Legislative Reform
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The newsletter of the National Office of VOTF
Click here to
link to the Archdiocesan Organizational Chart
222 N. 17th
St.
Philadelphia, PA
19103-1299
Daily Prayer for
Priests
Heavenly Father, grant
that our priests be strengthened and healed by the power of the
Eucharist they celebrate. May the Word they proclaim give them
courage and wisdom.
We pray that all those
whom they seek to serve may see in them the love and care of Jesus,
our Eternal High Priest, who is Lord for ever and ever. Amen
Mary, Mother of the
Church, look tenderly upon your sons, your priests.
Joseph, patron of the
Universal Church, pray for us all.
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Our Mission Statement
To provide a prayerful voice,
attentive to the Spirit, through which the faithful can actively
participate in the governance and guidance of the Catholic church.
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...'Catholics
(that includes Cardinals and Bishops)
have a duty to do everything possible
to heal the wounds'... Pope Benedict XVI
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FIRST FRIDAY vigils
The next vigil at the Archdiocesan Headquarters will be on
Friday, August 1, 12:00 (Noon) to 1:00 pm
Join with us at the First Friday Vigil in front of the
Philadelphia Archdiocese Office Building at 222 N. 17th
Street (between Race and Vine Sts.).. There we will pass
out literature to the passerby and those entering the
building. Join us and bring a friend.
Come and pray with others in a prayerful spirit, show with
your own visible body, the support we have for those whose
bodies and souls were abused by priests. Express in a
public and powerful way your concerns about the state of the
child abuse scandal in our Catholic church.
For VOTF to have an impact, we must show that
many are involved and concerned about the child abuse that
has been and may still be occurring in our beloved
Archdiocese.
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Click here to view
the letter, regarding those abused, sent by VOTF-GP
to Cardinal Rigali dated September 22, 2006.
It included four (4) action proposals. |
Each first
Friday, VOTF-GP
will be in front of the office center, calling on Cardinal
Justin Rigali to address the clergy sexual abuse crisis in
greater depth and to respond to concerns raised by the
organization.
In a letter sent to Cardinal
Rigali in October, 2005, VOTF-GP asked (1) to meet with the
Cardinal and urged him to support state legislation to
protect children and hold abusers and enablers responsible,
(2) to meet with survivors of abuse and offer compensation,
(3) to support the creation of child safety committees in
each parish, and (4) to admit publicly that the hierarchy’s
cover-up of abuse was immoral.
All VOTF/GP members and friends are urged to
attend.
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double click on State
Representatives below to link to a listing of them
Urge your
State Representatives
to Support House Bill 1137
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Bishop
Geoffrey Robinson, of Sidney Australia,
and
author of
Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church,
is currently on a speaking tour in the United States
Click here or go to
www.rccrenewal.org
for more details.
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General Meeting: Monday, May 19, at Chestnut Hill
College
Parents of Abused Children spoke about the
heartbreak that sexual abuse has caused their families.
Why is it that pedophile priests receive better treatment than
their victims?
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A PETITION TO CARDINAL JUSTIN RIGALI
Open the books! The Voice of the Faithful of
Greater Philadelphia believes it is both impo r tant
and necessary for the Archdiocese to disclose relevant financial
information. Because it has not been forthcoming, VOTF-GP
is initiating an effort to obtain signatures on a petition
urging the Cardinal to do so. Members are
requested to sign our petition and to solicit your
friends, neighbors and relatives to do likewise.
Click here
to view the reasons which support the need for this information.
To view and print out a form for recording signatures,
click here!
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"Love
in Action: A Direct Action Handbook for Catholics Using
Gospel Nonviolence to Reform and Renew the Church."
Richard K. Taylor wrote it originally for national and local
VOTF, but it has broad application to any group working for
Church reform. It has very favorable endorsements by Catholic
leaders, including a bishop and Jim Post, co-founder of national
VOTF. Its 50 photos and other illustrations make it
especially readable. It's priced at $12.95 and can be purchased
at its own
website,
www.gospelnonviolence.com or at www.amazon.com
- just type in Richard K. Taylor. |
The following Letter to the Editor of
the Phila. Inquirer was published in February, 2007
To the editor:
It was deja vu, reading Donna Farrell's Jan. 9
letter on behalf of the Philadelphia Archdiocese.
Her response to a study reporting widespread
embezzlement in Catholic archdioceses will remind Catholics
of the years of assurances that our children were safe in
the hands of these very leaders.
She ignores one crucial failure of the archdiocese in
ensuring the safety of our church's funds - the failure to
make systematic, annual disclosure of the diocese's
financial status to all Catholics. The last financial
disclosure was more than three years ago, and it reported
one year's data from a period beginning in 2002.
This is woefully inadequate disclosure to
thousands of hardworking Catholics who place their
church-supplied envelopes in the basket every week.
The archdiocese's 2003 report was not a standard
audit statement, such as one might receive from any large
charitable corporation. The report did not disclose
important information, such as how much money was spent on
lobbying in Harrisburg, lobbying that we recently saw in
action as the archdiocese joined in efforts to kill
child-protection legislation.
