Minutes of the February 13, 2003, Meeting of
Voice of the Faithful—Long Island

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

 

The meeting was opened by Sheila Peiffer

The Hymn, Christ be our Light

The Praying of the Nicene Creed

Sheila Peiffer addressed the membership.

Good Evening.  Welcome to our monthly meeting of Voice of the Faithful on Long Island.

There are many of us here tonight, gathered together from many directions, with many things to say and many challenges facing us.  But, many as we are, we come together as one Voice.  So, before we begin, let us lift our many voices together as one in prayer.

Pat Zirkel will lead us in our prayer tonight…

Pat Zirkel led the membership in the praying of the Nicene Creed.

Good Evening again.  The recent revelations of the Grand Jury Report probably are not a complete surprise to most of us gathered here tonight - but I don’t think there could be anyone here - or anyone anywhere - for whom these revelations are not a source of horror, shame and outrage.  If you read the 181 page report you will be sickened by lurid descriptions of literally unbelievable abuse perpetrated on our most vulnerable members of the Body of Christ - but you will be even more sickened by the descriptions of deliberate deception and intimidation that were used against these same victims. 

However, this scandal is not about one bishop or one diocese or one lawyer or one priest or one case.  This is about a system that failed us - worse, that betrayed us - worse, still, that harmed us and our children.  A systematic mechanism of secrecy and silence that allowed deception and cover-up.  A system that worried more about the reputation of an institution than the well-being of people.  This system must be challenged so that secrecy and cover-up are replaced by integrity, openness and accountability.  We want to see trust restored to our Church.

This trust will only be restored if all of us get involved in renewing our Church.  More than ever we need each other and the Church needs us.  We need to respond to the demands of our baptismal vocation, not to just "belong” to the Church, but to be  the Church.  Baptism doesn’t just make us members of an organization - Baptism makes us into the Body of Christ in the world.  And it is up to all of us to fulfill and complete the mission of Christ in the world.

How do we do this?  How do we help change the culture of secrecy and restore trust in our Church?  We know that our Church has told us many times, and especially in many of the documents of the Second Vatican Council, that the laity must get involved in the life and mission of the church.  In fact, the Decree on the Church’s Missionary Action says, in Paragraph 21, that without the laity the Church is not able to be itself:  “The Church has not been truly established, and is not yet fully alive, nor is it a perfect sign of Christ in the world, unless there exists a laity worthy of the name working along with the hierarchy.”

It is time for us to be that “laity worthy of the name”.  Voice of the Faithful was formed about one year ago to help us become “worthy of the name.”  I’m very proud of the fact that VOTF has been proactive in taking responsibility and realizing that the future of our church is in our hands.  Let’s work together to invite more people to join us, to promote greater involvement in pastoral actions and decision-making, to demand financial accountability and openness, to support all the good priests who are trying to be honest servants of the People of God, to offer consolation, healing and compassion to all survivors of abuse, to pray unceasingly to the Spirit for guidance, and, above all, to fulfill our vocation to be the church in the world, to be a “laity worthy of the name.”

Dan Bartley addressed the membership

Good Evening

These truly are the times that try men's, (and women's ) souls.
We are justifiably disturbed, saddened and angered by the failings of our church.
At the same time we as Catholics are called to look towards hope.
Our Faith assures us of a better tomorrow, a future of restored trust in and unity.
However, hope without action quickly fades into unfulfilled expectation.
Therefore, as a Church and as an organization we must continue to move forward with our efforts to bring about the changes that are so desperately needed in our Church:

For example:

Our Victim support committee
- Has been supporting survivors and their families through listening sessions, and referrals.
-Working towards educating and informing the church community about sexual abuse and how to prevent it.
- Empowering survivors and their families to come forward.
-
Our Finance Committee
- Established the Voice of compassion fund for those of us that cannot in clear conscious support this years appeal yet want to support local charities.
- Has commenced correspondence with Bishop Murphy with regard to
implementing much needed financial openness and accountability.
- Currently working on a proposal for the establishment of an independent financial oversight committee that can function as the eyes and ears of the local Catholic community

We are in the process of forming a legislative Committee
we need volunteers

This committee is going to tackle the very difficult task of facilitating badly needed legislative reform to further protect our children.

Finally Our Membership Committee (which you shall here from very shortly)
Has been working tirelessly on the establishment of Parish based voices.

As you will here momentarily, they are working very hard so that all of our voices will be heard.

