An article in the Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette talks about opposition to Voice of the Faithful in that diocese. (50-cent, one-day subscription required, at least)
The article opens up with this line:
- Some local Catholics who describe themselves as conservative are beginning to openly question the motives of Voice of the Faithful.
Beginning? People have been questioning the motives of VOTF since it was formed. And people in Worcester were questioning it since their local chapter was formed.
To refresh your memory, here’s what happened. VOTF announced it was holding a meeting in Worcester to explore founding a local chapter. According to VOTF’s own rules, a two-thirds approval of the people attending the organizational meeting is required before a chapter can be formed. That’s supposed to prevent VOTF being imposed on a parish or diocese that doesn’t want it. Can you guess how it really works?
Ms. Letourneau and a group of other Catholics attended the founding meeting of Worcester Diocese Voice of the Faithful, held at the [Holy Cross] college in September. She has criticized the group for forming the chapter and said the group did not get the two-thirds vote it said it needed.
The meeting, by all descriptions, was loud and unruly. Mary Keville, spokeswoman for Voice of the Faithful, said the people who opposed forming the group were out of order. Ms. Letourneau said the conservative Catholics had difficulty being recognized and were shut off when they asked questions about what the group intended to do. ...
[Deal] Hudson in his magazine [Crisis] said, “According to the article, there was a period of ‘shouting and confusion about goals of the organization,’ followed by a vote to determine if a Voice of the Faithful chapter should be established. ... When the votes at the meeting were tallied, the results were 30 in favor of opening a chapter, and 27 against—not even close to a two-thirds majority.”It certainly sounds like the Faithful of Worcester were not in favor of starting a chapter, yet their desires were ignored by an elite few who had an agenda and pushed it through. It sounds familiar—like many of the so-called reform groups who claim to represent the whole People of God, yet only represent their tiny minority who want to change vast tracts of immutable Church teaching.