It also did not disclose how much was spent that
year as a result of sex-abuse cases, which then were still
secret.
Since December 2003, Voice of the Faithful of
Greater Philadelphia, a group of more than 400 Catholics
from parishes across the archdiocese, has called for the
archdiocese to become fully transparent in its finances.
Embezzlement, like sex abuse, is the product of
secrecy. We urge our bishops and pastors to publish
transparent annual financial reports.
Marita Green, Chair
VOTF of Greater Philadelphia
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"Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our
priests and religious. It is up to you, the people. You have the
minds, the eyes, the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to
see that your priests act like priests, your bishops, like
bishops, and your religious act like religious."
----Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, before the Knights of Columbus,
June 1972
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Click here to view the
video regarding priest abuse
that was produced by SNAP and
moderated by John Salveson. Our thanks go out to the
Philadelphia Inquirer for their invaluable service in making
this available on-line. |
Senate Bill 1054 was passed by
the PA Senate on Tuesday, November 21, 2006.
Thanks to all those whose efforts resulted in
this bill being passed!
(Be
sure to send a follow up thank you to your State Senator and
Representative)
Click here to view
Senate Bill 1054, as amended
Note, this is a .pdf file so
you will need Adobe Reader to open it, which you can download
for free. |
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"Must Read"
for all Philadelphia Catholics
(and others).
Click here
to read the article by Michael Newall that appeared in the
April 28,
2006 issue of
the
National
Catholic
Reporter
entitled
"Shining light on a
cover-up" |
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Click here to learn of
the upcoming plans and actions which you can take!
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"Authority has simply been abused too long in the Catholic
Church and for many people it just becomes utterly stupid
and intolerable to have to put up with the kind of
jackassing around that is posed in God's name. It is an
insult to God Himself and in the end it can only discredit
all idea of authority and obedience. There comes a point
where they simply forfeit the right to be listened to."
(Hidden Ground of Love: The Letters of Thomas Merton, p.
230)
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The Grand Jury Report
Click here to view the complete
document.
Note, this is a 424 page document - please
give it time to download!
Click here to view the response
by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Click here to read the
DA office's response to the above response by the
Archdiocese to the Grand Jury's report
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 Adobe Reader is required to view these documents,
which you can download for free by double clicking on their logo.
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Please Note: Links to media articles which
previously appeared in this area have been relocated to the "NEWS
ARTICLES" tab which can be found in the left column
above.
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Who are we?
Voice of the Faithful of Greater Philadelphia (VOTF/GP) is an affiliate of
Voice of the Faithful, a worldwide organization of more than 40,000 Catholic men
and women formed in January 2002 in the Boston area to deal with the sexual
abuse crisis in the Church and the cover-up of that abuse by the hierarchy.
VOTF/GP has over 300 members in more than 40 Catholic parishes
spread throughout Bucks, Delaware, Chester, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.
What are our goals?
VOTF/GP shares the stated goals of the parent organization in Boston:
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to
support those who have been abused;
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to support priests of integrity; and
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to shape
structural change within the Church.
To accomplish these goals, VOTF/GP reaches
out to those who have been abused and to priests of integrity to offer support
and to find ways of working together. It also seeks dialogue with Church leaders
to explore how the laity can find a more meaningful voice in the Church.
Composed of faithful Catholics, VOTF/GP does not question the teaching
authority of the Church. It seeks to provide an open and safe forum where
Catholics of all points of view and backgrounds can freely and respectfully
discuss the challenges facing the Church. It calls for the laity to have its
rightful place in full accord with Church teaching in Canon Law, The
Catechism of the Catholic Church, and Vatican II.
VOTF/GP envisions a Church of accountability and transparency in which the
laity, vowed religious, clergy and hierarchy will be partners in
decision-making. If all of these members of the Body of Christ had been actively
and meaningfully engaged in the operations of the Church, the sexual abuse of
children would have been addressed immediately and not allowed to continue.
VOTF/GP sees the current crisis as an opportunity to renew the structure of the
Church so that it becomes more fully "the People of God"—a loving community
affirming and drawing upon the gifts, experience and intelligence of all its
members.
Who are our members?
Members of VOTF/GP are the “people in the pews”—dedicated Catholics who serve
as lectors at Mass, teach CCD (PREP) classes, sing in the choir, take communion to the
sick, and serve as Eucharistic ministers, ushers, deacons, and members of parish
pastoral councils.
It is their strong commitment to their faith that has brought them together
in the spirit of Vatican II to cleanse and renew the Church and move it forward
into the 21st century. They accept the authority of their bishop and the pope,
but see the need for increased participation by the laity in the governance and
operation of the Church.
What can you do?
If you are shocked and saddened by the collapse of leadership and trust in
the Church, and would like to take part in its renewal, you can join with
thousands of Catholics around the world by becoming a member of Voice of the
Faithful through its Greater Philadelphia affiliate. Membership dues are $15 for
individuals and $25 for families. As a member, you will be notified of
upcoming activities of the affiliate in which you can participate.
Please
click here or on the "Membership" button above, print out the form, and mail it
along with your check to the address indicated.
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