BishopAccountability.org
	Voice of the Faithful States Priorities By Azell Murphy Cavaan acavaan@repub.com The Republican [Springfield MA] September 15, 2005 NORTHAMPTON - The protection of children, empowerment of lay councils and financial accountability are the top priorities facing the Catholic Church today, a religious organization said earlier this week. The Northampton/Springfield affiliate of the national organization Voice of the Faithful voted during a meeting at St. Mary's Church Tuesday to submit those issues to the organization's Convocation Implementation Team next month. The Convocation Implementation Team will collect input from affiliates nationwide and select three resolutions, which the organization will begin putting into action in January. "We are trying to change the church from within," said John F. Sheehan of Southampton, moderator of the Northampton/Springfield affiliate. Voice of the Faithful is a worldwide movement of mainstream Catholics formed in response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis. The organization has grown into an agent for reform. This month, affiliates across the nation will submit their top three issues from a list of nine issues that were drafted during the National Convocation in July. The issues fall under the categories of lay accountability, bishop accountability, financial accountability and moral integrity. Specifically, the Northampton/Springfield affiliate voted that the Voice of the Faithful should: Promote legislation that protects children and holds bishops accountable for their failure to do so; Institute independent, freely elected lay councils at all governance levels in the church with full right of inquiry and the right and responsibility to elect all lay and clerical leaders; Call for an independent, widely disseminated, understandable annual audit by a certified public accountant for all church-related entities that would include income, expenses, assets and liabilities. "We chose the issues based on what we thought would have broad support and make an impact," Sheehan said. Guidelines provided by the national organization also urged affiliates to consider the timeliness, its chances of success and how easily a plan ad- dressing the issue could be implemented. Rita Sheehan Bell, a member of the Northampton/Springfield affiliate, said addressing the issue of abused children is an essential and pivotal part of re-building the church. But that is not enough, she said. "I want to see some financial accountability," said Sheehan-Bell. "The power is in the purse."
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.