This
article is at the bottom of this page
The
scandal has opened the door for VOTF to promote an agenda of structural change
Catholics meet to map change 4 October 03 from The Cincinnati Enquirer
Topics
could include everything from women in the priesthood to married priests to new
rules that would allow parishioners to choose their own pastors.
What
is VOTF Œs anti-catholic agenda ?
'Time to take back church' 5 Oct 03 from The Cincinnati Enquirer
"We
are witness to the unraveling of the last feudal system in the west," Fr
Donald Cozzins
Get
involved, Catholic group tells members
By
Dan Klepal
The
Cincinnati Enquirer
MONTGOMERY
- The sex-abuse scandal that has enveloped the Roman Catholic Church for the
better part of two years in the United States has brought Catholics a few gifts
- along with the terrible pain and suffering to those victims of abuse.
For
one, it has awakened the masses.
That
was the message Saturday from the Rev. Donald Cozzins, keynote speaker at the first
Voice of the Faithful conference in Greater Cincinnati, held at Good Shepherd
Church Community Center.
"We are witness to the
unraveling of the last feudal system in the west," Cozzins said to
thunderous applause from the 250 people participating in the conference.
"The feudal system depends on the serfs - in this case the laity - being
uneducated. The most significant gift this scandal brought us is a laity who
will no longer be treated as less than full adult members of the church they
love.
"They are no longer
serfs."
Formed
in Boston at the beginning of the abuse scandal, Voice of the Faithful now has
more than 3,000 members nationwide. The group's goals are to support victims of
priest abuse; support priests of integrity; and shape structural change within
the church.
Cozzins said it is the right of every Catholic to question the traditional structure of the church, which he said is partly to blame for keeping secret the abuse of priests.
"It
is time for all of us to say: I am here as an adult Catholic who loves the
church and I have some questions," he said.
Nan
Fischer, chair of the Cincinnati chapter and regional coordinator for Voice of
the Faithful, agreed.
"We
have all suffered, because we really care about the future," Fischer said.
"We want to make sure it doesn't happen again, we want to help in healing
the survivors and we want to return a higher power to the church."
E-mail
dklepal@enquirer.com Tell him you read it here at FaithfulVoice.com
The
scandal has opened the door for VOTF to promote an agenda of structural change
Catholics meet to map change 4 October 03 from The Cincinnati Enquirer
Topics
could include everything from women in the priesthood to married priests to new
rules that would allow parishioners to choose their own pastors.
Group
seeks dramatic reforms
By
Dan Horn
The
Cincinnati Enquirer
MONTGOMERY
- When members of Voice of the Faithful gather today for their first conference
in the Cincinnati area, they will spend much of their time talking about the
sexual abuse crisis that plagues their church.
But
the conversation won't end there.
Topics
could include everything from women in the priesthood to married priests to new
rules that would allow parishioners to choose their own pastors.
While
some Catholics consider such ideas extreme - even heretical - members of Voice
of the Faithful and other reform-minded groups are convinced their church is in
need of dramatic change.
Their
goal is to use the momentum of the clergy abuse crisis to propel the church
toward major structural reforms, some of which have little or nothing to do
with sexual abuse.
Whether
they can succeed - and whether that would be a good thing - is a source of
considerable debate within the church. But no one disputes the abuse crisis has
given Catholics an opportunity to challenge their leaders in a way few could
have imagined just two years ago.
"The
scandal has opened the door to a lot of hidden flaws in church governance,
church administration and church culture," said Luise Dittrich, a founding
member of Voice of the Faithful's first chapter in Boston. "We have seen
the underside of this culture, and we don't like it."
Many
of the Catholics who will attend the conference today at Good Shepherd Church
on Kemper Road in Montgomery share Dittrich's view of church leadership.
They
believe the abuse crisis is the product of an arrogant, out-of-touch hierarchy
that has neglected the needs of rank-and-file Catholics. They want change and
they want it soon.
Not
everyone is so eager. Some mainstream and conservative Catholics accuse Voice
of the Faithful and its supporters of exploiting the crisis.
