Monday, November 10,
2003 :::
You can visit Carol McKinley for comments
and conversation at her web site.
The
anti Catholic agenda of VOTF is banned in Atlanta.
Bishop Donoghue of Atlanta comments by Carol McKinley
³I
will not permit you to meet on the property of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.²
³It is customary for an initiative from within the Church, which seeks recognition of the local ordinary, to approach that ordinary in advance of organizational efforts.²
We call on all Bishops to voice opposition and ban Voice of the Faithful. [ VOTF ] RosaryCampaign@FaithfulVoice.com
Since the first week of August Voice of The Faithful has
been opposed and banned from Church property in nine dioceses across The United
States .
Banned
by Bishop Gerry in Portland, ME.
Banned
by Bishop Lori in Bridgeport, CT.
Banned
by Bishop Murphy in Rockville Centre, NY.
Banned
by Bishop Daly in Brooklyn, NY.
Banned
by Bishop Meyers in Newark, NJ.
Banned
by Bishop DiMarzio in Camden, NJ.
Banned
by Bishop Vasa in Baker, OR.
Banned
by Bishop Allue ,No Andover, Ma
Banned by Bishop Donaghue , Atlanta, GA
And, frozen
- - in Boston, MA, by Cardinal Law.
This is a
printer friendly version of an article from www.heraldtribune.com
Article
published Dec 28, 2003
Archbishop: Victims group cannot meet on church grounds
The
Associated Press
ATLANTA
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta will not allow a support group for
victims of the church's sex abuse scandal to meet on church grounds.
Archbishop
John Donoghue told the Voice of the Faithful's Atlanta chapter that they also
can't advertise in the archdiocese's newspaper because he doesn't believe the
group's goals match church teachings.
Donoghue
said he opposes the meetings on church property because the group may talk
about issues Pope John Paul II has ordered Catholics to no longer discuss.
"I
don't want them to get into stuff with other groups that are pushing for the
ordination of women and married clergy," he said.
Donoghue
also wrote the group a letter in October saying there isn't a need for their
group because there's already a church-based support system for clergy abuse
victims.
The
Voice of the Faithful was founded in Wellesley, Mass. during the clergy sex
abuse scandal to push for changes in the church and counts 30,000 members in
the United States.
Members
of the Atlanta chapter are "hurt and very disappointed that our bishop
would prevent us from using the church," said John Dearie, group chairman
and a member of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in suburban Alpharetta.
"The
archbishop knows as well as we do that Catholics talk about these things all
the time," Dearie said. "It's kind of absurd to tell us we don't have
a right to talk about these things."
Carol McKinley¹s comments are in bold type
I am not
making this up. That is what it says.
Besides displaying an exclusionary, pre-Vatican II
mentality, the Archbishop¹s unloving letter commits errors of both theology and
canon law.
...and they
pull some out of context to prove it.
It is the
same old blah, blah...but I love the quotes from the AB
³I
will not permit you to meet on the property of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.²
³It
is customary for an initiative from within the Church, which seeks recognition
of the local ordinary, to approach that ordinary in advance of organizational
efforts.²
³I
cannot extend my blessing²
³I
will not permit you to meet on the property of the Archdiocese of Atlanta²
³By
failing to notify me in advance of your efforts, you have subordinated my
authority Š²
No confusion
there!
Ask Blessed
Virgin to protect this Archbishop and his flock from the enemies that lurk in
every crevice.
And of course
what would any conference be without the four-sided table?
While Voice of the Faithful has come under attack from
critics who either deliberately distort our message or fear the implications of
it
Do you think
he is referring to us?
They name
their Bishops of Integrity:
For
acting with the courage to support survivors we commend Bishop Paul Bootkoski
of Metuchen, NJ "
For
his commitment and expediency to reach a global settlement for survivors, as he
said he would, we commend Archbishop Sean O'Malley of Boston, MA "
For
their willingness and courage to begin dialogues with Voice of the Faithful, we
commend Bishops Gerald Kincanus and Michael Sheehan of Phoenix and Tuscon, AZ
and Bishop Alexander Brunett of Seattle, WA.
