votf update

Bets Are Off in Louisville

When a group wants to have a voice, the more its voice is heard the better. One would imagine that better yet is if that same voice is heard… and reheard.

However, that was not what happened at the organizing meeting of the Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) at St. Agnes Church in Louisville, Ky. Area Catholics were taken aback by some of the practices of an organization that demands transparency of the nation's bishops.

John de Friend attended the founding meeting on May 6. His experiences were quite revealing.

He reports that the gathering of 31 people including two laicized priests did not appear to be a cross-section of the Louisville faithful. Some obviously had their reservations while others were clearly VOTF supporters. The majority however were curious observers.

There was quite a bit to observe. For an organization that says it deliberately avoids hot doctrinal debates on topics such as ordaining women or married men, the group does have some controversial ideas about fostering structural changes on how the church should be governed. During the meeting, one of the focal points was what they termed "clericalism" which was repeatedly identified as the problem which VOTF seeks to destroy.

Mr. de Friend did not want to miss anything of the presentation and he naturally brought along a tape recorder. After an hour of recording, the group leader, Mrs. Shannon Whelan, suddenly noticed the prominently displayed recorder and in the display of democratic flourish called for a vote to ask the assembly if the recording should continue.

The vote was 25-6 in favor of allowing the recording. However, Mrs. Whelan, using her authority, insisted the recorder be turned off. Ironically, just five minutes before, the VOTF people had called for an end to the "pyramid structure" in the Church with its top-down management structure.

Less reassuring were Mrs. Whelan's assurances that "we don't have the answers" and "we don't know what the final structure of the Church will look like" after VOTF has completed its mission. The VOTF's call for a "leap of faith," takes on new meaning with this lack of a clear vision of the future.

Finally, the leader did not seem to want to discuss the source of VOTF funding or the names of those behind the scenes with the group of polite yet suspicious Kentuckians. This attitude seemed strange in light of VOTF's avowed goal of changing the Church's culture of secrecy, accountability, disclosure and clerical isolation from laity.

Indeed one wonders how a pressure group within the Church can say it stands for Church democracy when an assembly's decision is disregarded. How can it call for transparency and disclosure when it will not allow its meetings to be recorded for all to hear? It would seem the pot is calling the kettle black.

Like the St. Louis Faithful meeting in Missouri where organizers shut off the microphone of faithful who wanted to speak, it appears that only certain faithful should have a voice.

If VOTF is the mainstream group it says it is, it should invite speakers that reflect the teachings of the Church who proclaim their message far and wide.

And again, if it is going to call itself, Voice of the Faithful, it should let its voice be heard …and reheard.