Posted on 04/30/2002 4:54:31 AM PDT by american colleen
Laity group demands voice: In Lowell, pastor snubs diocesan fund drive
by Tom Mashberg and Eric Convey Tuesday, April 30, 2002
Nearly 500 mainstream Catholics demanding a major voice for the laity in church affairs met last night to say they would organize locally and nationally despite a recent letter from the Archdiocese of Boston urging ``the faithful'' not to question church directives.
The meeting of The Voice of the Faithful group, at St. John the Evangelist Church in Wellesley, came as a small mutiny broke out in Lowell. The pastor of St. Michael's Parish urged his congregants to shun two major archdiocesan fund-raisers and focus instead on the ``pain, fear, stress and hurt'' of the clerical molestation crisis.
``The position of absolute power is a very difficult position for anyone to handle,'' said Jim Muller, president of VOTF, which has received global attention in the past week for voicing the determination of conservative U.S. Catholics to wield power and influence from the parish level to the Vatican.
``It has never been so clear the laity is needed to bring structural change into the church at the most fundamental of levels,'' he said.
Muller said at least 50 parishes around the nation have now asked for guidance in establishing VOTF chapters. More than 1,200 people signed up on the group's web site during the last 48 hours, organizer Paul Baier said.
Muller said the ultimate goal of the group is to have democratically chosen lay representatives sit on councils in parishes, dioceses, at the national level, and in Rome.
The group plans to hire full-time staff and raise at least $100,000 for its campaign.
VOTF, which takes no stands on controversial issues such as gay, married or female priests, says the authority for lay Catholics to organize and flex their muscle stems from the language of the Vatican II church reforms, which call on laity to assume key roles in the church.
``We want to serve as a counterbalance to the church hierarchy,'' Muller said. ``If we had been consulted 10 years ago, (Bernard) Cardinal Law and our church would not be in this position today.''
Stephen Pope, chairman of the theology department at Boston College, said church teachings are on their side.
``I believe that the tradition of the church and the theology of the church is with the spirit of the movement you represent,'' he said.
Dr. Joseph Murray, a winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine and member of the Pontificial Academy of Sciences, said Law has lost credibility with the masses.
``My confidence in (Law's) leadership is increasingly being tested,'' he said.
Even as the VOTF movement gathered steam, a rare chink appeared in the archdiocesan armor in Lowell.
In a church bulletin issued Saturday, the Rev. Albert L. Capone told St. Michael's churchgoers the parish would eschew Law's annual ``Cardinal's Appeal'' and Promise for Tomorrow campaign.
``We must attend to immediate needs of the parish - the pain, fear, stress and hurt we are all experiencing as a result of this present crisis,'' he wrote.
Robert A. Sherman, an attorney representing alleged Birmingham victims, said there is ``a mutiny by priests against the cardinal.''
Cardinal Law looks a little like Humpty Dumpty at the moment and he deserves the position.
It certainly looks like the VOTF group is gaining momentum, I hope so.
Rev. Al Capone couldn't be more appropriate.
God sure does work in Mysterious ways..
That Church is the birthplace of Christ...it's god's territory.
I thought the same as you, in fact, I even registered at their web site last month - I was going nuts trying to figure out what I could do to help the Church and VOTF sounded like it was a group that upheld Church teaching. But, the more I hear about them, the more I realize that in fact, they are no different from the other *agents* for change groups. VOTF does not tackle "controversial issues" -homosexuality, married priests or the ordination of women, and that is a tacit agreement with those issues.
One of the reasons that we are in the predicament that we are in is that the Cardinals have listened to the laity (and I mean psycologists, psychiatrists including non-Catholics) and have gone "PC" over the past 30 - 40 years instead of remaining true to Church teaching. The evil was spawned by the relaxing of Church teaching and admitting dissenters into the seminaries and colleges.
Look at the Voice of the Faithful website - NO WHERE does it state that it is faithful to the teaching of the Catholic Church. In fact, its motto is:
"Keep the Faith, Change the Church"
Now, what does that mean? Sounds like some of the "gay Catholic" sites.
I'm for the schism and I'll stay with Rome!
We do need Counter-Reformation II, and we have need of souls like St. Theresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and St. Catherine of Siena. Mother Angelica has certainly led the vanguard in trying to rescue the Church in America from the AmChurch evildoers.
More later.....
The Hierarchy needs a Purge and Purification to excise the Rot and get back to the basics the Church was built upon.
Because of your post I will be a little more wary of the goals of Votf.Thanks
The Hierarchy needs a Purge and Purification to excise the Rot and get back to the basics the Church was built upon.
Because of your post I will be a little more wary of the goals of Votf.Thanks
Not here, no. I don't think there are any orthodox Catholics in Wellesely, having lived right next door. They all traveled to the Church I went to. The article claims they are trying to voice the concerns of conservative Catholics and mainstream Catholics. Well, out in Boston a mainstream Catholic is a cafeteria Catholic who actually believes 25% of what the Church teaches. The liberals are the ones who believe 1% or more, but can't quite get enough momentum to leave the Church.
There is a reason this group isn't voicing its views on "gay, married or female priests." Can you imagine an orthodox Catholic who has trouble articulating positions on gay or female priests? Married may be debatable, but not the other two, at least for a Catholic.
I do see the counter reformation II coming, but not here.
patent
The Catholic Church was established by Christ and is in union with the Pope and Magisterium.It is often known as the Body of Christ and is composed of the People of God in the world.The adherents consider themselves orthodox,conservative and/or traditional,they hold to the 2000 year old teachings of the Church,they view Truth as absolute,subject to discernment and development as man has more tools available to probe the universe.They see God as Triune,unchanging,personal,transcendent;a creator endowed with omnipotent,omnipresent and omniscient qualities that made us to know,love and serve Him and to be with Him forever in heaven.
The catholic church establishes christ in accordance with the desires of the most powerful of the magisterium of the people.The adherents consider themselves to be "progressive",marxist,and/or democratic,they hold to ever changing "truths"established by the whim of the people.They see god made in man's image and subject to change based on the feelings of the people.The god they have designed,at this time,is very loving and merciful and good and wants man to enjoy himself in this world because it's the only thing man can be sure of.However,if there is more it will be good and all will go there.
Succinctly,we have the Catholic Church and God's People on earth or the catholic church and the "godpeoples" on earth.I think thats what the choice is going to boil down to as it becomes increasingly clear that we have A CONFLICT OF VISIONS.
I do think that if Catholics start praying and thinking and proclaiming and acting in accordance with Catholic teaching,the ring of Truth will hit a lot of the people sleeping in the pews between the eyes and the choice they will make will surprise the "enemy".
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