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New Book Raises Voices of Roman Catholics Who Desire a Renewed Church BOSTON, Mass. – Only a courageous person would want to try reforming the Roman Catholic Church, a 2,000-year-old institution that practiced its liturgy in a dead language as recently as 50 years ago – and a persistently courageous person to keep trying for more than a decade.
A new book, Voices: Telling Our Stories, offers a look at some who exhibit such courage and shows in the voice of the reformers why and how Catholics who are firm in their faith, but disenchanted with their Church, turn to advocacy as a way to remain whole.
Widespread revelations about clergy sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in 2002 prompted a number of responses within and outside the Church. From those responses emerged Voice of the Faithful®, a reform group that rapidly grew into an international movement. Undaunted by the effort needed to move a two-millennia-old hierarchical institution, Voice of the Faithful® members supported survivors of clergy sexual abuse, supported priests who had spoken out for reform (and sometimes had been silenced) and sought ways to ensure a responsible lay voice in running the Church.
After a decade of media reports, sociological analyses and citations in thousands of news stories and books, Voices provides the words of the movement’s members themselves. These are voices of individual members who are full of hope and who continue working to break the Church’s silence, hold the perpetrators of scandal accountable and foster justice and healing for the Church.
These Voices are from faithful Catholics who, in many cases, are former or present parish Eucharistic ministers, religious education leaders and pastoral council members, or who otherwise serve centrally in parish life. They refuse to remain silent while their Church hierarchy protects itself instead of the weak and innocent.
Voices: Telling Our Stories reveals personally who Voice of the Faithful® members are, why they joined and remain a part of the movement, what being Catholic means to them, what they look for in their Church today and what they see in a reformed and renewed Church of tomorrow.
Voices: Telling Our Stories may be purchased online at www.votf.org and on Amazon.com.
Voice of the Faithful®: Voice of the Faithful® is a worldwide movement of concerned Roman Catholics working to support survivors of clergy sexual abuse, support priests of integrity and increase the laity’s role in governance and guidance of the Church. More information is at http://www.votf.org.
Contact: Nick Ingala, nickingala@votf.org, 781-559-336
BOSTON, Mass., May 13, 2013 – Only a courageous person would want to try reforming the Roman Catholic Church, a 2,000-year-old institution that practiced its liturgy in a dead language as rec read more »
BOSTON, Mass., May 8, 2013 – The Roman Catholic archbishop of Newark has allowed an admitted child molester to continue contact with young people, and Church reform movement Voice of th read more »
VOTF National Statement -- Voice of the Faithful Expects Pope Francis to 'Act Decisively' in New Jersey Clergy Sexual Abuse Case BOSTON, Mass. – The Roman Catholic archbishop of Newark has allowed an admitted child molester to continue contact with young people, and Church reform movement Voice of the Faithful® expects Pope Francis to “act decisively” as he said last week the Church must do in cases of clergy sexual abuse. Acting decisively should include holding accountable any bishop who fails to act responsibly in sex abuse cases. The question here: Will Pope Francis hold the archbishop accountable?
A New Jersey newspaper reported Apr. 28 that Newark Archbishop John Myers allowed a priest who had admitted groping a boy to continue working with children. This violated an agreement that barred the priest from ministering to children or holding any position involving children. The priest, Rev. Michael Fugee, has since resigned.
In addition to violating a probation agreement made by the diocese, Archbishop Myers appears to have violated the Church’s own canon laws. Voice of the Faithful® supports the position of Wisconsin priest and canon lawyer Rev. James Connell, who last week called for a Vatican investigation of this matter. In a letter to Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which oversees clergy sexual abuse cases, Connell worte that, by allowing Rev. Michael Fugee to continue in ministry, Myers may have violated the Essential Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies Dealing with Allegations of Sexual abuse of Minors by Priests or Deacons, which has the force of canon law.
Voice of the Faithful® expects the Vatican to act on Connell’s request and for Pope Francis to initiate an investigation if the CDF fails to act and to make all proceedings public.
The Vatican has been aware of clergy sexual abuse for centuries, was presented a detailed report in the mid-1980s and has faced worldwide publicity since 2002. In the past year, a monsignor and a bishop have been convicted for their involvement in the scandal and other bishops have been named in grand jury reports. Within the past month, the disclosure of tens of thousands of pages of secret documents has caused the current archbishop of Los Angeles to curtail the former archbishop’s public appearances. Similar disclosures have prompted a government inquiry in Australia, which started last week. This past weekend, an Ugandan priest forced the Church in Africa to confront clergy sexual abuse, which the hierarchy and conservative Church interests there have kept secret.
Voice of the Faithful®: Voice of the Faithful® is a worldwide movement of concerned Roman Catholics working to support survivors of clergy sexual abuse, support priests of integrity and increase the laity’s role in governance and guidance of the Church. More information is at http://www.votf.org.
Former Trustee Jayne O'Donnell Named VOTF Development Coordinator  NEWTON, Mass. – Voice of the Faithful®, a worldwide movement seeking reform of Roman Catholic Church governance, has named Jayne O’Donnell of West Hartford, Conn., as its new development coordinator
A VOTF member since 2002, former trustee and co-chair of VOTF’s 10th Year Conference in 2012, O’Donnell will be coordinating VOTF’s major donor efforts, direct mail appeals, e-mail solicitations and grant writing.
She co-founded the Greater West Hartford VOTF affiliate, served as the VOTF regional coordinator for Hartford and was chair of the Hartford Regional VOTF steering committee.
A long-time parishioner of St. Timothy’s Church in West Hartford, O’Donnell has been actively involved in parish life. She was director of religious education from 1990 until 2010 and has taught second- and third-grade religious education classes. She also served from 2000 to 2006 as the first development coordinator for the parish middle school. She is a past chair of the St. Timothy Middle School board and Parish Council. In addition, she has been involved in the parish social outreach program.
O’Donnell holds a law degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law, Hartford, Conn., and a bachelor’s degree from Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart, Purchase, N.Y.
She resides in West Hartford with her husband Edward (Bud) O'Donnell, and they are the parents of a son and daughter.
Voice of the Faithful®: Voice of the Faithful® is a worldwide movement of concerned mainstream Roman Catholics working to support survivors of clergy sexual abuse, support priests of integrity and increase the laity’s role in governance and guidance of the Church. More information is at http://www.votf.org.
Contact: Nick Ingala, 781-559-3360 Office, 617-291-3495 Cell, nickingala@votf.org
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