May 2002

Boston is leading people's revolution to "take back the Church"

Boston -- the eye of the clerical sex abuse coverup storm since January -- is also emerging as the center of activity by rank- and-file Catholics to assert new people power in Church affairs. Two organizations lead the charge. Coalition of Concerned Catholics concentrates on solidarity with victims and their families through frequent public prayer rallies and demonstrations, usually at the cathedral or the residence of Cardinal Bernard Law. CCC participants are outspoken in calling for Law to resign, but even more determined to make church officialdom pay attention to the victims.

Voice Of The Faithful

A much larger organization grabbing headlines is Voice Of The Faithful. Weekly mass meetings at St. John's Parish in suburban Wellesley now draw over 600 people from dozens of parishes. Thousands have joined VOTF on its website (www.votf.org). The site got 25,000 visitors during April. When the Cardinals returned from Rome -- and Law sent a letter commanding his priests not to support lay organizing efforts -- VOTF's e-mail list exploded from 2,550 to 6,800 in one week. VOTF takes no stand on controversial issues such as married priests or women's ordination. Instead it works for structural changes that will give lay Catholics more voice in all church decision-making. VOTF president is Jim Muller, a Harvard cardiologist with awesome organizing experience. Muller brought three American and three Russian doctors together in 1980 to try to end the nuclear arms race, which led to the 135,000 member International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, and a Nobel Peace Prize in 1985.

Congress called for July 20

VOTF plans to bring 5,000 people, from across the U.S. and overseas, to Boston's Hynes Convention Center July 20 for a "Boston Congress on Church Reform." The meeting is endorsed by IMWAC -- the International We Are Church Movement based in Europe. Muller and the VOTF leaders liken the church reform effort to the beginning of the American Revolution in nearby Lexington and Concord in 1776. "The people of Boston know how to deal with absolute power," said Muller.

Withholding church donations

VOTF is also setting up mechanisms whereby Catholics can divert money from archdiocesan fund appeals to escrow accounts controlled by the laity. The revolutionary slogan is "No donation without representation." A similar effort is underway in Chicago. Catholics aligned with the archconservative group, Roman Catholic Faithful, are asking parishioners to withhold donations until Cardinal Francis George takes a tougher zero-tolerance stance toward clergy sexual abuse.