We also have concerns that the Synod process announced by Bishop Murphy will simply be a Rubber stamp procedure whereby Bishop Murphy
Controls what is said
Controls who says and
determines the outcome in advance

Therefore, we are in the process of looking at the possibility of establishing a diocesan wide "listening session" whereby all of our voices are truly heard and responded to:

Most importantly Hope in action calls for you, all of you here this evening to reach out to every single concerned Catholic in your community and invite them to take part in the restoration of our local Church.

In spite of the resistance of our local leader-it can be done.

If we, all of us, are willing to act - we can restore trust, unity and Christian fellowship in the diocese of Rockville Centre

Thank you for your ongoing prayers and support


Later Announcement:

I am very pleased to announce that Long Island Voice of the faithful has achieved provisional tax exempt status and therefore donations to our organization can be treated as charitable contributions

I am very pleased to announce that Long Island Voice of the faithful has achieved provisional tax exempt status and therefore donations to our organization can be treated as charitable contributions

Membership Committee - Tom Trunkes

Tom Trunkes explained that members will go through the room and hand out membership papers.  He used the story of the fellow who offers to work for a penny a day as long as it is doubled each day.  It is explained that the man will make one million dollars a day at the end of the month.  This is the approach we need to take with membership.  If each person brings another, and so on.  We need to build membership.

Gene Zirkel asked the membership, with enthusiasm, to show your parish signs.

Membership Committee- Sue Baer,
 Good evening.  My name is Sue Baer and I am a proud member of St. Sylvester’s Parish in Medford.  I am the co-chairperson of the membership committee along with Joan Bedosky from St. Thomas More in Hauppauge.

In spite of the fact that I absolutely hate public speaking – I have been looking forward to this opportunity to thank you for all the work you have done to help this organization grow!  I greatly appreciate your e-mails with messages of support and I thank you for the suggestions that you have sent to me.  Please know that these suggestions are forwarded to the Steering Committee for consideration.  One noteworthy suggestion this past month concerned our literature.  It was suggested by one of our members that our literature should also be made available in Spanish.  We plan to have bi-lingual literature available by the next regional meeting.  We thank you for pointing out something that needed to be addressed!  This is a prime example of how keeping connected makes a difference!  It is also a reminder that it is the entire membership that makes up VOTF Long Island, not just those of us working on committees. 

I am again asking for your continued support in helping us to grow.  After the heart wrenching revelations of this past week it is more important than ever that we continue to work toward Keeping the Faith but definitely Changing OUR Church!  To quote Dan Bartley, “it is time that we stop explaining to our families, friends and neighbors why we are members of Voice of the Faithful – it is time to start asking them why they are not!” 

There are Parish Voice Chapters blooming all over – keep up the good work!  But please do remember after each and every parish voice meeting to forward the list of new members to the regional membership chairperson (currently myself) so that all new members can be entered into both our regional and our national database.  People have asked why is this so important?  The answer is simple – there is strength in numbers!  As a parish voice affiliate you are automatically a member of both the Regional and National VOTF Organization.  We can network not only within our diocese but we can network nationally.

To keep you up-to-date on how things are done, if you have joined a Parish Voice Chapter locally through your own parish, you need not fill out any other membership information – you will be entered into the database here on Long Island and at the National level in Boston.  However, if you have joined the National Organization in Boston you still need to register here with VOTF-Long Island and again with your Parish Voice Chapter.  Basically information is filtered up to Boston but not filtered down as that would be much to difficult for Boston to do with over 25,000 members in their database.  It is also important to note that all membership information in our Regional database will be forwarded to Boston quarterly to become part of the National Membership Database, this information will be sent via e-mal to all our members.

Another area in which we are looking for assistance will be with a “buddy system”.  We currently have 187 members who are not on-line.  This costs us both time and money by sending out monthly meeting reminders.  Since there are members in each parish who are on line we are hoping that we can count on you to help us “spread the word”.  Basically what we are hoping we can do is match up a member who is not on-line with someone from their home parish who is on-line to keep them posted about upcoming meetings and events.  You can expect to be receiving an e-mail from me shortly with further details.

In closing, I would just like to thank you once again for all you have done and continue to do.   It is only by standing together that we can hope for real, meaningful change.  As Mother Theresa said “what I do, you cannot do.  What you do, I cannot do.  But together we can do something beautiful for God”…Let us do something beautiful for God and restore OUR church to the loving, caring, holy place Christ intended it to be.

