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A CALL TO ACTION
from Voice of the Faithful of Greater Philadelphia
Dear Friends,
Hopefully you have participated in some recent Voice of the Faithful event. Perhaps on November 5 you marched up City Avenue with 225 concerned Catholics to pray and voice your views at the gates of Cardinal Rigali’s mansion. Perhaps you came to the October 25 VOTF "speak-out" at the Church on the Mall in Plymouth Meeting. Maybe you’ve been leafleting with VOTF at area parishes. Maybe you’ve attended informative VOTF meetings, or the conference on church financial accountability. One thing that we all have in common is that we want to act, not just talk. We’re tired of just complaining about what’s wrong in the Church. We want to do something to change the Church for the better.
THIS LETTER ASKS YOU TO CONTINUE TO ACT FOR CHANGE The November 5 prayer vigil at the Cardinal’s mansion was a great success. We delighted to be able to "walk the talk," to put our convictions into action. We lofted banners and signs proclaiming our grief and outrage at clergy sex abuse and bishops’ cover-ups. We prayed together deeply in the Spirit. We heard moving testimonials and creative ideas from Catholics all across the Delaware Valley. Our message went out to the broader public through TV Channels 6 and 10, several newspaper stories and Rosemary McDonough’s powerful column in the Main Line Times. After such a meaningful experience, it’s natural that people immediately asked, "What’s next?"
ACTION STARTING JANUARY 6, 2006 Here’s what we are planning. On January 6, 2006 (the Feast of the Epiphany), you are invited to gather with us at the archdiocesan headquarters, 222 N. 17th St., in center city for the first in a series of creative, prayerful, nonviolent, on-going Friday actions. At this Feast, which portrays Christ as a vulnerable child, we begin a campaign aimed at getting Cardinal Rigali to address in depth the crisis of clerical sex abuse of children and the immorality of the bishops’ cover-up. We will show up regularly and persistently, in the dozens and the hundreds, to bring our message of accountability and meaningful action to the Cardinal.
LEADING UP TO JANUARY 6 – A LETTER-WRITING CAMPAIGN To lead up to the actions starting on January 6, we invite you to join others in flooding Cardinal Rigali’s office with hundreds of letters insisting that he listen to the voice of the laity and that he take the steps necessary to address the sex abuse crisis in depth. A model letter is appended to the end of this message. Feel free to draw on it for ideas, but please use your own words to convey your thoughts and strong feelings about how the abuse crisis and cover-up has affected you and what you think needs to be done. Please join us in taking the following steps during December: 1. Write your letter to Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archdiocese of Phila., 222 N. 17th St., Phila. 19103. 2. Send a copy (and any reply you may receive) to VOTF/GP, P.O. Box 4397, Phila. 19118. 3. Ask 3-5 friends to send their own letter to the Cardinal. Other steps you can take if you’re able: 1. Letters to the Editor: Write one to your local paper, expressing your concern. 2. Leaflet parishes: VOTF members are leafleting area parishes on a regular basis. For a schedule and copies of the leaflet, call Bud Bretschneider, 215-843-5192. 3. Encourage priests to speak out: Contact Charles McMahon (215-233-4414) who is organizing this outreach to clergy. 4. Join the campaign for legislative reform: Study what changes are needed to protect children and hold enablers accountable. Contact SNAP (Survivors Network for Those Abused by Priests 610-520-0672), the group organizing the reform campaign. 5. Follow the VOTF/GP website (www.votfgp.org) for updates on meetings, events, actions. 6. Develop a "Circle of Communication" meeting in your parish: For help in organizing such a meeting, contact Fr. Paul Morrisey, Truth and Reconciliation Ministry, 215-922-2277. Thanks for all you are doing to "Keep the Faith, Change the Church." Sincerely in Christ, The VOTF/GP Steering Committee
MODEL LETTER TO CARDINAL RIGALI Cardinal Justin Rigali Archdiocese of Philadelphia 222 N. 17th Street Phila., PA 19103
Dear Cardinal Rigali:
A recent study by Temple University and the Philadelphia Inquirer found that 84% of Catholics believe that Church officials mainly tried to protect the Church’s reputation rather than prevent sexual abuse of our children. 72% of those surveyed do not approve of "the way the archdiocese has handled the issue of abusive priests." 40% of Catholics described themselves as "very dissatisfied" with the Church’s response. I am one of those "very dissatisfied" Catholics.
A newspaper editor described the present state of the Church as follows: "It is as if the bishops are sinking in quicksand, and the laity are standing around the edges with ropes, offering to pull them out, but the bishops are saying, ‘No, no, we can handle this ourselves.’" We want to help, but you are not listening to us, the ones whose children have been abused.
A major organization representing the laity is Voice of the Faithful. The local Philadelphia affiliate sent you a letter on October 28, making four recommendations to help bishops get out of the quicksand. They asked you to support needed legislative changes to better protect our children, to reach out to survivors on their own terms, to support lay-selected parish Child Safety Committees, and to publicly admit that your fellow bishops and administrators not only made "mistakes" and "errors of judgment," but conducted an immoral cover-up which caused increased suffering to innocent children.
I respectfully urge you: 1. To reply to Voice of the Faithful’s letter. 2. To meet with Voice of the Faithful to discuss their recommendations. 3. To act positively on VOTF’s proposals.
Sincerely in Christ, |