Voice of the Faithful 2015 National Assembly Set for Hartford, April 18

Catholic reform movement members gather to discuss issues surrounding the Roman Catholic clergy sexual abuse scandal, diocesan financial accountability, and lay input into the 2015 bishops' family synod and lay input into Church governance.
 
HARTFORD, Conn. - March 18, 2015 - PRLog -- Voice of the Faithful, a Roman Catholic Church reform movement focusing on issues surrounding the clergy sexual abuse scandal and the laity’s role in Church governance, will hold its 2015 National Assembly (http://www.votf.org/content/2015-national-assembly-april-18-register-now) on Saturday, April 18, at the Connecticut Convention Center, Hartford.

The featured speaker will be Marie Collins, a Catholic clergy sexual abuse survivor from Ireland who pioneered child protection policies there and is on the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

Organizers also have scheduled five interactive workshops to allow attendees to offer opinions and learn about VOTF activities surrounding several issues:

• Degrees of Transparency: The Good, the Bad, and the Confusing in Diocesan Financial Accountability
• Towards Healing the People of God
• Let’s Talk About It: Can Clergy & Laity Speak to Each Other as Equals
• Survivor Support: A Discussion with Fr. Tom Doyle
• Your Voice for the Synod on the Family

Collins was among the first in March 2014 whom Pope Francis appointed to his Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. She has spoken out for years on the Church’s need to provide better protection for children and justice for clergy sexual abuse survivors. She helped the Dublin Archdiocese set up its Child Protection Service in 2003 and was a member of the Lynott Committee drafting the Church’s all-Ireland child protection guidelines. She was among survivors who lobbied the Irish government for the Murphy Commission, which reported in 2009 extensive clergy child abuse and coverup in the Dublin Archdiocese. In 2012, she spoke about being a clergy abuse victim at the Vatican symposium on child sexual abuse “Toward Healing,” which was attended by Church leaders from around the world.

The documentary “A Matter of Conscience: Confronting Clergy Sexual Abuse” also will be screened at the Assembly. The film, produced by Boston College faculty members John and Susan Michalczyk, features several members of Catholic Whistleblowers, a group Catholic priests and religious formed in 2013 to support other whistleblowers and identify shortcomings in Church child protection policies.

Registration for the 2015 National Assembly is at the Voice of the Faithful website, http://www.votf.org.

Contact
Nick Ingala
***@votf.org
End
Source: » Follow
Email:***@votf.org Email Verified
Tags:Voice Of The Faithful, 2015 National Assembly
Industry:Non-profit, Religion
Location:Hartford - Connecticut - United States
Account Email Address Verified     Account Phone Number Verified     Disclaimer     Report Abuse
Voice of the Faithful News
Trending
Most Viewed
Daily News



Like PRLog?
9K2K1K
Click to Share