This church
won't budge Eileen McNamara, Globe 4/2/03
A
diatribe from a VOTF cheerleader
By Eileen McNamara, Globe Columnist, 4/2/2003
The
war is over. It is time for Voice of the Faithful to follow Vermont Senator
George D. Aiken's advice to President Lyndon Johnson on Vietnam: Declare
victory and leave.
The
dissident lay group born of the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church met
half of its mission. It kept the faith. It is time to acknowledge that it
cannot change the church.
How
much clearer could Bishop Richard G. Lennon make it to thousands of Sunday
school teachers, deacons, lectors, and church organists who have been asking politely
for a place at the table for more than a year?
The
apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Boston does not want their
counsel any more than he wants their cash. His decision this week to reject
$35,000 in sorely needed charitable contributions from Voice of the Faithful is
only the latest signal that the church would rather subject the poor to
hardship than share power with laity it cannot control. How else to explain the
decision to spurn donations at a time when the archdiocese's financial straits
are forcing it to close schools and churches and to curtail programs for the
needy?
Since
its formation in outraged response to the systematic cover up by church
officials of crimes against children, Voice of the Faithful has walked a
tightrope, challenging the actions of the church hierarchy without undermining
its authority. What Lennon is telling these prayerful, respectful Catholics is
that they cannot have it both ways.
For
months after the Vatican installed Lennon as a seat warmer upon the resignation
of Cardinal Bernard F. Law, the bishop refused to return the telephone calls or
to meet with Voice of the Faithful leaders. When Lennon finally did grant an
audience to James Post, the Boston University professor who serves as president
of the group, he refused to yield on any matters of substance.
No,
he would not lift a ban on new Voice chapters meeting in churches that the
laity's dollars built.
No,
he would not accept donations that were conditioned on the money being spent on
direct services for the poor.
No,
he would not share power with the people who are the church.
It
is time to stop asking. Lennon's directive this week to each and every branch
of the Boston Archdiocese to reject any and all contributions from Voice of the
Faithful is illuminated in neon. It is hard to imagine how he could make his
message any clearer: Get in line or get out of the way.
Voice
of the Faithful has accomplished much in its brief life. It put the face of
compassion on a church rent by betrayal and deceit. It reached out to those who
had been assaulted and raped by priests and gave them dignity and solace by its
repeated public acknowledgment of their trauma. It gave a voice to women
religious. It stood in solidarity with the many, unheralded men in Roman
collars who serve their parishes with decency and integrity.
That
the 30,000 members of Voice of the Faithful nationwide love the Catholic Church
and want to be instruments of constructive change is certain. But, just as
certainly, the hierarchy of that church is determined to marginalize them.
What
a waste of time and energy for creative and faithful Catholics to continue to
stand with their noses pressed against the chancery windows, tugging on their
forelocks, waiting for a discredited hierarchy to confer upon them a legitimacy
that is already theirs.
Why
should they surrender when it is the church leadership that has failed? Maybe
because there really are immovable objects that will resist even the most
powerful forces. There are charities aplenty that would be grateful for their
generosity, church upon church that would welcome their full participation.
This
war is over. It is time to declare victory and leave.
Eileen
McNamara is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at mcnamara@globe.com.
This
story ran on page B1 of the Boston Globe on 4/2/2003.
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Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper
Company.