Analysis

National Catholic Reporter Column:

SR. JOAN CHITTISTER, OSB comments on VOTF

Father Richard McBrien Article:

Fr. Richard McBrien (University of Notre Dame) just sent the following text to VOTF National. You will be interested to read his analysis re: the rightful role of the Catholic laity.
(You will also be interested to learn more about St. Francis deSales).

Articles and Analysis on the
Ongoing Crisis

San Francisco Chronicle Feb 3 ‘03

San Francisco Chronicle covers goals and hopes of VOTF Affiliates forming in the San Francisco Bay Area

Father Richard McBrien Dec 12 ‘02

What’s Wrong With an Agenda?

Noted Author and Theologian Richard P. McBrien asks an obvious question. His answer is also obvious. VOTF members will find this defense of Catholic action groups informative and useful.

Boston Globe April 9th 2003

Catholic Charities Votes To Accept VOTF Donation

Members of the board of Catholic Charities voted overwhelmingly yesterday to accept a $35,000 charitable contribution from the lay group Voice of the Faithful.

FindLaw’s Writ April 10th 2003

The Catholic Church and the Clergy Abuse Scandal:
Act Three By MARCI HAMILTON

While the country's attention is fixated on the war in Iraq, Act Three of the Catholic Church scandal is now in progress. It is far more complicated than the scandal's prior phases, but for the victims it is the most important.

Salt of the Earth Online April 2003

Salt Magazine Comments on VOTF and CTA
The similarities and differences are discussed in this short online article about Call to Action and VOTF.

One year later, Voice of the Faithful Faces new Tests
By Michael Paulson,

Boston Globe April 14,2003

''I suspect that the church leadership is simply hoping that we will fade away and be gone, remaining just as a bad memory,''

Catholic Theologians Comment on VOTF

Essay Father Thomas Doyle, O.P. J.C.D.

Turning Point

Father Thomas looks at the Gavin Audit, the John Jay Survey and the National Review Board Report and asks if they mark a significant turning point in the Catholic Church’s long-term “Dark Night of the Soul?” Fr. Tom thinks that they do but not in the way that our bishops might expect. (Full Text)

Zogby International August 2004

Leadership of the Catholic Church and Parish Donations

In spite of their more critical sentiment towards the bishops, Catholics are donating more money to their local parishes than ever before. (Full Text)

America Magazine

By Dr. Robert M. Rowden Feb 23 2004

The Real Agenda of Voice of the Faithful

Critics of Voice of the Faithful have been vocal in stating that VOTF operates with a hidden agenda. Dr. Rowden, coordinator for VOTF in Marin, California published the following with the Jesuit magazine “America”: (full story) Our real agenda is neither hidden nor is it dissident and that agenda is fully within the published norms of the Code of Canon Law (#212).

Rev. Richard McBrien December 26, 2003

The Costs Of Failure

...There are certain types of Catholics (calling them "conservatives" debases a good and dignified term) who condemn any and every attempt to link the scandal with the need for structural change. (Full Text)