Minutes of the January 9, 2003, Meeting of
Voice of the Faithful—Long Island

North Babylon High School, North Babylon, N.Y.

 

Sheila Peiffer opened the meeting at 8 p.m.

Loretta Budd led the opening prayer, which ended with the Nicene Creed.

Sue Baer led the singing of the hymn “Holy Ground.”

Sheila Peiffer, co-director, spoke.

This is our first meeting of the New Year. We are coming out of a year that has been filled with shame, anger, soul-searching, horrendous revelations and shocking testimonies. We have all seen the end-of-the-year reviews, and we don’t need to dwell on these events now, when our time together is so short. You wouldn’t be here tonight if you were not well aware of the revelations of moral disintegration that we have experienced.

But there are other stories from this past year that give us hope and inspire us to move into the new year of 2003 with determination and vision. We have heard the stories of survivors of clergy sexual abuse, which fuel our compassion and our moral outrage; we have heard the stories of priests of integrity who struggle to keep their vows of obedience to the hierarchy while fulfilling their primary mandate of serving God’s people; and, most of all, we have heard the stories and seen the power of literally thousands of faithful lay Catholics who have said, “Never again,” to the victims, who have said, “Enough,” to the bishops, and who are determined to reclaim the moral integrity of our Church through their own active participation. We hear this Voice of the Faithful. We are this Voice of the Faithful.

We have just celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany. January 6 is also an anniversary for the organization of Voice of the Faithful—the day on which the first revelations about the clergy abuse cover-up appeared in the Boston Globe in 2002. It seems especially fitting to claim the Epiphany as an anniversary. Like those wise people of long ago, we too are following a star with determination—a star that gives us a vision of a Church that would embody and enable God’s reign of mercy, justice, and peace. Like those wise people of long ago, we too have gifts to offer: gifts of business acumen and parenting skills, academic knowledge and craftsmanship, leadership and loyalty—a whole range of gifts that we, as noted in Canon Law n. 212, want to offer to the Church.

The evangelist Matthew tells us that the Magi were warned to return to their country by a different route. So, like those wise people of long ago, we too must find the different way. As this New Year begins, we are gathered here together to focus on our vision for a renewed Church, to celebrate all the gifts that the laity have to offer to the Body of Christ, and to find and establish the different way that will allow this vision of a renewed Church to come into being. Thank you for being here tonight.

 

Dan Bartley, co-director, spoke.

Good evening. We live in very painful, very challenging times for our Church. It hurts; it hurts bad. And many of us say to ourselves, “Christians aren’t supposed to get angry, right?” Not right.

In all four Gospels, we are told that one day Jesus cleansed the temple. When you read the account, I think it is fair to say that Jesus was angry.

I think it is important, however, to realize that Jesus did not focus his anger on individuals. He was angry at a system that had lost its way. He was angry because the house of God no longer focused on God

Anger is part of being human. It’s what we do with the anger that matters. If anger is used to cause positive change, that’s a good and proper thing. It’s only when anger becomes bitter or spiteful or vengeful that it’s wrong. (Are you listening, Jimmy Breslin?)

So here we are, many of us hurt, many of us angry. The question is, What are we going to do with our anger?

First, we must recognize that it’s OK to be angry. Second, during these very difficult times, we must remain prayerful. If we are, God will give us the ability to focus our anger and to respond with proper action.

Let’s use our anger constructively. Let’s use our anger to cause the change that is so badly needed in our Church.

Our focus must not be on Bishop Murphy, Cardinal Law, or Michael Hands. Our focus must be on changing the system that allowed a person like Michael Hands to function.

It can be done, and, God knows, the Spirit is on our side. But the Spirit of God will only prevail when we are willing to act. Tonight you will hear about membership and the role of the laity, and we will give you some thoughts on the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. All of these are calls to action—proper action.

Finally, at the end of the evening, please say a prayer and respond to the Spirit as it calls you. Thank you.

 

Gail Mahabirsingh spoke on behalf of the Membership Committee.

My name is Gail Mahabirsingh, and I am a member of the Membership Committee.

It is invigorating to be among people who are filled with such faith and love for our Church. The Spirit is truly at work.

We would like to thank all of you for your continued efforts in bringing new members to VOTF. We applaud you!

The news is good! As a result of our working together, our numbers are growing. This past month we have added 132 new members. Ninety-five parishes in our diocese have VOTF members. Imagine, 95 out of 133. We have 26 Parish Voice Affiliates! The word is spreading, and people are moving into action.

