July 23, 2009: Voice of the Faithful, a Lay Catholic Group Founded in 2002 During the Boston Clergy Sex Abuse Scandal, Faces Financial Crisis
By MICHELE BETTI | b&f opinions July 25, 2009
A lay Catholic group, based in the Boston suburb of Needham, founded in 2002 in the wake of the church’s clergy sex abuse scandal said it may be forced to cease operations because of a downturn in donations.
Voice of the Faithful was founded in 2002 during the clergy sex abuse crisis with the mission of giving lay people a greater role in the Catholic Church. The group’s goals are to support survivors of clergy sexual abuse; support priests of integrity; and shape structural change within the Catholic Church.
As reported by Denise Lavoie on July 13th, Bill Casey, chairman of the group’s board of trustees, said Voice of the Faithful has been hit hard by the economic downturn and is making an “emergency appeal” for donations. “Our revenue has been dropping. We’ve made significant reductions in our operating expenses. We’ve cut salaries, we have cut contracts,” Casey said. “But I think for us, the killer has been the inability of people to continue to contribute because of the economic crisis.”
Voice of the Faithful is a lay organization of faithful Catholics, who organized in 2002 as a response to the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. They started in the basement of a church in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and have since expanded worldwide with more than 30,000 members.
If you’d like to contribute to this organization please visit their website
http://www.voiceofthefaithful.org/ and click on DONATE.
Copyright 2009, b&f opinions.
