in July to discuss the possibility of forming a local chapter of VOTF.

On Thursday, October 24, a group of us met with Dr. Frank Macchiarola, President of St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights, about obtaining space at the college in the event of a ban on using Church property, and also because we did not have large enough facilities at St. Boniface. Dr. Macchiarola generously and enthusiastically agreed and put us in touch with the appropriate personnel. Previously, the parish had scheduled an open meeting of parishioners for the following Monday, October 28, to present information about VOTF and a report on the July Convention in Boston.

At 5 p.m. Friday, October 25, there suddenly appeared a fax to all pastors and parish administrators conveying Bishop Daily's decision to deny parish or diocesan facilities to Voice of the Faithful because of his concern for "the potential the meetings have to foster disunity in the dioceses of Brooklyn." Thus the Bishop successfully eliminated the potential for disunity by creating the reality.

The Monday night parish meeting went on as previously scheduled attracting about 40 people. The discussion was wide-ranging and contained considerable education about the causes and effects of child abuse. This topic was of particular concern to our group, most of who are parents or grandparents of small children. The fact that Bishop Daily's deposition about the Shanley case in Boston had been released that morning contributed greatly to a positive sense of community focus on this most serious issue.

The next morning our group formed the first VOTF affiliate in Brooklyn.

After discussions with our pastor, who is wholeheartedly supportive of our mission, it was decided that it was best for the parish and our chapter to be independent of one another.

On the evening of Tuesday, November 5, we had our first meeting. It was held at St. Francis College and attracted about 60 participants from throughout Brooklyn, along with a group from the Rockaway, Queens VOTF (within the diocese) who had had their meeting banned even before the diocesan-wide ban was announced. The meeting consisted of prayer, a brief introduction about VOTF, and an open microphone, which was liberally used by many participants. A number of brothers and nuns attended and several spoke movingly and from personal experience.

Our chapter is off to an encouraging start with wonderful space at St. Francis College. We are actively planning the next meeting for early December. The ban has been outrageous in principle but liberating in practice. We realize the real work lies ahead. At every turn we have felt the intervention of the Holy Spirit. May this truly be God's work.

Voice from Camden, NJ Diocese
Reported by Kevin Gemmell

VOTF-Camden Diocese will be having its next meeting on Tuesday, December 10 at 7pm at Mary's Vineyard in Cherry Hill, NJ. Communication from the Camden Diocese has ceased as part of their strategy to not recognize VOTF.

Other than that, the current 22-plaintiff court case in the Diocese has been unsuccessful to date in having any victim's case be heard because of the statute of limitations in New Jersey. We continue to call for a follow-up meeting with Bishop DiMarzio.
Kevin Gemmell

Voice from Greater West Hartford, CT
Reported by Jayne O'Donnell

Two of our members who are distinguished doctors, wrote a letter to the National Conference of Bishops prior to the bishops' November meeting. They spoke strongly for the need for a scientific study to be done on pedophilia. They pointed out that what is known now is incomplete and inconclusive. They noted the more basic question of how this situation came about in the first place. The men offered their help in the study and said they would suggest utilizing the Institute of Medicine affiliated with the National Academy of Sciences and the Hartford Institute of Living, in Ct. We are sharing this information with other affiliates and will follow up on its progress.

We are jointly sponsoring a Service of Prayer and Healing for the Survivors of clerical abuse, with the three other PV affiliates in our Diocese. The season of Advent was chosen as an appropriate time in which to put our support of survivors and their families, into action. Our first was held on Tues. Dec. 3rd at St. Patrick & Anthony in Hartford.

Our membership continues to meet monthly at St. Timothy Church in West Hartford. It was suggested at our last meeting that people consider writing a letter of appreciation to our Pastor, Fr. Henry P. Cody, for his continuing support.

