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Liturgy
This link will keep 'parishioners-at-large' in touch with current creative liturgy sources and resources that respect a variety of 'traditions' within the Church.

COMMONWEAL Magazine
A 'lay' Catholic weekly publication with an accent on an intelligent analysis and commentary on curent issues, trends and concerns of interest to Catholics.

National Catholic Reporter
A national Catholic lay newspaper covering events not usually covered or presented with a clerical bias in the local diocesan press or but of concern and interest to Catholics.

Survivos' Network for those Abused by Priests or Religious
A National Network of self-help support groups for people abused by clergy or religious.

Bishop Accountability
Vital information about the disclosure of sexual abuse and related issues affecting Catholics in the pew and the manner in which Bishops continue to exempt themselves from accountability

Voice of the Faithful
A 'movement' of lay Catholics 'inspired' by the abuse scandal calling for greater accountability of bishops to 'Catholics in the Pew.'

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Daily Scripture

+ 20th Week in Ordinary Time

I’ll do it myself.

Readings: Ezekiel 34:1-11 Psalm 23:1-6 Matthew 20:1-16

Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: because my shepherds did not look after my sheep, but pastured themselves and did not pasture my sheep, I will claim my sheep from them and put a stop to their shepherding my sheep. I will save my sheep, that they may no longer be food for their mouths. [Ezekiel 34:10]

There is much talk about a vocation shortage—fewer young men entering the seminary and fewer still persevering to ordination. Not withstanding some notable exceptions this has resulted in the lowering of standards for ordination. Moreover, priests and candidates for the priesthood are being ‘imported’ from other countries whose needs are as urgent as ours.

The prevailing accent seems to be on the need to have a sufficient number of priests to ‘say Mass’ and provide for the sacramental needs of the faithful. But surely in the light of the Second Vatican Council, priests need to be more than presiders at Mass and providers of the sacraments, as important as are these roles.

The earliest experience of the Church can be instructive in this regard. The notion of presbyter provided the early church with presiders for worship and leaders for base communities. Celibacy was not an issue and there was no clerical caste. The gifts of the faithful were recognized in such a manner that men and women, married and single fulfilled the spiritual needs of the community including the sacramental needs.

Notwithstanding the inadequacy of the notion of shepherding people (sheeple?) the need remains for qualified men and women to minister to the needs of the community.

Ezekiel warned the priests and assured the people of Israel that God would find away to pasture his people.

Ezekiel’s words need to be taken to heart again and in fact we already see that God is indeed providing a way through the action of the Holy Spirit in the lives of men and women, married and single, who are tending to the needs of the faithful.

Unanswered Question Linger...

Tuesday January 9, 2007

Boston Globe on the Fifth Anniversary of Disclosure
By Steven Krueger | January 7, 2007

It couldn’t be stated more aptly not only about Boston but about the conglomerate of U.S. dioceses.]

JAN. 6, 2002—the feast of the Epiphany, when the
Magi followed a star to the Christ Child—was the
day The Boston Globe broke the story about one priest
who had sexually abused more than 130 children. More
important was the revelation that three cardinals knew
his history of sexual abuse and had knowingly
transferred him to six different parishes over 34
years.

Unlike the three wise men who broke from Herod after
meeting infant Jesus, the three cardinals followed the
toxic secrecy of a hierarchical culture that became
exposed that day.

It’s been five years now, but for too many it has been
a lifetime. This happens when your world is turned
upside down, particularly your faith—or, in the
case of the bishops, a threat to their power and
privilege. While we’ve been told it’s “history,” the
multitudes of those affected by the clergy sexual
abuse crisis—from the victims and survivors to lay
Catholics and the clergy who serve them, and, yes,
even the once-revered leaders of the church, the
bishops—still wonder when it really will be.

With a history that dates back to the fourth century,
the modern sexual abuse crisis began to emerge in
1984. However, the Globe article was the seminal story
for the upheaval we are in today, with Boston as
“ground zero.” Like the “shot heard ‘round the world”
it has had far-reaching, revolutionary consequences—for the church and society—that few could have
imagined.

As the headlines spread across the globe, so too did
the crisis. More victims came forward—as repressed
memories were unlocked or new courage was found.
Attorneys general and grand juries became involved.
Four dioceses filed bankruptcy. Today, the church
continues to downsize. Bishops seek to close vibrant
parishes while parishioners fight back. Now laity,
along with victims, are seeking justice in courts of
civil law. Statute of limitations reform legislation
is sweeping the country. Many Catholics are taking
responsibility while others are leaving for other
faiths or forming new faith communities. Some just
feel like they are in limbo—can it be?

At the same time, the institutional church has only
responded to what has been forced on them by the court
of public opinion or the legal system. While there has
been progress, it has been painfully slow,
inconsistent, and too often lacking in the values of
social justice and Christian charity. The expressions
of sorrow, the prayers, the Masses, have all been
said, but they have fallen short for too many victims,
many of whom can not bear to even drive by a church.
Policies based on an intention of “zero-tolerance”
have been implemented to varying degrees but still
only 15 dioceses disclose the names of known
perpetrators. Today, bishops are attempting to
reassert their authority on everything from gay
marriage to who can wash liturgical vessels.
Bishops—on the whole—still treat the direct
victims as adversaries. The collateral victims, the
people in the pews and faithful Catholic clergy, have
yet to be meaningfully received at their rightful
place at the table of church governance. Across the
country, not one bishop has been held accountable for
putting children in harm’s way. More important, the
devastating effects of childhood sexual abuse are
still with many of the victims and will be for decades—if not all of their lives.

Too much truth is too disturbing for too many people.
No matter how tired of it we are, and even though it
no longer dominates the headlines, the clergy sexual
abuse crisis is far from history. A question posed in
that now historic story still remains unanswered, “Why
did it take a succession of three cardinals and many
bishops 34 years to place children out of John
Geoghan’s reach?”

The history of the crisis is still being written, and
it will not be over until we know why it happened.
More important, it will not be over until the truth is
exposed in every diocese throughout the world; until
victims are sought by bishops in the interest of
justice; until the responsibilities lay Catholics are
necessarily taking are welcomed by the institutional
church. It will not be over until we take the long
journey of healing, through the gates of truth,
acknowledgment,and accountability. The crisis will not
be history unless and until our bishops are asking us
to do more in the name of justice and the protection
of children than we are asking of them.

Steven Krueger, founding executive director of Voice
of the Faithful, is a nonprofit consultant.