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Minutes
of April 14, 2005, Regional Meeting
Long Island Voice of the Faithful
In the time of change
Planning and Events: Phil Megna, Chair
Vigils: Lisa Braglia
(Presence is power — the Bishop understands and is aware of us.) Quote from Jim Wallis: “Power of Protest is not in the anger . . .” Historian: Anne Kerrigan Request for documentation for newly formed official LI VOTF archives. Finance: Kevin Connors, Treasurer
Note: Restricted donations (Our $$ Make A Difference) at St. Hugh of Lincoln parish have totaled $80,000 over the past year — that is, these monies are restricted to the parish. If every parish were this effective, the diocese would have to take note! Legislative: Joe Kern
Compliance: Tom Myles
Survivor/Victim Support: John Ryan
Five
Proposals for Biography A longtime member of St. Joseph Parish in Norwalk, Joseph F. O’Callaghan and his late wife Anne were very active members of several parish ministries, and in her memory he organized the Anne Drummery O’Callaghan Lecture on Women in the Church at Fairfield University, now entering its fifth year. Joseph comes to Long Island Voice of the Faithful with expertise that lends itself to furthering our third goal: Shaping Structural Change within the Church. He taught Church History at Dunwoodie Seminary in New York and at Holy Ghost Fathers Seminary in Norwalk. He is now Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at Fordham University where he was president of the American Catholic Historical Association and served as Director of Medieval Studies. As former chair of Voice of the Faithful, Diocese of Bridgeport, Ct, he was the principle organizer of the October 2003 Tri-State Conference at Fordham University and spearheaded the May 2004 Conference at St. Paul, in Manhattan. VOICE
OF THE FAITHFUL The scandal of priestly sexual abuse and the cover-up by the bishops points to the need for structural change in the Catholic Church. Voice of the Faithful, a mainstream organization of lay Catholics, founded in 2002 in Wellesley, Massachusetts, declared its mission to be “a prayerful voice, attentive to the Spirit, through which the faithful can actively participate in the governance and guidance of the Catholic Church.” VOTF also adopted three goals: 1: to support survivors of sexual abuse; 2: to support priests of integrity; and 3: to shape structural change in the Church. Few Catholics would quarrel with VOTF’s first two goals, but many have asked, “What do you mean, structural change?” In response, Voice of the Faithful offers specific proposals for structural change. Our purpose is to initiate a conversation among all concerned parties, the bishop, the clergy, and the people in the pews. As these proposals make clear we do not have a hidden agenda. None of our proposals are written in stone; they are simply ideas to be discussed and debated. In order to enable the faithful to “actively participate in the governance and guidance of the Catholic Church,” we believe that the Church must recover its ancient tradition of seeking the counsel and consent of the faithful. We propose that elected representatives of the people from the parishes, as well as representatives of the priests, and of the religious communities can give counsel and consent in the name of the entire body, so that “what touches all, should be approved by all.” Some of our proposals may necessitate changes in canon law, ever-evolving over the centuries. With these thoughts in mind we offer for discussion and debate five proposals: 1. The Election of Bishops by the Faithful of the Diocese. Bishops should be elected from diocesan clergy by elected representatives of the clergy, religious, and people gathered in a diocesan synod under the presidency of the archbishop as metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province and in the presence of the other bishops of the province. Confirmation of the election by the archbishop and provincial bishops testifies to the catholicity of the Church. 2. The Role of the Faithful in the Selection of their Pastors. The sexual abuse of children by predatory priests emphasizes the right to parishioners to be fully informed of the background of a prospective pastor or associate pastor. The candidate should be interviewed and approved by an elected parish personnel committee. Once the committee gives consent the bishop should make the appointment, thus testifying to the catholicity of the Church. 3. Diocesan Pastoral and Finance Councils. Both Councils should be composed of elected representatives with the laity in the majority and should have oversight of issues relating to worship, religious education, social concerns, diocesan and parochial administration, financial administration, and other diocesan pastoral works. 4. Pastoral and Finance Councils and Safety Committees in Every Parish. Similarly the bishop should mandate the establishment of Pastoral and Finance Councils and Safety Committees in every parish. Both Councils should be composed of elected representatives of the parishioners and should have responsibilities within the parish similar to those of the Diocesan Pastoral and Finance Councils. Recognizing that the protection of our children is of paramount importance, we propose that a Safety Committee be established in every parish. The members, elected annually by the parishioners, should (1) insure that prevention education is conducted annually for all children, parents, and others; and (2) that criminal background checks are conducted annually on all parish clergy, staff, and volunteers. 