..and they
making pinatas out of two more:
The most recent "banning bishops" include Bishop
George Coleman of Fall river, MA and Archbishop John Donoghue of Atlanta. GA.
And last but
not least:
A meeting has been arranged between Voice of the Faithful
and Boston Archbishop Sean O'Malley for Nov. 19 at 2pm. This meeting has
finally come to fruition following numerous outreach efforts from VOTF to the
Archdiocese dating back to July 1. Please pray that this meeting leads to a
positive outcome in terms of VOTF's relationship with the Archdiocese,
particularly with regard to the "partial ban" of VOTF from church
property.
VOICE OF THE FAITHFUL¹S RESPONSE
TO
ATLANTA ARCHDIOCESE¹S BANNING OF VOTF FROM MEETING ON CHURCH PROPERTY
Atlanta,
GA, Nov. 10, 2003 We are saddened and disappointed to read Archbishop
Donoghue¹s
letter regarding Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) in the Archdiocese of
Atlanta.
The Archbishop has decided to ban from church property his best friends in the
Church
the Eucharistic ministers, religious education teachers, lectors, choir
members, and
other
backbone Catholics that make up Voice of the Faithful membership.
Besides
displaying an exclusionary, pre-Vatican II mentality, the Archbishop¹s
unloving
letter commits errors of both theology and canon law. Voice of the Faithful
feels
compelled
to correct our Archbishop so that we might go forward on more positive grounds
in
accord
with the church teaching he has sworn to protect.
We
must also point out that it is Archbishop Donoghue¹s duty as ³sacred pastor²
to
reach out to his lay ³flock² to include, listen to, and consult with them.
Voice of
the
Faithful is the heart and soul of devoted Catholic laypersons in the
Archdiocese of Atlanta.
For
Bishop Donoghue to exclude Voice of the Faithful from meeting in the Church
buildings
they
and their ancestors have built and paid for is to misunderstand and misapply
his
role
as bishop. It is also to hurt unnecessarily devoted members of the Archdiocese.
Theology
The
documents of Vatican II make clear that laypersons are not only entitled
but
also obliged to speak on matters relating to the good of the Church.
Substantiating
citations
include:
³Christ
Š fulfills His prophetic office Š not only by the hierarchy who teach in
His
name and with His authority, but also by the laity ...² (Vatican II, Dogmatic
Constitution
on the Church, n. 35)
³They
[the laity] are, by [reason of] knowledge, competence or outstanding
ability
which they may enjoy, permitted and sometimes even obliged to express their
opinion on
those
things which concern the good of the Church.² (Vatican II, Dogmatic
Constitution
on
the Church, n. 37)
³While
preserving intact the necessary link with ecclesiastical authority, the
laity
have the right to establish and direct [apostolic] associations, and to join
existing
ones
... [B]y their expert assistance they increase the efficacy of the care of
souls as well as of
the
administration of the goods of the Church.² (Vatican II, Decree on the
Apostolate
of Lay People, n. 19, 10)
If
Archbishop Donoghue were living the values inherent in these citations, he
would
not be capable of a statement like, ³I will not permit you to meet on the
property of
the
Archdiocese of Atlanta.² Instead, he would be reaching out to Voice of the
Faithful
members and calling on their God-given gifts to help restore health and trust
to the
Church
in Atlanta.
Canon
Law
Archbishop
Donoghue is further in error when he states, ³It is customary for an
initiative
from within the Church, which seeks recognition of the local ordinary, to
approach
that ordinary in advance of organizational efforts.² Custom is not law, and
custom is
not
theology. There is no Church law or theology that grants the prerogative that
Bishop
Donoghue is claiming in this statement. His statement, ³I cannot extend my
blessing²
is sadly un-pastoral; and his statement, ³I will not permit you to meet on the
property
of the Archdiocese of Atlanta² reflects a 16th century mentality of lordly
overcontrol
and
exclusion based on whim. This mentality of imperial privilege is also reflected
in
Bishop Donoghue¹s statement, ³By failing to notify me in advance of your
efforts, you
have
subordinated my authority Š² This statement violates the letter and spirit of
Canon
212 et al as well as Vatican II¹s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, n. 35 et
al.
