Kelly Clark, the “Pew Lady,” sent the following letter to the editor to the Boston Globe regarding Bishop Lennon’s No to VOTF’s donation.
“This isn’t about power or politics, but about feeding the hungry and clothing the naked,” said Catholic Charities vice chairman Peter Meade, regarding the decision to refuse the money offered by the Newton based group known as “Voice of the Faithful.” I respectfully disagree. The highly publicized issue has everything to do with power and politics: the power sought by the lay group and its political maneuverings to obtain it.
If the current VOTF head, Jim Post, truly believes that the decision “violates the Lenten imperative of almsgiving,” I suggest he re-read the Gospel I presume he heard on Ash Wednesday: “...when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret.”
If the faithful folk wish to feed the hungry via Catholic Charities, nothing could be simpler! Any individual can just visit [url=http://www.ccab.org]http://www.ccab.org[/url] , click on the “donate” link, and do it. Of course, this might not “win the praise of others,” but that isn’t the point of giving alms. At least, for Catholics, it’s not supposed to be.
Too true, Kelly. If it was simply about supporting the Church, they would cut a check, but VOTF wants to be “relevant” and to be a player in the leadership of the Church. They want people to see them as important, but they are becoming increasingly pathetic. The media treat them as a major force organizing a reform movement of average Catholics, but they have tiny numbers. And of their claimed “25,000 members,” only 600 gave a total of $49,000 to their Voices of Compassion Fund.
It’s time the media stopped wasting ink and airtime on VOTF because they’re fading into obscurity.