Peace be with you.

The guest speaker, Fr. Pat Primeaux, was introduced by Sheila Peiffer.

Fr. Pat explained that he was here with us with his heart filled with humility and love for the church and the religion.  That he is a member of a congregation that wears the face of Mary.  He reminded us that Mary always worked behind the scenes- to bring Jesus to life.

Fr. Pat used the three characters from the book, Harry Potter, to draw on the ways that their different personalities could be interpreted as managing skills.

Hermoine, he explained, was a fast talking, know-it-all who likes to tell others off.  An over-achiever.  She was self-involved, the center of the universe.  For this attitude and approach, she is rewarded in the story.  This type of management would result in the hierarchical structure--communication moves from the top down.

This confines, but defines.   What do we lose or gain because of this type of structure?

Ron is a charmer.  Positive outlook, willing to sacrifice himself for his friends.  They are  the center of his universe.  An organization run by Ron would be teams-a committee of people-cooperation that overcomes competition.  To have this type of structure we will lose the center we had as hierarchical organization.  The focus would be too inward.  Leaves out everyone outside the circle.  The term is "groupthink" 

Harry is not like the others, he is focused on a higher being.  God.  Something divine.  It gives him courage and nerve.  Harry is spiritual.  But he is detached from people and nature.  Revels in the divine.  His organization would have a central point and it would move out.  Nothing would close in on itself.  Inclusion.

Can we sustain this type of organization in the long run?

What do we gain?

What do we lose?

At this point, Sheila Peiffer invited the membership to move into groups to discuss the question.

Reports and suggestions follow.

ü       Suggest that priests elect Bishops

ü       Bishops elect Cardinals

ü        Bishop William Murphy "doesn't get it."

ü       Vatican II changed the vertical model of the church to horizontal-we need vision of Vatican II

ü       This is cooperative venture-we need say in things like the money

ü       There is a lack of integrity in the hierarchy.

ü       Bishops Annual Appeal pays the stipends and salaries of priests who are not allowed to minister because of sexual abuse

John Mulvey - Finance Committee

John Mulvey gave a summary of finances to the membership with instructions that detailed financial reports are available on the website.

The power of our voice comes with financial leverage.  The Finance Committee has engaged Bishop William Murphy in an exchange.  The letters that resulted from that exchange are posted on the website.  It is explained that the reply we received from Bishop Murphy was lacking and the response of the Finance Committee was read to the membership.  (Copies of all correspondences are available on the LIVOTF website.)  As of this date (February 13, 2003) there has been no response from Bishop William Murphy.

John Mulvey explains that LIVOTF has established the Voice of Compassion fund and explains that he is happy to announce that we now have provisional tax exempt status.  The Voice of Compassion fund will be available to anyone who feels they want to give to charity yet cannot do so through the Bishops Annual Appeal.  The list of approved charities is then read to the membership:

St John of God                                                           Catholic Elementary School

SNAP                                                                          Aid Victims of Priest Sexual Abuse

Mother of Good Counsel Home                                  Aid for pregnant/mothering women

John Mulvey invites the membership to come to the front of the room at the end of the meeting to suggest any additional charities for consideration for the fund.

It is explained that anyone who wants to give to Voice of the Faithful may do so by simply writing a check to VOTFLI.  Any funds over the amount needed for the minimal funding of the organization will be directed into the Voice of compassion fund.  If you want to give only to Voice of Compassion, that can be done by simply writing your check directly to Voice of Compassion fund.

Anyone who wishes can certainly give directly to any charity and need not go through the Bishops Annual Appeal.

John Mulvey explains that if anyone is concerned for the financial health of any particular parish, they are encouraged to speak directly to their pastor.

The Finance Committee report was followed by a question and answer period.

Gene Zirkel reminded all membership of the need for Parish Voice chapters.

Fr. Gerry Twomey was invited to speak to the membership.  He reminded us that in times of crisis, God raises up people of faith.  St Francis of Assisi lived in a time of corruption.  He rebuilt the church Christ asked him to rebuild.

He said that the laity were the living stones and there is work to be done.

He told the membership that with "esteem and affection there are many priests of the diocese here tonight." 

Fr. Gerry  said that the church must scrutinize the signs of the times.  That the laity should pull together as they are the backbone of the church.

"I enjoin you to cling to the model of St Francis--rebuild Christ's Church.

The meeting was ended with prayer.