5. The Right of the Faithful to own Church Property. A parish corporation consisting of all registered parishioners, the bishop, and the pastor should be established. The officers and directors should be elected by the parishioners. The bishop and the pastor should serve ex officio. The corporation should have the authority to use, administer, and maintain parish property, to acquire new property, or to sell unneeded property. These proposals are intended to spur discussion about crucial areas of church government. Since the Second Vatican Council we have been told many times that “this is our Church” and that we must take responsibility for it. If it is truly to be our Church, then all of us, bishops, priests, deacons, religious, and laywomen and men must have a real sense of ownership. In the present circumstances only the bishop has that. In order to convey a sense of ownership our proposals are founded on the ancient principle of counsel and consent. Their aim is to suggest the means for the laity to participate in the governance of the Church without demeaning the authority of the bishop or the pastor. We believe that our proposals are prudent and just and in conformity with the Christian tradition. We hope that the bishop, as well as pastors and associate pastors will encourage discussion in the parishes preparatory to the convocation of a diocesan synod where they can be debated and refined. A Church acting on the “counsel and consent of the people” will be a vibrant Church, energized to spread the Good News of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For historical and canonical background see www.votfbpt.org/html/proposal.html “Counsel and Consent as Christian Virtues: Five Proposals for Structural Change in the Catholic Church.” March 2005 Dr. O’Callaghan responded to a large number of questions and comments from the audience.
Joan
Bedosky: Mary
Farmer:
I want to speak very briefly about our focus. For a moment, can we all ask ourselves — where is my heart? Where is my center? I began to think about this last month, prompted by the gospel for Saturday, March 12th, taken from John, chapter 7. Jesus is preaching and the text says that “. . . a division occurred in the crowd because of him.” (Jn 7.43) Some were sure he was the Messiah. Others — including the authorities — were equally sure that he could not be. I asked myself: If I were in that crowd, where would I have stood? Would I have recognized Jesus for who he truly was? Or would I have been swayed by traditions and authority figures who could not recognize him? Right after Easter there was another series of daily readings from the Acts of the Apostles that were equally thought provoking. The story begins when Peter heals a man crippled from birth “in the name of Jesus.” The crowd is astonished, but Peter says to them: “Why are you amazed . . . and why do you look so intently at us as if we had made him walk by our own power or piety?” (Acts 3.12) He then turns the focus to God, and to Jesus, saying that it is faith in Jesus, whom God has raised from death, that has healed the man, not Peter’s (or the other apostles’) own power. The story continues: The apostles are arrested by the religious authorities and told not to preach in Jesus’ name. Their answer, of course, is that they preach in Jesus’ name in obedience to God alone. My point is simple: our primary focus must be on recognizing and following Jesus, the Christ. We see so many problems in our Church that it is natural to focus on the problems themselves. And all of the issues we take up are good issues; and they do need attention. How do we support victims of abuse? How can we make our church a safer place for children? How can we support priests? What structural changes are necessary, and possible, at this time? How do we promote such changes? These are all good issues. But through it all, we must — in prayer and meditation — be focused first on Christ. If our primary focus is on Jesus — crucified and risen — the rest will fall into place. So, where is my heart? Where is my center? I hope we can all say that we are daily becoming more centered on Christ.
The Holy Spirit enlivens and animates, brings the Church to birth, constantly gives her life and sustains her in unity as both a visible society and a mystical communion. Pope John Paul II himself once declared the Holy Spirit as the soul of the Church who “dwells in the Church not as a guest who still remains an outsider, but as the soul that transforms the community into God’s holy temple . . . and makes it more and more like himself through his specific gift, which is love.” Let us pray now and continuously that the Holy Spirit may blow through the Conclave community gathered to elect our next papal leader so that God’s choice may be made evident in love and transforming action . . . Come
Holy
Spirit, fill the hearts of your
faithful;
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