Generally, our meetings draw from 60 to 80 people from about 12 parishes. We are beginning to witness progress in parishes' spinning-off and starting their own PVs. Just last week, my co-facilitator, Joanne Moran, and I accepted an invitation to address St. Joseph Church in Bristol, Ct. on starting a PV. We were very well received. We will also be speaking to St. Mary's, Simsbury in the same capacity.

In addition to conducting our meetings in an initial plenary fashion and then breaking into smaller groups centered on the three VOTF goals, we are looking into the prospect of attracting the young adult population in our parishes. For December we are extending personal invitations to our thirty- and forty-something friends to join us. We would love to hear any other suggestions form other PVs on successful recruitment.

On behalf of all of us Nutmeggers in the PV of Greater West Hartford, we extend our wishes for an Advent season filled with hope, patience, grace and peace.

Voice from Eastern CT
Reported by Grace and Bob Marrion

At our third meeting on Nov. 21,we formally adopted the name VOTF of Eastern Connecticut. We have 57 members and about 60 people at each meeting. We meet at Days Inn on Route 161 in Niantic. It costs $75 per meeting but there is no insurance requirement. We have a collection basket at the back of the room at each meeting and we have donations to cover us for the next three or four months. Bishop Daniel Hart banned us from meeting on Church property.

At the November meeting, we discussed the revisions to the USCCB Charter and Norms, the consequent reduction in the role of the laity and the question of how long a priest would continue in parish work after an allegation is made. We made our own recommendation that anyone who has a complaint against a priest should first go to the police. We continue to support the rights of priests to due process and think that names should not be publicized just on the basis of an allegation.

We've heard from many of our supporters that the wording for the second goal and especially the third goal is objectionable. "Priests of integrity" lacks clarity -- people don't know what it means. For purposes of discussion, we have substituted the following: priests who did no wrong but suffer because of the actions of some of their fellow priests. It's long but people seem to understand what we mean. To many, "structural change" sounds as if we want to change the foundations of our Faith. We've been explaining that we want to make changes in the day-to-day operation of the Church that will ensure that such a scandal will never happen again. It's wordy again, but seems clearer and more acceptable to many.

Our next meeting will be on Sunday, January 12 at 2:30 at the Days Inn. Prof. Thomas Groome will speak on "Our Hopes for Renewal in the Church."

Voice from Hartford East
Reported by Mary Ann Murray

Here's how the Spirit works in our area. It all started when one of our team members approached someone in her neighborhood (who did not attend our parish) and began to talk about VOTF. The neighbor spoke to Fr. Fanelli, pastor at St. Christopher's, and he became quite interested. Our team was invited to sit down with Fr. Fanelli a couple of weeks ago for a discussion. We left him some informational material and a pamphlet that we created at our parish. He reviewed it with the pastoral council and set a date for our presentation.

Our traveling team (John Ryan, Patty Moran, Pat McPherson, Nancy Traut and myself) presented VOTF to St. Christopher's parish in East Hartford on a Sunday afternoon. This was after the team met to develop a strategy. The discussions we had with them and the comments we received, regarding the entire crisis, were stimulating and impressive. I am pleased to report that they are going forward with presenting VOTF to the broader parish with the intention of voting in an affiliate in their area.

This is a wonderful group of people and Fr. Finelli is certainly a fine "priest of integrity." We are grateful for the pastor's invitation to spread the word -- and the word has, once again, been spread! Our parish is generous with the photocopying and supplies we need to put our material together. We copy timely articles of interest on all three goals as well as the VOTF mission statement and beliefs. We do have a small amount of money in the "bank," which is donated at our parish meetings.

We have a unique situation here in CT but you might find a way to adapt this to your area. Twenty of the diocesan priests here have written a letter to Archbishop Cronin requesting dialogue on the Church crisis. He responded and they had a two-hour discussion a couple of weeks ago. We thought we would now address the 20 priests who approached the archbishop as we feel they might be open to our travel-team presentation. We are currently working on our approach.

