 Legislative Reform ![[]](index_files/image002.jpg) 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. | 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. ...'Catholics (that includes Cardinals and Bishops) have a duty to do everything possible to heal the wounds'... Pope Benedict XVI
|
|
Please help
Voice of the Faithful
hold the Catholic bishops accountable for their
actions. Watch this
video (click
the word “video” to open it) and forward it to
spread the message!
|
 |
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. 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. |
For anyone who may question whether child sexual abuse of children occurred, and that the Church did everything in its power to conceal it, check out this website!
Catholic Sex Abuse | double click on State Representatives below to link to a listing of them Urge your State Representatives to Support House Bill 1137
|
We are grateful to Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, of Sidney Australia, and author of Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church,for the courage he showed during his recent speaking tour in the United States. |
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? |
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! |
"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 |
"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
|
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. |
"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" |
| Click here to learn of the upcoming plans and actions which you can take! |
"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) |
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 |
 Adobe Reader is required to view these documents, which you can download for free by double clicking on their logo.
|
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. |
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: to support those who have been abused; to support priests of integrity; and 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? 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. |
