WORKING GROUPS REPORT

Ad Hoc Election Committee
Reported by Jim Walsh

We have moved from officers elected by some 30 +/- steering committee members in July 2002 to an election of officers by 142 eligible council representatives on January 23, 2003. Those 142 individuals represent about 10,000 VOTF Parish Voice members. We can expect that by the next election at the end of 2003, all members will be substantially better represented as the VOTF organization continues to grow and develop. The Board of Trustees will also be expanded to provide much broader representation. Furthermore, Parish Voice growth is continuing unabated - this, too, will enhance overall voter representation. The direction is clear - a fully representative organization is being developed. Not bad for a volunteer organization that is not yet one year old!

Our thanks go out to those officers and their families who served VOTF so well in the last six months and those who have volunteered to carry on for the remainder of 2003.

Seventy-five people were nominated for five positions (see website for greater detail). The results are as follows:

President - Jim Post
Vice-President - Ann Carroll
Secretary - Cathy Fallon
Treasurer - Scott Fraser
Moderator - Maura O'Brien

VOTF Structural Change Working Group
at Structural Change

Since July 2002, a group of VOTF members called the Structural Change Working Group (SCWG) has been working to define what VOTF means by its third goal - to shape structural change in our Church. This group is made up of nine faithful and active Catholics, young and old, male and female, from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, working to understand and clarify church structures

• as they are defined (e.g. in canon law and by local statutes)
• as they actually function
• as they ought to be (to fulfill the vision of Vatican II.)

The SCWG has reviewed the documents of the Second Vatican Council, applicable canon law, and diocesan synod documents. The group has also consulted with Fr. Ladislas Orsy, S.J. in an effort to ensure that its conclusions are sound, and its statements clear. Fr. Orsy has been retained by VOTF as a professional outside consultant in canon law and related matters.

VOTF does not seek any change in church doctrine, and the problems which have come to light in the present crisis are more truly cultural than structural. The crisis has shown us flaws in the human institutional life of the church, and, as faithful members of the church, we have a right and a duty to work to change them. The working paper, which appears on our website, represents the first steps in the process of developing recommendations for change in our church, not the last word. We are pilgrims on a journey with no map to follow, but we are trying to heed the advice of John Paul II in his letter, On the Threshold of a New Millennium, to "listen to what all the faithful say, because in every one of them the Spirit of God breathes."

The group's initial conclusions were presented to the VOTF Lay Leadership Council, and on September 26, 2002, the Council unanimously approved an initial working document on Structural Change. This first draft was put on the VOTF website for our membership and distributed to the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) for comments. A second draft of the working paper, incorporating the comments received, was presented to the Lay Leadership Council at its meeting on January 23, 2003. It is under consideration by our membership until a vote at the next Council meeting on February 22, 2003.

VOTF Protecting Our Children
votfprotect@yahoo.com

The Conference being organized by the Massachusetts Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Partnership is scheduled for Saturday, April 5th, at John Hancock Hall in Boston. VOTF Protecting Our Children has begun work on the logistics. Already, organizers of the July 20, 2002 VOTF Conference have signed on to help. We need many more volunteers for a program that promises to attract parents, teachers, social workers, doctors, police, firefighters - all those interested in prevention of child sexual abuse.

The MCSAPP consists of policy and program experts and leaders with statewide reach and experience in child abuse prevention, sexual violence prevention, sex offender management, child protection, public health, victim advocacy and services, and research and evaluation. The Center for Disease Control (CDC), which considers child sexual abuse a national health issue, has funded the MCSAPP program because it proposes community-based and comprehensive action in schools, churches, police and fire departments, media, families, and social services. Through plenary sessions and interactive workshops, the Conference will present programs of proven effectiveness and engage in discussion with those communities from across the state interested in piloting a program. Contact and registration information follows.

Taking Action to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse: Strategies for YOUR Community

Saturday, April 5, 2003
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

John Hancock Conference Center
Boston, MA

Who should attend? Parents, community leaders, educators, concerned adults, professionals - anyone interested in developing a community response to prevent child sexual abuse.