We receive thank-you notes from members expressing their gratitude for the work we are doing. We appreciate that your have taken the time to drop us a note of support. We applaud you.

Tonight as you look around, hopefully you see parish signs from around our diocese. These signs are visible signals to all that their parishes have a VOTF member present and allow people to network with others form their parish.

In this day of the Internet superhighway, VOTF is also utilizing the Web and Internet to reach out to all and welcome them to join the faithful who are concerned about our Church. Together we make a difference.

Sharing information is critical to our success and growth. Our Web site lists the various committees so that you can contact individuals or join us at a meeting. A listing of all Parish Voice Affiliates will be going up on the Web next week that will let you know by town the parishes that have started a VOTF locally.

We are sending out letters asking people if they want to know who from their parish are VOTF members (with their permission, we will put them in touch with one another so they can network).

Guidelines for starting a Parish VOTF Affiliate are posted on the Web, and members from the Membership Committee are available to help you.

There is so much more—all of it is a result of our efforts to help VOTF grow on Long Island. We applaud you!

The future of our Church is with us. We are the Church. We need you to continue all the good work you are doing to build up VOTF so that we can achieve our mission and goals. What we want is a place at the table and full financial disclosure. We want our voice to be heard! We want to make sure our children are never hurt again!

If you haven’t filled out a registration form, please raise your hand, and committee members with badges will give you one. Please also take some with you back to your parishes, and make copies of them and give them out.

Thank you, and God bless.

Gene Zirkel spoke on behalf of the Parish Voice Affiliates.

Voice of the Faithful began as a grass roots movement. People were upset. We need to stay a grass roots movement.

We need local Parish Voices. My long-range dream is that there be no need for a Regional VOTF, just Parish Voice Affiliates. Only 25 percent of parishes have Parish Voice chapters.

That is why the signs. Look around. Look for your parish on those signs. Things change at the bottom. Vatican II didn’t start at the top. It started at the bottom. Don’t ask, tell your pastors, and begin a Parish Voice.

I am invited to new Parish Voice meetings all over Long Island. People thank me for work I’m doing. People tell me to leave the Church. I can’t—I am the Church. You are the Church. Find a Parish Voice. Thank you.

 

Sheila Peiffer introduced the speaker, James Fagan: “This evening, James Fagan wanted to be described only as a servant of God speaking to you on Vatican II.”

James Fagan made a presentation about Vatican II and the laity.

When Dr. Kern asked me to talk about the laity and Vatican II, he said that I would have ten minutes. I thought he meant ten hours, and even that would not be sufficient. With that in mind, I would like to make three points:

1. There was a spirit at the Second Vatican Council that sought to expand the involvement of the laity in the life of the Church.

2. The documents formulated at the Council show the success of this spiritual movement by seeking expansion of the role of the laity in Church life.

3. Vatican II foreordained the Voice of the Faithful.

To establish these points, we must look at some historical data and understand the Council’s task of renewal, its anxious searching, its openness to the gospel, and its attention to all human beings. On January 25, 1959, John XXIII announced a general council for the Universal Church. The first commentary in the Vatican newspapers stated it was not to be a council of fear but a council of unity.

In April, John XXIII formulated that the fundamental purpose of the Council would be to expand the commitment of Christians “to enlarge the scope of love with clarity of thought and magnanimity of heart.” It was to be a pastoral, not a doctrinal, council; it was not in response to a crisis. A letter sent to prospective Vatican II attendees soliciting input for the council stated, “The subjects for the Council can be points of doctrine, the discipline of the clergy and Christian people, the manifold activities of today’s Church, matters of greater importance with which the Church must deal nowadays, or, finally, anything else that your excellency thinks is good to discuss and clarify.”

From over 2000 responses and suggested subjects, John XXIII approved the task of studying the topics by ten commissions. John XXIII added one he said was a real innovation—a commission for the lay apostolate. He stated that it was the “newest mark” of the Council. This is John XXIII’s call to the Voice of the Faithful. The Commission on the Lay Apostolate was to explore the relation of the laity to the hierarchy. Father Yves Congar wrote at this time, “What is said about the laity will be worth as much as the presentation that is made of the Church.”

The Commission on the Lay Apostolate issued a 172-page text that stated that all members of the Church, in virtue of their baptism and confirmation, have a right and duty to be actively involved in the life of the Church.

The opening on October 11 was believed to be a rubber stamp both of the members of the commissions and their reports. But the motion of an elderly French cardinal for a postponement caused a series of events changing the direction of the Council.

