Contrary to news of its demise, Voice of the Faithful is alive and well as demonstrated by its conference Oct 19 in the Providence Convention Center. From all accounts the people who showed up were determined to build a better church and do not intend to stop anytime soon. As has been reported there are discussions as to the direction Votf should go in at this juncture of its existence. Richard McBrien, theology professor at Notre Dame gave the keynote address in which he advised members to keep "hope alive" and talk to the bishops as "Bush should talk to Iran" and other leaders to keep the lines of communication open.
There is a view which states that although celibacy is not the cause of the sexual abuse scandal, it can be a contributory factor when it is mandatory. O'Brien said that the question of celibacy is quite legitimate since many Catholic priests are married (in other rites) and were married during half of the church's history. Votf is asking the church to take a look at this question. Some others like the fiery, internationally respected, Edwina Gately opted for a more confrontational approach since "bishops treat us like children and ignore us, especially women." "Don't be afraid of them", she urged.The superb advocate and victim himself, David Clohessy urge the crowd to be persistent in seeking justice for survivors and be as wise as serpents in their dealing with pastors and bishops. The workshop on how dioceses hide enormous amounts of money in their financial reports was a blockbuster eye opener. The financial scandal seems to have enormous legs. If the major progressive Catholic publications were present I did not see them though their wares were in a mutual booth. Maybe they were busy covering more relevant events. More on the convention will follow.
6 comments:
Voice of the Faithful has become the church it's trying to change.
VOTF has a hierarchy.
VOTF is engaged in secrecy and cover up.
VOTF lacks openness and transparency.
Rather gratuitous statements, Paul, without any references nor substantiation. Votf is completely open. The board is elected as is the president and all positions.
You say that VOTF is not in demise. With all due respect, in looking at pictures from the conference (see VOTF Bridgeport site), the average age seemed to be 75.
Hi Brian,
One can do the same with conferences at many church events of whatever description. VOTF exists because the bishops did not act responsibly, and in many ways are still not. Along with SNAP Votf is the best advocate for those sexually abused by clergy. VOTF is bringing needed reform to a hierarchy that has given no imput to the people who support it.
VOTF will be around as long as it is needed. Do you have an alternative?
Thanks for the reply.
The Boston Catholic Mens and Womens conferences get thousands of men and women (boys and girls) to attend. Young people like myself (31) are attracted to groups that proclaim the faith and are excited about being Catholic. VOTF has done some good things but it is such a downer and negative. I predict it will not survive this decade.
Brian, I can see that you are a sincere person. What I am interested in is the follow-up to the conferences that the Boston Diocese offers. No doubt Catholics getting together to proclaim the faith is a good thing but is it translated into every day living? For example, the World Youth days sponsored by the pope can be misleading because the Vatican has the machinery to set it up through thousands of parishes.
Jesus was not a downer when he criticized the Scribes and Pharisees. He called them on their hypocrisy. VOTF stays Catholic but will not let the bishops do evil things in the name of God which they did.
There is no reason why you and many other people your age cannot join VOTF and see how sincere and good the people there are. My generation is calling the Bishops to do the right thing so they won't lie to you the way they lied to us.
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