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Group meets on abuse scandal A group affiliating itself with Voice of the Faithful, a national lay organization that evolved as a result of the abuse scandal in the Church, recently held its first meeting in the Albany Diocese. The members began meeting for informal conversation at the behest of Rev. John Kirwin, pastor of St. John/St. Ann's parish in Albany, after some parishioners there expressed concern with the way the Albany Diocese has handled the sexual abuse crisis. Some parishioners expressed misgivings about donating to diocesan appeals; others had stopped attending Mass because of the crisis. Word of mouth "It was my idea to see if they could somehow or another resolve some of their problems and difficulties because I don't think the answer is to stop going to church," said Father Kirwin. "I think we have to deal with things." What originally began as an intraparish effort at St. John/St. Ann's spread by word of mouth to other parishes. Eventually, according to Father Kirwin, the group decided to look to Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) for direction. Andrew Grebe, a member of the new group, described the first meeting, held earlier this month at St. John/St. Ann's, as "a group of life-long Catholics who are concerned that the Church is hurting and want to be a part of healing." The 20 attendees represented parishes from the Capital District, Clifton Park and Cooperstown. Some women religious were in attendance along with the laity. Discussion Mr. Grebe, a parishioner at St. Mary's Church in Crescent, said that the meeting served as a forum for people to vent their "overall frustration" regarding the local crisis. Because the meeting was an initial get-together, "nothing specific" came out of it, he said, noting some general issues with which attendees were dissatisfied: financial disclosure about diocesan monies and payments to abuse victims, for example, and a perceived lack of input by laity into the crisis and other Church matters. A press release issued after the meeting listed three VOTF goals: support for abuse victims, support for "priests of integrity" and structural change within the Church. "None of us are looking to create radical change," said Mr. Grebe, "but we are looking for a voice." (The next meeting will be held on June 5, 7 p.m., at St. Mary's Church in Crescent. For information, contact Andrew Grebe at agrebe@nycap.rr.com.) (5/22/03) |