The next spiritual movement of the Council, in my mind, involved the report on the modern communication media, which was discussed for only a few days but was the first to raise issues about the laity at the Council. One of the most important criticisms of the document pointed out that although the laity were extremely successful in dealing with the media, their place in the report was minor. It was noted that the laity had more competence and expertise. Some argued that priority should be given to the laity.

The report on the Church was distributed on November 23 but was, in effect, tabled because it had a very negative vision of the laity. During the intersession a subcommittee, advised by Karl Rahner and Congar, submitted a report that had a chapter on the People of God first. Having the chapter on the People of God first would emphasize the equality of members of the Church by reason of their ultimate vocation, their participation in the gift of salvation and their call to holiness. When submitted to the Council at the next session, it was approved by a vote of 2231 to 43. During the discussion, a bishop from Krakow said that the establishment of a People of God was a necessary premise for the definition of the hierarchy that was to guide the people—an interest foreshadowing. In any case, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church was formed.

Well, what about the lay apostolate? There was a push during both intersessions by the commission to kill it by making it a list of essential points and presenting it in proposition form—in effect, not a document of the Council. But the chair, in my opinion, knowing what the late John XXIII had wanted, continued to push and obtained approval of the document, the Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People.

What about the documents that came from the Council? I would like to give three quotes, which appear on the VOTF Web site.

“Christ . . . fulfills His prophetic office . . . not only by the hierarchy who teach in His name and with His authority, but also by the laity . . . ” (Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, n. 35).

“They [the laity] are, by [reason of] knowledge, competence, or outstanding ability which they may enjoy, permitted and sometimes even obliged to express their opinion on those things which concern the good of the Church” (Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, n. 37).

“While preserving intact the necessary link with ecclesiastical authority, the laity have the right to establish and direct [apostolic] associations, and to join existing ones. . . . [B]y their expert assistance they increase the efficacy of the care of souls as well as of the administration of the goods of the Church” (Vatican II, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People, nn. 19, 10).

What does it mean? Lets look at several expert advisers’ thoughts about the Council documents.

Edward Schillebeeckx: Vatican II in the Church was the breakthrough of achievements similar to those of the French Revolution in that it was an overcoming of the feudal form. The co-responsibility of all believers for the Church on the basis of our baptism in water and the Spirit essentially includes the participation of all believers in decisions relating to Church government.

Hans Kung states that Vatican II was to change participation of the laity in the liturgy, ministry, and government of the Church. The constitution has given the oldest definition of the Church, the People of God, its rightful place at the beginning and heart of ecclesiology and by doing so has clarified the position of the laity as the Church and the clergy as its servants.

Karl Rahner wrote: “In the Church of the future there will be more of a democratic mentality, more democratic institutions and democratic procedures than there have been up to now. Democracy in the Church means simply, in the first place, that lay people should have as active and responsible a part in its life and decisions as possible. It means more precisely that their active participation should be institutionalized in canon law. For all practical purposes, active participation and co-responsibility will only be accepted when they are grounded in law and do not depend from moment to moment on the goodwill of officeholders.” But Rahner also warned that the “Council was the beginning of beginnings for the Church of the limitless grace of God; it will certainly be a long time before the Church which has been given the Second Vatican Council will be the Church of the Second Vatican Council.”

And how was the Voice of the Faithful foreordained? First, as noted, Vatican II sought greater lay involvement. The People of God principle is realized in lay activity with ministries associated with liturgy, education, and social justice. The Voice of the Faithful seems to seek such activities. Karl Rahner noted in a talk to German bishops about the Second Vatican Council that “the Church of the future will be one built from below by basic communities as a result of free initiative and association.”

Second, the Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People requires the carrying of the light of Christ to the world in the power of the Holy Spirit. It seems the Voice of the Faithful is working in the Church to establish a shalom, a harmony within the People of God so the light of Christ will be purely seen. For it is Christ who sends the laity on the Church’s apostolate, an apostolate that must at all times be adapting itself to the needs of the moment. The laity can originate with free choice and run at their own discretion these enterprises. This was foreordained by John XXIII as something for the Church.

I would like to conclude with a statement from a book by Father Congar, Lay People in the Church, written in the mid-1950s. Both this book and Father Congar were influential at the Council. He states that a “very important trust must never be lost sight of: a priest, a bishop, and a pope is first of all a layman.”

Sheila Peiffer thanked Mr. Fagan and explained to the membership that Mr. Fagan offered this question for discussion: “If you are an adviser to a bishop at the Third Vatican Council, what would you suggest for topics involving the status of the laity?