Welcome to our new affiliate! Voice from Northampton, MA
Reported by Ann W. Turner

Our fledgling VOTF group in Northampton, Mass., which has been meeting twice monthly since early September, voted recently to become an affiliate. Our tentative title is, "The Northampton Affiliate." However, it should be noted that this group--which can range from 150 people at the large events where speakers come and talk, to a low of around 40 for working groups--represents the Diocese of Springfield.

On Tuesday December 10th, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm, Fr. Mark Stelzer will be addressing our group. Fr. Mark is a professor at Elms College, a Church historian, a vibrant and engaging speaker, and has a depth of knowledge about laity participation and its authentic basis in Vatican II documents. We are looking forward to learning more from him.

Our group will be doing some "future planning" after the holidays: Where do we go from here? What concrete tasks do we want to focus on? How best can we have an impact within our diocese

Our pastor, Fr. Gene, continues to be supportive of our efforts. We have not had any adverse publicity or remarks from the diocese, and we hope to continue in a cordial relationship, both working towards renewing our Church and gaining greater transparency and accountability.

Voice from Topsfield, MA - Northshore VOTF
Reported by Vince Guerra

VOTF- Northshore reports that Joseph Kelley, Ph.D., was a guest speaker at our regional meeting, Sunday, November 24, in the St. Rose of Lima parish hall, Topsfield. Dr. Kelley is Director of Mission and Augustinian Study and Legacy at Merrimack College in North Andover and is committed to deepening and strengthening Catholic identity. He spoke to us on "Lumen Gentium: Role of the Laity in the Church as Supported by the Documents of Vatican II." His talk was very informative and well received by the audience of approximately 85 people. Most of us came away with the understanding that we were indeed accorded the right and privilege by our baptism (as supported by Vatican II) to participate in the "priesthood of the laity," a message that we have heard time and again in the past 10-11 months (but not much before then).

Dr. Kelley has graduate degrees in Theology and Psychology from BU, Catholic U. and Andover-Newton Theological Seminary. He is a clinical psychologist as well as a teacher of Religious Studies at Merrimack. He has spoken on a similar topic at St. Michael's in North Andover and is scheduled to address the Marblehead-based VOTF next month on restoring trust in our Church. Our proximity to Merrimack (an Augustinian college) may be of benefit to us in this part of the state.

Our VOTF-Northshore group, serving parishes in the Essex county area, is planning more guest appearances by selected speakers on relevant topics during the winter and spring. We favor an education orientation so we may learn more about the history of the Church and hierarchy.

Voice from Winchester, MA
Reported by Bob Morris

The highlight of the past month for our group was a visit by Fr. Robert Bullock on November 4. Fr. Bullock is Pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Sharon, and is also a founder of the Boston Priests' Forum. Over 350 persons from throughout the Archdiocese attended the meeting. Fr. Bullock discussed the lack of due process afforded priests who have been removed in the past several months, and also the view that VOTF's second goal needs to be re-worded. Fr. Bullock generously fielded a wide variety of questions for close to an hour.

Another highlight was our meeting on November 25. Paul Kellen of our group read aloud extensive sections from "The Experience of the Victim of Sexual Abuse: A Reflection," by Mary Gail Frawley-O'Dea, Ph.D. Dr. Frawley-O'Dea delivered this paper to the U.S. Bishops when they met in Dallas last June. Paul's eloquent reading, and Dr. Frawley-O'Dea's powerful words, sparked intense small group discussions over the trauma faced by victims of clergy abuse. It was a moving experience for all in attendance.

On a concrete level, our group has donated funds to purchase four baskets (thus far), which abuse survivor Susan Renehan is preparing to distribute to survivors over the next several weeks. We are very pleased to be taking part in this important effort.

We plan to close out our meetings for the calendar year with a prayer service on December 16. The darkness and anguish of the past year have also generated great hope for the future, and we pray that there will be more light than darkness in the year ahead.

