I invite anyone reading this post and all the friends of Kathy Kane and Susan Matthews to join me at 12 noon this coming First Friday, April 1, 2011, in front of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia at 222 North 17th Street. I will have a poster for each and every one of you.
Please, tweet everyone you know!
Remember, April is Child Abuse Prevention Month.
REMEMBER, IF YOU ARE NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION YOU ARE, LIKE THE MANY “GOOD” BUT SILENT PRIESTS IN THE ARCHDIOCESE, PART OF THE PROBLEM!
Visit: www.votfgp.org
Sister Maureen Paul Turlish
Victims’ Advocate
maturlishmdsnd@yahoo.com
— Sister Maureen
i would like to come on april 1
Your e-campaign to demonstrate our collective objections to the Church’s horrible handling of the pedophile priest situation is excellent! It is obvious the leaders are possibly pedophiles themselves or at a minimum, very sympathetic with these criminals.
Keep up the good work!
Joe McKenna
I wish I could join you on friday, april 1st but I will be out of town. The coverup by the archdiocese is the most troubling to me. I have stopped contributing to my church knowing that part of the collection is sent to the archdiocese for legal support of these priests. I now contribute only to the poor box benefactors like Project Home, Little Sisters of the Poor, etc. I think a forum in each parish would be beneficial to answer questions of each family but have not heard anything like that any place near me. One of the priests in my parish read a letter from card. rigali a few weeks ago saying ‘the priests deserve anomymity’ I don’t agree with that at all. we should and now, do, know who they are and what they have been charged with. I have 2 grown children and they are slowly leaving the catholic church – this second scandal will definitely affect their decision about ever coming back.
If the priests or hierarchy are charged and punished it may send a very strong message. they certainly are not above the law but certainly live their lives like they are.
I completely agree about forums in each parish or at least regionally – with the Cardinal in attendance.
Forums will happen in the parishes only with the PERMISSION of the pastor. Good Luck with that.
The Philadelphia affiliate of the Voice of the Faithful, for example, is not allowed to meet on any parish property on orders from the hierarchy, even though VOTF was established in full accord with the CANON LAW of the church.
This is a brave and ambitious movement. It makes me sick, and I hope everyone else, that pedophiles are being accepted into priesthood without more stringent screening processes. I become sicker knowing that these same individuals rape and molest children in a calculated manner. Yet the part that bothers me most is a collaborate effort to brush the aweful violations under the table….People are losing trust in Catholicism, it is evident.
I am a member of the parish where the boy was abused by two priests and a teacher and both of my boys currently attend the school. When the news first broke, a group of parents sent a letter to the pastor and principal requesting a meeting. To date, it hasn’t occurred. There have been three written communications but no meeting. I’m confident there won’t be one.
Susan, I applaud you and Kathy. I too am outraged. Each and evey victim is no less than my own children and grandchildren. I cannot join you April 1st, but just wanted to let you know how I feel about this. I can at least offer my prayers and support.
Voice of the Faithful has been standing vigil at the Archdiocesan office building on First Friday for many years with no apparent results. If many more Catholics come on April 1, our voices will be heard!!
If I can get off work, I will be there.
Yes, I will attend the rally. Let me lead with my weakness by admitting that I am a Catholic who has sinned through adultery. Having given in to the influence of lust, I experienced first hand the powerful and destructive forces of evil in my soul. I have also experienced the grace of God’s forgiveness. With that in mind, I have been praying for God’s guidance on the matter of the latest grand jury report. This much has become clear to me. It is not the ‘church’ nor the ‘archdiocese’ that I do not trust, it is this man named Justin Rigali who walks in the footsteps of Judas. He continues to hide behind ‘the letter of the law’ as he clings to his thirty pieces of silver. And I believe the time has come for him to step down. God willing, I will see you on Friday.
I just am looking for a clarification…what do you mean by this:
“REMEMBER, IF YOU ARE NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION YOU ARE, LIKE THE MANY “GOOD” BUT SILENT PRIESTS IN THE ARCHDIOCESE, PART OF THE PROBLEM!”
Does this mean the good priests, innocent ones I mean, are complicit because they are priests of the archdiocese? I can’t help thinking that that isn’t what you are getting at but its unclear…no attitude here, just looking for clarification.
I reposted this invite from Sister Maureen Turlish. I can’t clarify her meaning for her. I can say that I would feel like an accomplice/enabler if I remained silent. At the same time, I’m not sure we should judge other reactions to this complicated situation. Thank you for your interest in the site.
Thanks for the clarification…it seemed hard to understand what that exactly meant. I think there are lots of good priests who have no voice or see their role as carrying on good works while this storm buffets our battered boat, as it were. Thanks again, I appreciate the reply.
