Church
refuses group's money M. Paulson, Globe 4/1/2003
Bishop
Lennon believes Voice of the Faithful's fund-raising effort
is
undermining the church's fund-raising efforts.
''Catholic
Charities has been directed not to accept the money, and all the other entities
of the archdiocese are also being informed of that directive as well.''
Voice
of Faithful decries decision
By
Michael Paulson, Globe Staff, 4/1/2003
Bishop
Richard G. Lennon, who has been closing schools, cutting programs, and laying
off employees because of a severe budget crunch, has decided to refuse any
money raised by the lay group Voice of the Faithful.
Lennon,
the interim leader of the Boston Archdiocese, has gone further than his
predecessor, Cardinal Bernard F. Law, by not only declining to accept the money
but also by specifically barring Catholic Charities from accepting donations
from the group. The charitable organization, which serves 200,000 people each
year, took money from Voice of the Faithful in December after the group was
spurned by Law.
According
to a spokesman, Lennon believes Voice of the Faithful's fund-raising effort, called Voice of
Compassion, is
undermining the church's fund-raising efforts. Lennon also believes Voice of the
Faithful has imposed unacceptable restrictions on its donations by demanding
that the money not be used for administrative expenses of the archdiocese.
''Bishop
Lennon stated that it is his firm belief that you cannot separate the
charitable works of the church from the office of the bishop,'' said the Rev.
Christopher J. Coyne, an archdiocesan spokesman. ''Catholic Charities has been directed
not to accept the money, and all the other entities of the archdiocese are also
being informed of that directive as well.''
Peter G. Meade, vice chairman of Catholic Charities, said last night that the agency's board decided in December that to turn down money from any contributor would be a mistake that might alienate other contributors, or even threaten the charity's state funding. He said he was not sure how the board would respond to Lennon's action. ''The board's position has been very clear -- we are continuing a hundred-year-long position of accepting money from those who contribute, and it would be profoundly sad if we had to revisit this issue,'' he said. ''This isn't about power or politics, but about feeding the hungry and clothing the naked.''
Lennon's
decision was decried by the president of Voice of the Faithful, a national
organization of lay Catholics, headquartered in Newton that was formed a year
ago by Catholics upset over the church's failure to remove sexually abusive
priests from ministry. The group now counts 30,000 members nationwide.
''This
action is creating a new wave of victims in an archdiocese that is not being
run on Gospel values of charity and love, but is being run on hierarchical
power,'' said James E. Post, a Boston University management professor. ''This
is going to have a brutal effect in the face of budget cuts, layoffs, and
school closings, and it's a slap in the face to hundreds of donors.''
Post
said Lennon's decision, made during the penitential season of Lent, violates
the Lenten imperative of almsgiving. ''During Lent he is imposing this extra
amount of pain on people, and undermining unity,'' Post said. ''This is a
highly divisive act, and it is the antithesis of pastoral care. It is behavior
that hurts people.''
According
to Coyne, Lennon signed the letter declining the contributions on March 21 but
decided not to make his decision public. The National Catholic Community
Foundation, the Maryland foundation chosen by Voice of the Faithful to
administer its Voice of Compassion fund, said that it received notification of
Lennon's decision yesterday.
The
Voice of Compassion fund has raised $49,000 so far this year. Last year, the
organization raised $56,000, which Catholic Charities accepted after Law
declined the funds. Post said more than 600 people have given to the fund thus
far, which is intended to provide an outlet for Catholic charity for people who
are unwilling to give directly to the archdiocesan fund-raising campaign.
Edward
Robinson, president of the National Catholic Community Foundation, said
Lennon's action yesterday will affect $35,000 raised in the fourth quarter of
2002. He said the foundation will now offer the money to Catholic Charities and
if Catholic Charities declines to accept it, the foundation's board will look
for other Catholic organizations within the archdiocese that are willing to
take the money.
''We
will look for somebody not under the jurisdiction of the diocese,'' he said.
The
Archdiocese of Boston is in dire financial straits, as the down economy and the
clergy abuse scandal have depressed fund-raising. Last year, the annual
cardinal's appeal, which raises money for the church's operations, raised $8.6
million, compared with $16.2 million in 2001. Lennon called the church's
financial situation ''severe'' in January.
The
church's Finance Council met last week to decide how to trim $4 million, or 20
percent, of the church's operating budget. The archdiocese has thus far
declined to say what action the council took.
The
new cuts will come on top of a 30 percent cut in the church's budget last year
and the closing of three schools this year.