Voice from Natick, MA
Reported by Judy Rich

Our Wed., Dec. 11 meeting, 7 - 8:30 p.m. at the Natick Morse Institute Library, 14 East Central St is a special meeting to introduce new members to VOTF. Svea Fraser and Darrell Simpson, representatives from VOTF, and Bill Gately, member of SNAP, will be our guest speakers.

A little history: A core group of parishioners from St. Patrick Parish in Natick begin meeting last May to form a parish voice in support of VOTF. We were not allowed to meet at our Church so we held meetings in different individual homes. By the end of September, our group had grown too large for homes and we began meeting in the town library. Our group is called Natick Parish Voice and we are in the process of reaching out to other parishes in Natick and the surrounding area. We currently have about 40 members.

Voice from Waltham, MA
Reported by Nancy Gagnon

On December 3, we had a wonderful beginning to this Advent season with an Evening of Reconciliation.

We followed this time together with a December 5, fundraiser to benefit SNAP. For $10, attendees saw a movie of their choice along with a small popcorn and a beverage. It was held at the West Newton Cinema and raised $1,366 (!), which will be presented to Bill Gately when he speaks at the Natick VOTF meeting on December 11th. (See the Natick Voice report above.)

We have had a Healing Mass in September, had a survivor speak at a meeting, sent a donation to SNAP national and have been interviewed by the local paper. We also participated in a Voice of Compassion panel discussion on a local cable station and will continue to educate our members.

In all, we are grateful that there is a stronger sense of community within our parish and the VOTF group.

Please forward submissions to In the Vineyard to leaderpub@votf.org.

In the Vineyard
Table of Contents

Page One

Jim Post's Speech

From the Desk of the Executive Director

Working Groups

Voices, Voices Everywhere!

Notes

• A Few Contributors to In the Vineyard might enjoy this link identified by our Webmaster, Eileen Hespeler. It covers the topic of writing online: http://www.clickz.com/design/write_onl/
  
  
• Many of our members have written of their great appreciation for the homilies by Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton of Michigan. The website address for The Peace Pulpit, homilies by Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton, is http://nationalcatholicreporter.org/peace/
  
  
• Be sure to click onto the Boston College website for information and re-caps on the education initiative "The Church in the 21st Century - From Crisis to Renewal"
  
  
• There is now a printer friendly version of "In the Vineyard"
  
  
• Terry McKiernan of Our Lady Help of Christians, Newton, tells us that Ben's Bakery in Providence, RI is donating 10% of their holiday-season sales to Survivors Appeal. This is a single-donation collection fund, which will distribute money to all the survivor groups as well as individual survivors. Ben's sells fudge, candies, nuts and other gift items. Italian cookies are a specialty as are custom baskets. Purchases can be made online at http://www.bensbakeryandcafe.com.
  The first 100 visitors to the website are invited to participate in a raffle for a beautiful Christmas basket. Just e-mail your names to bensbakery@net1plus.com and take your chances!
  
  
• A Place at the Table Survivors and supporters have put together a simple cookbook for the holidays and throughout the year, dedicated to the memory of Laura Gallagher -- amazing mom and friend, and wife of Joe Gallagher, who has been a solid supporter of survivors from the beginning of this crisis. A Place at the Table: Cuisine with Compassion is available for $15.00, with the proceeds going to survivor organizations in the Boston area. If you are interested in buying a copy, please contact Steve Lewis at afreeknight@attbi.com
  
  
• Slowly we have assembled a group of volunteers to make up an Editorial Advisory Board who will help gather material for, edit and distribute In the Vineyard as well as the quarterly publication. Members are Cathy Fallon, Eileen Hespeler, Amy Kotsopoulos, Anne Murphy, Jane McDaid, Donna Salacuse, Midge Seibert, Steve Sheehan, Tom Smith and Peggie Thorp. We expect to have our first group meeting in January.