They
see the sexual abuse scandal as a tragedy that can be overcome without drastic
change. And they view the reformers as dissidents who are trying to push a
liberal agenda that could destroy their traditions and, ultimately, their
church.
"I
think Voice of the Faithful is sincere in their interest in protecting kids ...
but I do think they have a hidden agenda," said Susan Greve, a Catholic
from White Oak who is active in the church. "What they want is a
heretical, old guard liberal, modernist church."
Feelings
on both sides run so deep that the debate among Catholics will likely continue
long after the abuse crisis fades from the headlines.
The
outcome of that debate could determine whether the crisis is remembered as a
tragic historical footnote, or as the impetus for reforms that fundamentally changed
Catholicism in America.
"Changes
are coming," said Terrence Tilley, a professor of religious studies at the
University of Dayton. "The question is, what will they be?'"
Polls
in Cincinnati and around the country show widespread disillusionment with
church leadership. But the numbers offer few insights into what, if anything,
most Catholics think should be done.
Some
believe the bishops already have taken the steps necessary to fix what ails the
church. Priests have been suspended, apologies have been made and new rules are
in place to ensure the dismissal of abusive priests.
That's
not enough, however, for Voice of the Faithful and other reformers who believe
the church hierarchy is as much to blame for the abuse crisis as the abusers
themselves.
They
say the solution is more direct involvement of lay Catholics in every aspect of
the church, from finances to personnel decisions.
"We
want to do more than pay, pray and obey," said Nan Fischer, chairwoman of
the Cincinnati chapter of Voice of the Faithful.
Voice
of the Faithful tapped into that frustration last year in Boston when the group
was formed in the early days of the abuse scandal.
The
group's slogan - "Keep the faith. Change the church." - struck a
chord, prompting some 30,000 Catholics nationwide to join the movement.
There's
some confusion, however, about what the phrase "change the church"
means.
Members
of Voice of the Faithful tout any number of ideas. Some have suggested that
congregations should oversee their own budgets and help select their pastors,
while others advocate opening the priesthood to women and married men.
The
group's leaders stop short of endorsing any specific change. They say their
goal is to start a conversation, not a revolution.
"We
want to let the discussion take place," Dittrich said. "Questioning
and dialogue used to be part of the Catholic Church."
Critics
of the group are convinced it has a hidden agenda. Deal Hudson, editor of the
Catholic monthly Crisis Magazine, recently wrote that Voice of the Faithful's
claim that it is open to all Catholics is "demonstrably untrue."
"It
would demonstrate far more integrity for VOTF to simply acknowledge and defend
their liberal theological agenda," Deal wrote.
Conservatives
say the group is sympathetic to dissidents who are using the abuse crisis to
make their radical ideas more palatable to mainstream Catholics.
They
fear that if Voice of the Faithful gets its way, the church will be a step
closer to openly gay priests, female priests and an end to celibacy rules.
The
group's leaders acknowledge they count a few radicals among their members.
"There
are going to be people who are going to be opportunistic," said Mike
Knellinger, co-founder of Voice of the Faithful in Dayton. "But that's not
anything I have an interest in. That's not the driving force of Voice of the
Faithful."
John
Bookser-Feister, assistant editor of St. Anthony Messenger magazine, went to
Boston last year to find out for himself what the group was after. He said he
learned that most members were middle-of-the-road Catholics deeply concerned
about their church.
"They
got lambasted for being outside agitators, but they're not,"
Bookser-Feister said. "They struck me as people who had become activists
because of the scandal."
Even
members of Voice of the Faithful acknowledge there are limits to how much
change can be made before the Catholic church ceases to be, well, Catholic.
"There
is the potential that some of the things (reformers) are asking for are not
possible under the universal law of the church," said Dan Andriacco,
spokesman for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.
But
before the debate is over, Tilley said, some accommodation will have to be made
for the reformers.
He
said the abuse crisis is a challenge unlike any other the American church has
encountered. The voices of the faithful, whether they are liberal, conservative
or somewhere in between, will have a say in the outcome.
"What
the future holds, I don't know," Tilley said. "But there will be
substantial change."
E-mail
dhorn@enquirer.com
RosaryCampaign@FaithfulVoice.com