Catholic
Charities has been hit hard by the state budget crisis, which has limited
spending on services the agency performs for the state. It has also been hurt
by the church scandal and has had to cancel its main annual fund-raiser, the
Cardinal's Garden Party, because of the plummeting popularity of Law, who
resigned in December.
Michael
Paulson can be reached at mpaulson@globe.com.
This
story ran on page A1 of the Boston Globe on 4/1/2003.
©
Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper
Company.
Date: Wed Apr 2 03:49:32 2003 (PST)
To: Comments@FaithfulVoice.com
Cc: Bishopsoffice@drvc.org
Subject: Refusal
of Votf's donation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
God
Bless Bishop Lennon for not accepting VOTF's tainted donation. Christ set
the
bar
rejecting Satan's offer of the treasures of the world, which would have fed the
massive poor of his time.
Money,
equated w/ power, a tool used by Votf, to compromise thoes they wish to
manipulate to accept their deviant agenda.
Bishop
Lennon has taken the wind out of Votf's sails and they are whining like a
baby.....may his merits in heaven be multiplied!!!....Ann, LI,NY
A loss for the archdiocese
By A Boston Globe Editorial, 4/2/2003
THE
ARCHDIOCESE of Boston, by refusing a contribution from Voice of the Faithful,
is putting the prerogatives of its bishop over the needs of people served by
Catholic social services. Bishop Richard G. Lennon ought to reconsider his
decision, which will deepen the estrangement many lay people feel following the
sexual abuse scandal.
Lennon's
action echoes the refusal of his predecessor, Cardinal Bernard F. Law, to give
up a bishop's absolute power in personnel matters, even though this authority
provided the cloak for abuse by some priests. When the personnel files were
finally opened under court order, they revealed a decades-long coverup that
damaged the church and forced Law's resignation.
Voice
of the Faithful, a lay group formed as a result of the scandal, offered its
$35,000 gift with one proviso: that it not go for archdiocesan administrative
expense. This was a reasonable condition given the deep feelings engendered by
church administrators' mishandling of abuse cases.
Just
as Law did with an earlier $56,000 donation, Lennon refused the gift but went
one step further: He forbade Catholic Charities and other archdiocesan
organizations with autonomy from the central administration to accept the
money.
''It's
a matter of how we understand ourselves as a Catholic Church,'' the Rev.
Christopher Coyne, spokesman for Lennon, said yesterday. ''Just as it would be
out of order for a bishop to administer the archdiocese without consulting
laity and priests, it would be out of order to fulfill the charitable mission
of the church without the bishop.''
Catholic
Charities programs, which help poor people with an emphasis on the needs of
immigrants, are in keeping with Catholic doctrine and tradition. Any gift for
these endeavors should be applauded and accepted, even if the bishop does not
serve as an intermediary.
A
generation or so ago, Catholic Charities in Boston was completely under the
control of the archbishop. Today it is overseen by a board of influential lay
people. This is in keeping with the decisions of the Second Vatican Council and
with the reality that lay people are ready to assume greater responsibility in
the church.
The
board ought to accept the money from Voice of the Faithful for the simple
reason that the needs of the poor are far more important than the outcome of a
jurisdictional dispute. Bishop Lennon and other archdiocesan officials ought to
consider that by ceding a small amount of authority over archdiocesan finances,
they may regain some of the influence the archdiocese has lost because its
leaders insisted on keeping the power to quietly transfer predatory priests.
This
story ran on page A18 of the Boston Globe on 4/2/2003.
©
Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper
Company.
Catholic Charities to weigh taking gift
Voice's donation barred by bishop
By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff, 4/2/2003
The
board of Catholic Charities has scheduled an emergency meeting next Tuesday to
decide whether to accept money from Voice of the Faithful.
Joseph
Doolin, president of Catholic Charities, said in a statement yesterday that his
organization will consider accepting the money, despite being directed to turn
it down by Bishop Richard G. Lennon, the interim administrator of the
Archdiocese of Boston.
The
conflict is setting up a test of authority over Catholic Charities, which is
simultaneously the social services arm of the archdiocese and a separately
incorporated institution.
''Throughout
its 100 years of service to the people of eastern Massachusetts, Catholic
Charities has been proud to be an integral part of the Archdiocese of Boston,''
Doolin said. ''We have always respected the teaching authority of the
archbishop, and will continue to do so.''
However,
Doolin said, ''I have great confidence in our board of trustees and in our
church hierarchy that the social mission of the church, as implemented by
Catholic Charities, will be our goal as we address the policy issues related to
contributions.''