Voice of the Faithful is not motivated to protect children, but to “Change the structure of the Church,” in accord with their own motives and not Our Lord’s. He designed the structure of the Church. he instituted the Sacraments, among them being the Holy Priesthood. VOTF claims to be acting in accord with the “spirit of Vatican II.” if that is true, please show us where in the documents of the second Vatican Ecumenical Council it says that lay people ought o be trying to restructure the Church! In the body each member plays a crucial role, that is what we ought to be working toward, not a wholesale Change of the Church. In fact it would not be a change but a deformation of what Christ intended. Read the documents Sister Maureen! VOTF is a heretical group playing on weak people. there are legitimate things that need to be changed, yes! But VOTF promotes and encourages an alternative vision of “the Church” that is not in keeping with Vatican II or with any Church Council and certainly it is not in keeping with the Lord Jesus Himself. If VOTF wants change with regard to protection of children this is to be encouraged and supported, but not coupled with their other agendas!
documents? C’mon..lay people need to change the structure of the church and take it back. Jesus’s vision of the The Church “structure” was hijacked by the Vatican long ago and has now deteriorated to where they value power and money over souls of children. I can’t think of a more evil empire.
Dear “Concerned [Anonymous] Priest,”
(Don’t you just love the anonymity of these people?)
The structures of the RCC have been built on a top down, power and authority model
with the power and authority wielded by the men at the top to the detriment of those at the bottom who are without power.
The sexual abuse of children, young women, men and vulnerable adults has been spoken about by church authorities since as early as the 4th century. You need to brush up on this stuff, “Concerned Priest.”
You say, “He [Jesus] designed the structure of the Church. GOOD GRIEF and you say you are a priest?
If you are a priest you should know from the church history you studied that Jesus did not design any church structures.
What planet are you on?
Moreover, the hierarchical system that is the church’s structure is a entity entirely separate from the sacramental life of the church. Your ramblings are without logic.
There are no checks and balances in the hierarchical, governmental structure of the church, no accountability and no transparency from those at the top to those ordinary people at the bottom.
Why, for goodness sake, bishops around the world have not even been observing the canons on disciplining rogue priests for sexual abuse (which I might add included death in some cases at one time), let alone been observing the civil laws of the land.
The abuse of this power and authority reached critical mass via instant communications in 2002 in the Archdiocese of Boston for most of us. There has now been a more significant implosion in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 2011 because it’s now almost ten years later and Cardinal Rigali apparently has learned next to nothing since it is now known that rogue priests have been left in ministry after Rigali said there were none and before he removed 21 from ministry.
And let’s not forget the 5 [two priests, one laicized priest, one lay teacher and one Msgr. Lynn] who have been arrested.
The abuse of power and authority has been documented universally from Canada to the United States, from Australia to Belgium, from Malta to Germany.
Yes, “In the body each member plays a crucial role, [and] that is what we ought to be working toward….” but that presumes that individuals, ordained or not, are recognized as the equal members by virtue of the baptism which they are.
Newsflash! The corrupted, flawed church structures can be changed by the pope with the stroke of a pen. They are not what makes the Church, Church. The medieval, monarchical system that appeared to work satisfactorily for some in the Middle Ages does not work now or haven’t you noticed?
Read the talk I gave at Chestnut Hill College on March 12, 2011. It is found at http://www.votfgp.org
Blessings,
Sister Maureen Paul Turlish
maturlishmdsnd@yahoo.com
What are you doing to assist the VICTIMS ? Are you one of the ‘good priests’ who turn a blind eye , how many VIctims have U met ?
My sister and I will attend the rally this Friday at noon.
Thank you!
Thank you!
I am floored by the anonymous priets’ comments. First off, why the need to remain anonymous. Is he afraid of running afoul of his bosses because he “shouldn’t” be reading this blog? One can only speculate.
I don’t read anywhere where anyone wants to (heretically or otherwise) change the Church. Rather the call is to attack the corruption that allows such evil to flourish. Was Jesus trying to “change” the Temple when he trashed the tables of monreychangers or was he simply drawing attention to how far from the doctrine and message the people had drifted? Are we doing anything different here?
Jesus provides all sorts of roadmaps on how to conduct ourselves amidst this hypocrisy and evil. As Christians we cannot do otherwise. If that is heretical, so be it!
In response to “concerned priest”‘s comment that VOF and others are focused on changing the structure of the Church rather than protecting children, I would like to relate the following story which occurred shortly after the First Grand Jury Report in September 2005.
I contacted a pastor and civil attorney in the Philadelphia archdiocese asking him what his primary responsibility would be, according to the protocol of the archdiocese, should a parishioner come to him alleging sexual abuse by a member of his staff, religious or lay. Since he is paid by the archdiocese and yet ministers to the faithful in his parish, would his primary responsibility be to the victim, their safety and protection or to the management at the archdiocese?
The pastor/civil attorney’s response was that people like me have a “political agenda”. No, Father, I told him…..all I want to do is to keep the children safe.
Is Cardinal Rigali going to be at the Rally on Friday ?
I’m told he is out of the country.
Unfortunately, i am not able to come to the Rally which I wholeheartedly support. I have a new job and no time off. Any suggestions on how to help. I have stopped giving in the collection b/c I am afraid that some of the money will go to defend the priests who have abused innocent children.
Beth