Money Crunch Hits "Voice of the (un)Faithful"

Pity party time...

The lay group created to give anguished Roman Catholics a voice as the clergy sex abuse crisis unfolded five years ago is now in a crisis of its own, dealing with a budget deficit and infighting among its leaders.

Voice of the Faithful is projecting a $100,000 deficit in the next fiscal year following a drop in the number of major donors, according to an account of a group leaders' meeting which is posted on Voice's Web site.

Board chairman William Casey said that the group has had trouble adjusting to a long-term strategy as the short-term anger over the scandal has subsided.

"When an emergency and a crisis occurs, people just want to help, they want to do something," Casey said. "But two years out, four years, five, 10 years out, how do you keep that going? ... Trying to struggle to figure that out is a real challenge."

Maybe, just maybe, if the group was not a haven for aging dissidents and rebels who oppose the hierarchical structure of the Church as well as some of her doctrines and disciplines and, if the group had some appearance of being an authentically Catholic group, it would find itself in a different position.

Boston College theology professor Thomas Groome said that [some dissatisfaction with Church leadership] leaves Voice struggling to convince Catholics it is still relevant, though he believes it is. Another obstacle, he says, is the Catholic tendency to submit to the church hierarchy.

It never was relevant and those who think otherwise are confused...

...Fox and [VOTF President, Mary Pat] Fox also said the passion of grass roots volunteers has been occasionally misdirected, sometimes at causes the group was not created to take up — such as ordination of women — or in focusing too much on how the group should be run and achieve its goals.

Sounds like a "leadership" problem to me...A group which cannot even control its own members thinks it's capable of advising and implementing reforms for others...How absurd! What egos!

A new "Statement of Identity" reaffirms the group's mission to support abuse survivors, faithful priests and reforms that will increase lay involvement and leadership accountability.

Go away already...no one cares about your little clique...