Lay Catholics Reiterate Call for Bishop to Resign
New York Times
October 3, 2004

By John Rather

Members of the Long Island Voice of the Faithful, a lay Catholic group, have reaffirmed their call for the resignation of Bishop William F. Murphy of the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

The group, which has about 2,200 members, said results from ballots nearly 900 members cast by mail showed that 87 percent opposed rescinding the demand for Bishop Murphy to resign.

Ninety-four percent opposed dismantling two funds for charitable donations that the group established as alternatives to charitable programs controlled by the diocese.

In July 2003 the group issued a public statement saying Bishop Murphy should resign because of evidence it found in a report by the Massachusetts attorney general that he helped protect priests who sexually abused children while he was the second-highest church official in the Archdiocese of Boston. Bishop Murphy, who came to the Long Island diocese from Boston in 2001, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The group's position became an issue when representatives for Bishop Murphy said talks with group members on diocesan issues would be difficult to continue until Voice of the Faithful dropped its resignation demand, publicly affirmed it recognized Bishop Murphy as the diocese's spiritual leader, and dismantled the two charitable funds.

Sean Dolan, a spokesman for the diocese, said it was time to go beyond calls for Bishop Murphy's resignation. ''The bishop wants both groups to get back to the table to discuss our differences and move forward with reconciliation,'' he said.