Catholic lay people want democracy - www.ezboard.com

>

SRF Walrus

Mt. Washington, Ca

Open discussions about SRF

SRF Walrus > In the news > Catholic lay people want democracy
	<< Prev Topic \| Next Topic >>

Author	Comment
username Registered User (5/31/02 6:09 am) Reply	Catholic lay people want democracy www.voiceofthepeople.org
username Registered User (7/20/02 3:25 pm) Reply	Re: Catholic lay people want democracy July 20, 2002 Reform Group Seeks Catholic Changes By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 6:36 p.m. ET BOSTON (AP) -- At its first national meeting Saturday, a non-clergy reform group born out of the Roman Catholic priest sex abuse scandal called for drastic changes in the way the church is governed. An estimated 4,000 Voice of the Faithful members from 35 states and seven foreign countries signed a petition urging Pope John Paul II to endorse reform policies that U.S. bishops approved in June. In a statement, the group vowed to find ways for lay Catholics to ``actively participate in the governance and guidance of the Catholic Church.'' Included among proposals under discussion were policy-making power for lay church members, and giving parishioners a role in the appointment of bishops and pastors. The Rev. Thomas Doyle, keynote speaker and an Air Force chaplain in Germany, said the abuse scandal resulted from ``the delusion that the clergy are somehow above the rest,'' as well as some clergymen's ``unbridled addiction to power.'' The word ``democracy'' strikes fear in many clergy, he said, but ordinary lay Catholics need to shed ``timidity or fearful deference to the very structures that have betrayed us.'' Catholics must also ``stop enabling through financial support the power structures'' responsible for the ``horrific consequences'' of the scandal and cover-ups, he said. Panelists at the meeting included Thomas Arens of Germany, an organizer of a petition drive in the mid-1990s urging the Church to accept married priests and women priests, and lay theologian Lisa Sowle Cahill of Boston College. Although the group has not called for Boston's Cardinal Bernard Law to resign, participants planned a procession later Saturday to the cathedral to express their unity and solidarity with victims of abuse by priests. Law has come under intense criticism for allegedly allowing abusive priests to keep getting new assignments in parishes that were not warned of the priest's prior conduct. Since February, the reform group says it has attracted 19,000 supporters, forming chapters in 68 parishes around the nation, half of them in Massachusetts. Voice is ``the fastest growing Catholic lay organization in the world,'' James E. Post, a professor at Boston University and the group's president, said in an interview. James Muller, cardiology research director at Massachusetts General Hospital, said he helped launch Voice out of the belief that ``I must either attempt to correct these deep structural defects or leave the Catholic Church.'' At a news conference Friday, the group called on members nationwide to fill out forms rating local bishops' compliance with reform policies. Results are to be issued before the bishops' November meeting. Barbara Blaine of Chicago, founder of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, called the national gathering ``the first time a large group of Catholics have come together to tell survivors, we support you.'' ------ On the Net: Voice of the Faithful: www.votf.org
username Registered User (7/22/02 8:18 pm) Reply	Re: Catholic lay people want democracy July 22, 2002 Archdiocese Rebuffs Reform Group By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 10:54 p.m. ET BOSTON (AP) -- The Archdiocese of Boston said Monday it would not accept donations from a non-clergy reform group whose new fund is intended to allow Catholics to give directly to church charities. Voice of the Faithful, a group borne out of the Roman Catholic priest sex abuse scandal, has proposed creating a fund that would bypass the church hierarchy and give directly to archdiocese charities. The approach ``does not recognize the role of the archbishop and his responsibility in providing for the various programs and activities of the church,'' Donna Morrissey, spokeswoman for Cardinal Bernard Law, said in a statement. Mike Emerton, a spokesman for Voice of the Faithful, said the group was ``a little confused'' by the announcement because it had not fully explained the fund to the archdiocese. ``If the Cardinal's Appeal is down 30 to 40 percent, and programs have to be closed, and the public knows there's a pool of money waiting that the laity contributed to make sure organizations are up and running, and the archdiocese flat out refuses to accept it, that would be a very unfortunate situation,'' Emerton said. Last month, the archdiocese said it would reduce its budget by a third, cutting 15 positions as well as aid to parishes, schools and hospitals. Officials blamed the struggling economy. The lay Catholic group held its first national meeting Saturday in Boston and says it has grown to 19,000 members in five months. The group is calling for drastic changes in the way the church is governed. The archdiocese said the annual Cardinal's Appeal is the proper way for parishioners to donate to the church. The Rev. Christopher Coyne, an archdiocese spokesman, said donations to the Cardinal's Appeal are down because of the sexual abuse scandal and the weak economy. He did not specify how much donations have dropped. Voice of the Faithful says its alternative fund will allow parishioners to keep giving to charities -- many of which have been hurt by drop-offs in donations since the scandal broke -- while avoiding supporting church officials.

<< Prev Topic | Next Topic >>

Add Reply

Email This To a Friend

Email This To a Friend
Topic Control Image

Topic Control Image

Click to receive email notification of replies

Click to stop receiving email notification of replies

jump to:

- SRF Walrus - In the news -

Powered By ezboard� Ver. 7.32
Copyright �1999-2005 ezboard, Inc.