BishopAccountability.org
	Group to Offer Faithful Voice for Crime Victims By Karin Williams kwilliams@phoenixvillenews.com The Phoenix March 22, 2006 http://www.phoenixvillenews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid= 16349062&BRD=1673&PAG=461&dept_id=17915&rfi=6 Phoenixville - A concerned group of Catholics who began a local Voice of the Faithful chapter, a group which works to bring about change in the church, will host the first-ever Victims' Advocate in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Mary Achilles, who was appointed by Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, will be the guest speaker at the St. Ann's Church Hall on Thursday evening. The victims' advocate, selected by former Governor Tom Ridge to "elevate" the voices of crime victims in the state, will speak about strengthening services to victims of clergy sexual abuse. Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) is a national organization dedicated to affecting change within the church by providing a voice for the people. Pat Sattolo, who started the Phoenixville branch of VOTF, said the goal of the group is to support victims of sexual abuse by priests and honoring priests of integrity. "We started (the local chapter) in response to the Grand Jury report in Philadelphia," she said. When that came out, people just catapulted out of our pews and [we] felt we needed to do something." Sattolo said the group, which is about 20-strong, began in November following an open forum at St. Ann's Church - of which she is a member - allowing parishioners to speak up about the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic Church last year. "We were all horrified," said Phoenixville VOTF Steering-Committee member Ginny Burke. "We all felt kind of helpless, so when Boston set the model for Voice of the Faithful ... we thought, what can we do?" Burke, a member of St. Basil's Church in Kimberton registered for the national chapter of the VOTF, and expected to join their nation-wide ranks, but upon submitting her information, learned of Sattolo's Phoenixville branch. Having known Sattolo in the past, Burke said she was more than willing to join the group. "I have a great respect for (Sattolo)," said Burke. The Phoenixville branch of VOTF is still in its infancy, and is slowly working toward its ultimate goal of helping victims of clergy sexual abuse. "We are still a small number at this point, still really determining where and how we can be effective," said Burke. "For the moment, I would like my own personal passions to be directed towards supporting victims of sexual abuse by anyone who worked in the Catholic Church; who took their position of trust and power and abused children." Phoenixville VOTF member Pat Lauser, who stopped attending church following the release of Philadelphia's Grand Jury report in late 2005, said she joined the group because she was disgusted by the "absolute lack of reaction from the people in the pews." "If we heard that, in the public schools, many teachers were known to have hurt children and were reassigned to different classrooms, parents would be storming the streets in outrage," said Lauser. "There would be absolute anarchy in the streets, but we see this in our church, that kids were in danger, and the people in the pews barely reacted." St. Ann's parishioner Sue Montgomery, also a member of VOTF, said, although she believes in her church and what it stands for, she feels some parts of the church's structure are inappropriate in today's day and age. "I think there's a lot of denial and there is very limited to no transparency," she said. "It's really not about the people. I think in some ways it's more about protecting the past." Sattolo said, despite invitations extended to priests of local Roman Catholic Churches, The Reverend John Newns, pastor of St. Ann's Church, is the only local clergyman to attend the regular VOTF meetings. "Our goal is to have the laity and the hierarchy working in conjunction with each other, and to have a say in our church," she said. The group is also working toward compelling the church to be more accountable for its actions. "There were several people who were outraged, even more than the abuse, it was outrage over the cover-up," said Sattolo. Burke concurred. "The real rage many of us feel is for the Cardinals and Bishops who, for so long, seemed to enable this really evil and life-destroying behavior," she said. Lauser, who feels the clergy is "sadly" out of touch with the parishioners, said she urges every Catholic to read the Philadelphia Grand Jury report, which can be downloaded from the Web at www.philadelphiadistrictattorney.com. For more information, or to be connected to the Phoenixville branch of the Voice of the Faithful, visit www.votf.org.
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