BishopAccountability.org
	Catholic Reform Group Approves Resolutions on Tougher Laws, Finances By Ken Kusmer Associated Press, carried in Worcester Telegram & Gazette [Indianapolis IN] July 10, 2005 INDIANAPOLIS— The Catholic lay reform group Voice of the Faithful approved draft resolutions Sunday calling for tougher laws against abusive priests and the bishops who have protected them. In the conclusion to the grass-roots movement's first national meeting in three years, nearly 600 local organizers also approved a draft resolution that calls for greater financial transparency in the church. Bishops, who hold ultimate decision-making power in their dioceses and the church, are likely to reject most of the proposals the group approved. However, some of the proposals are outside their control, such as the resolution to "promote legislation that protects children and holds bishops accountable for their failure to protect their children." "The message was we've got to be a stronger voice on the statutes of limitations," said Jim Post, president of the Newton, Mass.-based group. Other resolutions that won approval called for the election of bishops by representatives of dioceses' laity and clergy, greater collaboration between clergy and laity and an increased lay voice in diocesan and U.S. church decisions. Voice of the Faithful, which claims more than 30,000 members, has worked to change state laws that restrict abuse victims from suing or filing charges against their attackers. Louisiana's legislature last month approved a bill extending the statute of limitations on child sex abuse crimes to 30 years from 10 years. Legislation approved by Ohio's state senate would give adults 20 years to file charges or sue for abuse that occurred while they were children. Catholic bishops have actively lobbied against the Ohio bill, said its sponsor, Sen. Robert Spada, a suburban Cleveland Republican who presented a workshop on the legislative process during the three-day Voice meeting at the Indiana Convention Center. Victim advocates say longer statutes of limitations are needed to allow abuse victims time to recover repressed memories of the events. The nine draft resolutions approved Sunday did not become official Voice of the Faithful policy. Voice of the Faithful's newly elected, 26-member national council will study the resolutions over the next year or so, Post said. "It is definitely a work in progress," he said. "This was step one. We now need to pick and choose and synthesize what we want to do." Jim Silko of Englewood, Ohio, spoke on behalf of a working group that drafted a resolution calling for independent audits for all church-related entities. He noted that the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in 2002 used a real estate fund to pay a $450,000 settlement to a man who alleged a sexual assault by then Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland. "Where will it end? Where will this nonsense stop?" Silko asked. Another resolution calls on parishes and dioceses to consult with the laity on financial matters and to fully report income and spending. Some of the resolutions were controversial. One calling for discussion of issues affecting "women and other marginalized people within the church" drew objections that its language excludes men and that it would cost the organization support among other Catholics. Virgine Elking, of Dayton, Ohio, a member of the Sisters of the Precious Blood, presented the resolution on behalf of her working group. She said women have little standing in the church. "I feel used and non-recognized. Why? Because I am a woman," Elking said. Also on Sunday, Voice of the Faithful gave Illinois Appellate Judge Anne Burke, the former chair of the U.S. bishops' National Review Board, its distinguished lay person award for addressing challenges facing the church. It gave its Priest of Integrity Award to Monsignor Lawrence Breslin of Centerville, Ohio, who identified a priest in the Vatican diplomatic corps as the sexual abuser of an Ohio woman. The meeting ended with members of the group blessing each other with holy water. "We want all of you to leave here today to be ambassadors of change, ambassadors of action," Post said.