The Lay Vocation and Voice of the Faithful

Here is an article by Thomas P Rausch, S.J published four years ago. It is very pertinent with reference to the importance of VOTF for the Laity. The rest of the article can be accessed by clicking the link.

The Lay Vocation and Voice of theFaithful
By Thomas P. Rausch, S.J., SEPTEMBER 29, 2003
O ne unanticipated effect of the sexual abuse scandal that has been convulsing the Catholic Church in the United States is a growing realization on the part of the laity of how little real say they have in the government of their church. This was first brought home when many who were aware of situations of abuse went to the authorities and later found that nothing had been done. But as Catholics began talking to one another about their frustration, they began to realize that while this was the most serious case of not being heard, it was not the only one.
What is becoming more evident to many lay men and women is that there are no institutional checks and balances that allow them some say about how authority is exercised in the church, whether at the parish, diocesan or universal level. They have no way to address the problem of an incompetent pastor or an authoritarian bishop, no say over their appointment, no way to bring their own concerns and experience to the decision-making processes of the universal church. There are no structures of accountability. Without them, many feel that the church is treating them as children. And they are more and more coming to see the present crisis as calling the laity to adult status in the church. This was clearly the intention of the Second Vatican Council in its concern to articulate a theology of the laity.