The membership broke up into discussion groups for a period of ten minutes to formulate their answers. After ten minutes, a sampling of the responses were presented by representatives of some of the groups. Suggestions included the following:

At the end of the listing of suggestions, Dan Bartley related to the membership that at his meeting with Bishop William Murphy, the bishop said that we need to control what is said at our meetings. In addition to telling the bishop, “No way,” Dan asked him, “Why would you want to do that?!”

Kevin Connors, co-chair of the Finance Committee, spoke.

FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT
General Membership Meeting
January 9, 2003

There are two matters that we would like to bring before you this evening. And since the second has to do with a time-sensitive step that was announced late last week on our Web site and subsequently picked up by the media, we will also set aside ten minutes or so for questions. Jim Godfrey will preside over the question portion of our report.

The first matter deals with finances.

Through the end of November, we had a cash balance of $4,890.24.

December contributions were $4,241.00.

December expenses were $1,005.62

Bank account balance on December 31, 2002, was $ 8,125.62.

More detailed financial information is available on our Web site, and we encourage you to access it.

Continuing with finances, VOTF—LI is a low-cost operation. We have no personnel costs, yet there are operating costs—such as insurance, printing, mailings, Web site support and plans for a regional conference—that simply must be met. There is also the Long Island Voice of Compassion Fund that we are building. You should have received a mailing envelope when you took your seat this evening. Take it with you, and when you get home, put a small check inside. Put a stamp on it, and mail it back to us. I assure you, your donation will be put to good use.

A final word on finances: A parish chairperson for the Bishop’s Annual Appeal contacted us to say that in his parish, at least, contributions to this year’s appeal are expected to drop significantly. His concern is that his parish will suffer if it does not get the 30 percent rebate on parishioner pledges. He asked us to remind members that if they choose to sit out this year’s appeal or to contribute to an alternative, that they try to contribute at least 30 percent of their customary donation directly to the parish. Now, that’s something we should all be thinking about!

The second matter deals with the Bishop’s Annual Appeal and financial openness.

The crimes reported in the press over the past year by a relatively small number of clergy are terrible. But the picture conveyed to us by our spiritual leaders, our bishops, in court proceedings . . . media reports . . . and even in some of the statements they are reported to have made, has sparked unusual anger on the part of lay Catholics. Catholics seek reform . . . a lifting of the wall of secrecy, and that has raised the expectation that 2003 will be a difficult year for fundraising, especially for the Bishop’s Annual Appeal.

Now, we realize there is little that can be done to change the past. The grand juries, the courts, and time will do their thing, and we Catholics will continue to the best of our abilities. We can fight with our leadership now, or we can work together to shape a better future . . . an open future . . . a future where the system will disclose the presence of trouble before it becomes scandalous. In this spirit, in the spirit that openness is the first step toward reform, the Finance Committee of the Long Island Voice of the Faithful forwarded a letter to Bishop Murphy on December 27, with copies to the auxiliary bishops and the pastors of the diocese. This is the letter: [at this point, Kevin read the letter to the membership; this letter can be found in its entirety on the News page of this Web site].

So that’s it! In a word, we are asking our bishop, with respect, “Bishop Murphy, tear down that wall of secrecy, and let the healing begin.”

Jim Godfrey fielded questions from the membership regarding the letter to Bishop William Murphy. Answers to those questions included the following:

 

Fr. Gerry Twomey spoke.

He assured the membership that the clergy and religious appreciate VOTF.

Fr. Gerry explained that our “attitude must be that of Christ Jesus.” Jesus felt deeply and was in touch with his feelings. Jesus also had the need to express anger in a proper way. Anger is the engine of social change. We were reminded that Jesus was angry when he threw the money changers out of the temple. There is a need to have a moderate approach to channel anger constructively, moderation and not the two extremes: extreme anger and the lack of anger. People need to know when to pick their spots, to know when to be meek and when to speak out.

Jesus trembled with a capacity for anger and love. So it should be for us. Fr. Gerry quoted St. Augustine: “Hope has two lovely daughters. Anger and courage.” You are the two daughters. Do not stifle the Spirit.

 

Sheila Peiffer thanked Fr. Gerry. She then addressed some business matters.

It was explained that we have had some reply from Dennis Dillon’s office. They are working for mandatory reporting laws for clergy and change of statute of limitations. Keep an eye out.

Help is needed in several areas:

A suggestion box is on the stage. Please use the gift of your voice.

The next meeting will be February 13, 2003. New members will meet at 7 p.m. The general meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m.

The meeting was closed with the Our Father.