Canon
law citations that we urge Archbishop Donoghue to re-read and take to his
heart
include:
Can.
212 §3 They have the right, indeed at times the duty, in keeping with their
knowledge,
competence and position, to manifest to the sacred Pastors their views on
matters
which concern the good of the Church. They have the right also to make their
views
known
to others of Christ's faithful, but in doing so they must always respect the
integrity
of faith and morals, show due reverence to the Pastors and take into account
both the
common
good and the dignity of individuals. (cf. Lumen Gentium n. 37.)
Can.
215 Christ's faithful may freely establish and direct associations which
serve
charitable or pious purposes or which foster the Christian vocation in the
world,
and they may hold meetings to pursue these purposes by common effort.
Can.
298 §1 In the Church there are associations which are distinct from
institutes
of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life. In these associations,
Christ's
faithful, whether clerics or laity, or clerics and laity together, strive with
a common
effort
to foster a more perfect life, or to promote public worship or Christian
teaching. They
may
also devote themselves to other works of the apostolate, such as initiatives
for
evangelization,
works of piety or charity, and those which animate the temporal order with the
Christian
spirit. (see also Canons 299-312)
In
a crisis such as the one now facing the American Church, the following two
Canons
will also remind Archbishop Donoghue that lay gifts are needed to help the
Church
regain
the trust and moral regard of the Faithful and of the American public:
Can.
225 §1 Since lay people, like all Christ's faithful, are deputed to the
apostolate
by baptism and confirmation, they are bound by the general obligation and they
have
the
right, whether as individuals or in associations, to strive so that the divine
message
of
salvation may be known and accepted by all people throughout the world. This
obligation is
all
the more insistent in circumstances in which only through them are people able
to hear
the
Gospel and to know Christ.
§2
They have also, according to the condition of each, the special obligation to
permeate
and perfect the temporal order of things with the spirit of the Gospel. In this
way,
particularly
in conducting secular business and exercising secular functions, they are to
give
witness
to Christ.
Gospel
Perhaps
the saddest aspect of Archbishop Donoghue¹s statement lies not in its
violation
of Canon Law or the teachings of Vatican II. What is most heartbreaking is the
revelation
of how far from the Christian Gospel and from Christian values Archbishop
Donoghue
has
allowed himself to stray:
And
[Jesus] spoke this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an
hundred
sheep, if he lose one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the
wilderness,
and
go after that which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he
lays it on
his
shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and
neighbors,
saying
unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. Luke
15:3-6
In
the Gospel parable above, Jesus sets forth the example of the loving pastor
who
will risk all for the saving of one soul. Even if especially if Archbishop
Donoghue
sincerely
believes that Voice of the Faithful is in error, it is his sacred duty to ³go
after that
which
is lost² and save it.
Sadly,
exclusions and bannings are harsh and unloving tactics born of fear and
willful
ignorance. Through his exclusion of Voice of the Faithful, Archbishop Donoghue
is
showing fear of righteous Catholics who are assembling, bearing witness,
speaking truth
to
power, praying for guidance, and calling for honest answers to the greatest
crisis the
Church
has faced in its 500-year history in North America. We pray that Archbishop
Donoghue
will
not fear Voice of the Faithful or other lay groups dedicated to bringing
healing
through
truth. We pray that, instead, he will realize that, as Jesus said in John 8:32,
³Šthe
truth
shall make you free.²
###
About
Voice of the Faithful: Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) is a worldwide
movement
of concerned mainstream Catholics formed in response to the clergy sexual abuse
crisis.
The group's mission is to provide a prayerful voice, attentive to the Spirit,
through
which the Faithful can actively participate in the governance and guidance of
the Catholic
Church.
Its goals are to support victim/survivors of abuse, support priests of integrity,
and
shape structural change within the Catholic Church in full accordance and
harmony with
Church
teaching. VOTF's supporting membership exceeds 30,000 registered persons from
more
than 41 U.S. states, 21 countries and 188 Parish Voice affiliates throughout
the
world.