Voice
of the Faithful, a lay group based in Newton, has been raising money for church
ministries through its own fund, called Voice of Compassion, which is
administered by the National Catholic Community Foundation in Maryland. The lay
group is offering money to the archdiocese on the condition that it not be used
for administrative expenses of the archdiocese.
Last
fall, Cardinal Bernard F. Law did not accept $56,000 offered by Voice of the
Faithful before a deadline imposed by the group, so the group offered it to
Catholic Charities, which took the money. Now Voice of the Faithful is offering
an additional $35,000, which was raised during the fourth quarter of 2002.
Lennon,
who has headed the archdiocese since Law's resignation Dec. 13, says he won't
take the money because it undermines the church's own fund-raising efforts and
the unity of the church. Lennon is insisting that no church agencies, including
Catholic Charities, take the money either.
This
story ran on page B3 of the Boston Globe on 4/2/2003.
©
Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper
Company.
This church won't budge
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 coverup 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.
©
Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper
Company.
Bishop
Lennon Declines Voice of
Compassion-Boston
Donations
Lenten
Message of Healing Undermined by Archdiocesan
Decision
in the Face of Severe Budget Cuts
Newton,
Mass. - April 1, 2003 - Voice of the Faithful has learned that on behalf of the
Archdiocese of Boston, Bishop Richard G. Lennon has declined to accept charitable
contributions totaling approximately $35,000 for the Archdiocese of Boston or
any of its related entities, including Catholic Charities. These monies
constitute the second installment from the Voice of Compassion-Boston Fund, a
fund sponsored by Voice of the Faithful and administered by the National
Catholic Community Foundation.
"The
decision by Bishop Richard G. Lennon to deny programs and ministries of the
archdiocese the heart-felt gifts of concerned Catholics contradicts the
pastoral responsibilities incumbent upon our bishop, " said Jim Post,
president, Voice of the Faithful. "Today's actions will contribute to the
creation of a new wave of victims from the ongoing Church scandal who suffer
from the pain of church closings, school closings, layoffs and program
cuts."
To
date, the Voice of Compassion-Boston Fund has raised $100,000 from Catholic
donors. Although it is much less than the $8 million shortfall of the 2002
Cardinal's Appeal's stated goal of $17 million, these gifts could have provided
immediate benefits to a number of programs in need:
* $100,000
could have funded three teachers for Catholic schools.
* $100,000
could have enabled Catholic schools to hire ten teachers' aides.
* $100,000
could have been used to aid victims of clergy sexual abuse.
* $100,000
could enable campus ministers to reach out to students in need.
* $100,000
could fund a dozen high school scholarships, or a 1,000 nights of housing for
homeless men and women, or pay the heating oil bill for more than 1,000
households.
"It
is a bitter irony that Bishop Lennon's Lenten message of healing and unity is
undermined by actions that will allow unnecessary pain to be felt by the people
of the archdiocese," Post added.
According
to the Voice of Compassion-Boston Fund's mechanism, the National Catholic
Community Foundation will now offer the gift of $35,000 to Catholic Charities.
Catholic Charities previously agreed to receive the $56,000 gift raised via the
fund's first quarter distribution in December 2002.
About
the Voice of Compassion-Boston Fund
The
Voice of Compassion-Boston Fund was initiated by Voice of the Faithful to
respond to concerns about the decline in contributions to the Cardinal's Appeal
2002 and the resulting impact on the important programs, services and
ministries of the Archdiocese of Boston. The Cardinal's Appeal supports over 80
programs that include spiritual and family programs, support for inner-city
parishes, educational programs, Catholic schools and campus ministries,
seminaries, health ministries and social services and property management and
facilities maintenance. Distribution of Voice of Compassion-Boston Fund's gifts
are intended to mirror the distribution of funds from the Cardinal's Appeal.
However, Voice of Compassion funds will be applied only to direct costs of
these ministries, not to their indirect costs or to general administrative or
fund-raising expenses of the Archdiocese. For more information regarding the Voice
of Compassion-Boston Fund please visit here.
About
National Catholic Community Foundation (NCCF)
The
National Catholic Community Foundation was founded in 1997 as a ministry to
help donors become engaged in philanthropy. Now celebrating its fifth anniversary,
NCCF offers a comprehensive array of services to donors and charitable
organizations, including: the opportunity for multi-generational philanthropy;
flexibility to distribute funds both nationally and internationally; and the
resources of experienced individuals in philanthropy, the Catholic Church, and
finance. For more information, please visit their web site.