BishopAccountability.org
	Our View Catholic Group Deserves Support Standard-Times April 2, 2008 http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080402/OPINION/804020306/-1/TOWN1001 Just as the Catholic group Voice of the Faithful prepares to make its most high-profile statement to date, the SouthCoast chapter is fading away. That's unfortunate. The group is planning a full-page advertisement in the New York Times later this month to coincide with Pope Benedict's visit, but they will accomplish it without much SouthCoast support, because the local branch has largely dissolved. While some Catholics are suspicious of the transformative influence of the group or oppose its aim to give laity a larger role in parish governance, Voice of the Faithful says it has no interest in changing church dogma. Rather, the group wants parishes and dioceses to have finance committees composed of laity who would provide guidance to the pastor or bishop. It wants parishes to publish annual financial statements, hopefully cutting down on the significant number of embezzlement cases. (Eighty-five percent of dioceses surveyed had a case within five years in a 2007 Georgetown University survey.) And, of course, relative to the issue that gave birth to VOTF — the clergy sexual abuse scandal — the group would like to see Pope Benedict ask for the resignation of bishops who repeatedly reassigned abusive priests. It's hard to argue with that. Thousands of young people have been abused by the very clergy that they and their parents trusted for spiritual and social guidance. The total number of U.S. victims approached 11,000 from 1950-2002, according to another study cited by VOTF. Settlement costs, the group says, exceed a staggering $2.3 billion. That money could have been used to keep parishes open, fund work with the needy or strengthen Catholic schools. This challenge to the church comes at a time when Americans' religious affiliation is becoming more fluid; more than a quarter of Americans have changed their religious affiliation or claim none at all, according to the well-publicized Pew Forum report out last month. Meanwhile, The Standard-Times reported that in the Fall River diocese, important markers of church participation — Mass attendance, baptisms, First Communions and marriages — are declining. Two New Bedford Catholic schools closed last year, and another two in Fall River are scheduled to close in June. Between financial problems, the abuse scandal and the lack of transparency in church operations, some Catholics have lost confidence in the organization — but not in their faith. That's what Voice of the Faithful seeks to address. The group is serious about faithfulness, prayer and working within the church hierarchy. The reforms they will advocate during Pope Benedict's visit could help renew parish life.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.