What will you learn? Through plenary sessions and interactive workshops led by national and state experts, including child advocates who are adult survivors of child sexual abuse, participants will learn about:

• Groundbreaking research that links child abuse to adult health risk behaviors responsible for the leading causes of death in America
• Myths and facts about child sexual abuse and its victims and perpetrators
• What to watch out for when adults are interacting with children
• Five factors to guide parents in assessing the difference between normal sexual exploration behavior in children and sexually offending behaviors
• The five essential steps communities need to take to develop an effective response to prevent child sexual abuse
• Specific prevention programs and strategies that have reduced proven cases of child sexual abuse

This conference is organized by: the Massachusetts Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Partnership (MCSAPP) and funded through a grant from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Registration Form

Partnership members include the following state-level private agencies: Massachusetts Citizens for Children (MCC), the state chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America and the lead agency for this grant; Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC); Jane Doe, Inc., Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence; Massachusetts Alliance of Children's Advocacy Centers; Massachusetts Medical Society; American Academy of Pediatrics - MA Chapter; Massachusetts Child Abuse Prevention Program (CAPP); Parents Helping Parents; Voice of the Faithful; National Association of Social Workers - MA Chapter and Survivors, Parents and Partners. Public agency members include: Department of Public Health, Department of Social Services, Department of Mental Health; Massachusetts Children's Trust Fund, Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board; Executive Office of Public Safety - Programs Division, Office of Child Care Services; and the Massachusetts Office of Victim Assistance.

VOTF Prayerful Voice
PrayerfulVoice@votf.org

The Prayerful Voice group is calling for all affiliates to mark the first anniversary of VOTF by centering ourselves in prayer and rededication to the mission and goals of VOTF. We are working on a Mass of Rededication to be held Friday, 2/28 but we encourage our many affiliates and Parish Voices to choose whatever date works best or means the most to them. A complete liturgy will be made available for the Mass of Rededication on the website, www.votf.org under Prayerful Voice.

We have asked each affiliate to have their Prayerful Voice representative contact via e-mail the national Prayerful Voice team at PrayerfulVoice@votf.org . Our hope is to build a truly nationwide network of Prayerful Voice groups to ensure the central place of prayer in our lives and in all of our VOTF activities.

VOTF Priests' Support Working Group
at Clergy Support

In collaboration with Parish Affiliate Coordinators and the Membership committee, we are contacting individual priests in our ongoing efforts to create opportunities for mutual support and collaboration.

In each of the five regions of the Boston archdiocese, we are inviting priests to be part of informal "sounding boards" so we might listen to one another and discover ways to work together in rebuilding trust in our church. In February, we will be meeting with a second group of priests for this purpose.

We continue to encourage people to engage our priests and pastors in creating opportunities to relate to each other in new ways, and to work together to achieve our goals. We eagerly await the results of a priest survey conducted by the Winchester, MA Area Parish Voice chapter last May. These results will help guide us toward mutual support, understanding and healing.

We are in the planning stage of a spring-time gathering based on a proposal to discuss the topic of Bishop selection. We hope to engage a coalition of laity, priests and theologians - we are discussing collaboration with the Boston Priests Forum.

Our committee has identified some recommended reading for better understanding of the priesthood. Donald B. Cozzens books are The Spirituality of the Diocesan Priest and Sacred Silence. Also recommended is Richard A. Schoenherr's Goodbye Father: The Celibate Male Priesthood and the Future of the Catholic Church.

VOTF Parish Voices Committee
at Parish Voice

Interest in Parish Voices has tripled since Christmas, as evidenced by the new affiliates and the need to find coordinators in the areas where our numbers are growing. In one week, we listed 15 new affiliates and have new coordinators in the Dioceses of Spokane and Seattle, WA and Ft. Worth, TX. Just this week, we added five new affiliates in the San Francisco area, CA as well as another Cape Cod, MA affiliate in Orleans. We also have new coordinators in Missouri and Ohio. Please see our website at www.votf.org at Parish Voices for additional information, including contacts and changes as they happen. Read affiliates reports in this issue at Voices, Voices Everywhere! Mary Ann Keyes

Links:

Representative Leadership Council Report - covering the 1/23 Council

Working Groups - ongoing progress reports on goal-related work

Reporters at Large - members covering key events in Naples, FL and Manchester, NH

Voices, Voices Everywhere! - updates from affiliates coast-to-coast

Notes from Members - members share information about resources supportive of female victims of abuse and an upcoming talk by Fr. Austin Fleming in Concord, MA.

Jim Post's Speaking Schedule