CINCINNATI (OH)
The Catholic Telegraph
By Eileen Connelly, OSU
ARCHDIOCESE — With the hope it will serve as an educational tool, promote dialogue in area parishes and raise awareness of the organization’s three-fold mission, the Cincinnati affiliate of Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) has released a new DVD entitled "Faithful Voices."
According to Bob Schoettinger, who serves on the local affiliate’s outreach committee, the group believed there was a need for a "real, human presentation," of the experiences of survivors of clerical abuse, along with VOTF’s mission. Working together with David DeWitt, a recent high-school graduate and parishioner at St. Robert Bellarmine Chapel, the two set out to accomplish this.
The project took nine months and involved every aspect of production, said DeWitt, including interviews with priests, VOTF members and abuse survivors. "Watching the people we interviewed, hearing the emotion in their voices and seeing the tears in their eyes was powerful," he said. "I think the DVD will make people aware of the reality of the problem and that it’s something we should all be concerned about."
The production also clarifies VOTF’s mission and purpose, Schoettinger explained, which is to support the survivors of clergy sexual abuse, support priests of integrity and shape structural change within the church.