TO POPE BENEDICT XVI and HIS FELLOW BISHOPS on the Occasion of the Pope’S April 2008 Visit to the United States
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TO POPE BENEDICT XVI AND HIS FELLOW BISHOPS On the occasion of the Pope’s April 2008 visit to the United States Please join Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) in calling all Catholics to transform our Church. Join your voice with thousands of others who must raise our voices through petition because the Pope has scheduled no discussions or listening sessions with ordinary laity. Will he hear the concerns of the faithful without such conversations? We Catholics are still addressing the clergy sex abuse scandal, one of the worst crises in the history of our Church. One-third of those raised Catholic in the U.S. no longer call themselves Catholics, accord- ing to a recent survey. Numbers of priests are declining; many parishes and schools are closing; we face massive financial crises. Voice of the Faithful, with more than 35,000 members, proposes concrete solutions to address this crisis: 1. Treat survivors of sexual abuse with the justice and compassion our faith demands. 2. Hold bishops accountable to the people they serve. 3. Embrace full participation of Catholic men and women in Church decision-making. 4. Require full financial transparency and accountability in all governance matters. We believe these steps will produce: ▪ An open, transparent and accountable Church ▪ A participative Church embracing the gifts and talents of the baptized ▪ A Church governed by compassion, informed by justice, empowered by equality, and animated to act collegially We urge all clergy to listen to the voices of the faithful as we join together to inspire our Church to become a community of believers worthy of our founder, Jesus Christ. We pledge our energy toward realizing these changes. Mary Beth Allison, Alabama Claudette Burque, Alabama Richard Carmody, Alabama Liz Gregorius, Alabama Laurence Lyons, Alabama Cynthia Mingus, Alabama Roy Peltier, Alabama Honey Weiss, Alabama Blanche Crandall, Alaska Nancy Alzheimer, Alaska Kay GAjewski, Alaska Morris Horning, Alaska Joanna Maselko, Alaska Christy McMurren, Alaska Joan Soutar, Alaska Carol Szopa, Alaska Joan Cartlidge, Alberta, Canada Brad Diduch, Alberta, Canada Brion Garagan, Alberta, Canada Alice Godin, Alberta, Canada Terry Horvath, Alberta, Canada David M Leigh, Alberta, Canada Phillip Walker, Alberta, Canada Gerard Curley, Antrim, UK Maire Murray, Antrim, UK Tim Wilson, Antrim, UK John Allen, Arizona Carl Baerst, Arizona Pat Baker, Arizona Patricia Baker, Arizona Charles Balchumas, Arizona Jeanette Bell, Arizona Robert Bell, Arizona Benjamin Bonneprise, Arizona Evelyn Bonneprise, Arizona Madlyn Bracco-Taylor, Arizona Anne McGinnis Breen, Arizona Philip Brookover, Arizona Anne Burke, Arizona David Burke, Arizona William Burke, Arizona Barbara Busse, Arizona Barbara Carlile, Arizona Eileen Conroy, Arizona Berniece Dahl, Arizona Jean Marie Daniels, Arizona Suzanne Digiovanni-Smith, Arizona Frank Douglas, Arizona Kathleen Durklin, Arizona Mary P Fishencord, Arizona Mary Fisher, Arizona Mary Ford, Arizona William Ford, Arizona Dave Fronske, Arizona Kathleen Garrett, Arizona Bill Gouin, Arizona Yvonne Gouin, Arizona Patricia Graft, Arizona Richard Grant, Arizona Stephen Hall, Arizona M. Theresa Hill, Arizona Theresa Hill, Arizona Ange-Marie Hodges, Arizona Renate Holmes, Arizona Dan Houston, Arizona David Hubbell, Arizona Terry J Bolduc, Arizona Austin Jensen, Arizona 1 Pat Jensen, Arizona George Joumas, Arizona Robert Kaiser, Arizona Willi Kempter, Arizona Margaret Koenig, Arizona Joseph LaMantia, Arizona Loretta Landry, Arizona Alice Langen, Arizona Bill Leeburn, Arizona Dorothy Lorant, Arizona Tom Maes, Arizona Maggie McGrail, Arizona Don Meehan, Arizona James Myers, Arizona Minnie Nicolaus, Arizona John Norton, Arizona Lynn Norton, Arizona Raymond & Jean O’Neil, Arizona Jean O’Neil, Arizona Christine Pauken, Arizona Jennifer Pompay, Arizona Antoinette Portnoy, Arizona Rosary Reinbold, Arizona Jeff Rochford, Arizona Elizabeth Savino, Arizona Margaret Schmitt, Arizona Paul Schmitt, Arizona Russell Sgro, Arizona William Shea, Arizona John & Ruth Sieve, Arizona John&Ruth Sieve, Arizona Florence Stewart, Arizona Elizabeth Stewart, Arizona Florence Stewart, Arizona Mary Stouffer, Arizona Mary Jo Stouffer, Arizona Alma Sychuk, Arizona Stella Terry, Arizona Patty Thomsen, Arizona Dominic Tomasso, Arizona Jeanne Trupiano, Arizona Janet Valder, Arizona Earle Van Gilder, Arizona Suzanne Vande Putte, Arizona Tom VanDyke, Arizona Mary Grace Wendel, Arizona Sarah Wendel, Arizona Carole Whittaker, Arizona Joan Wiebeq, Arizona Ruth Zemek, Arizona Patrick Edgar, Arkansas Jo Lauer, Arkansas Quentin Lauer, Arkansas William Lindsey, Arkansas Robert Myers, Arkansas Edward & Kathleen O’Brien, Arkansas Alan Patteson Jr, Arkansas Clark Wilkinson, Arkansas Anne Norman, Australia Peter Roach, Australia Mary Williams, Australia Tom Williams, Australia Annick Dengg, Austria Christine Holzleitner, Austria Christine Gilsen, Bangor, UK Kathleen arelli, British Columbia, Canada Brian Ayotte, British Columbia, Canada Greg Beattie, British Columbia, Canada 2 Michele Birch-Conery, British Columbia, Canada Patricia Fitzgerald, British Columbia, Canada Kelly Green, British Columbia, Canada Lauder Jim, British Columbia, Canada Mona Millan, British Columbia, Canada Terry Renshaw, British Columbia, Canada Malcolm Reville, British Columbia, Canada Rev. John Sproule, British Columbia, Canada John Sproule, British Columbia, Canada Dagma Abbott, California Kay Akers, California Gloria Alldredge, California Joseph Allen, California Martha Altieri, California Jean Anderson, California Judy Anguella, California Karen Archer, California Jim Aspaas, California Enid Awad, California Gabrielle Azzaro, California George Babka, California Theresa Bailey, California Sandra Baldonado, California Leslie Barber, California Bernice Batchelder, California Ryan Baum, California Leland Bellot, California Maureen Bennett, California Rosalie Benson, California Richard Bergman, California Ruth Berliner, California Barbara Berman, California Victoria Berry, California Nancy Bevilacqua, California Paul Bishop, California Diana Bitz, California Patricia Black, California Bernadine Blajos, California Mary Lou Blumer, California Claire Bogaard, California Patricia Boroughs, California Christopher Boscia, California Joseph Boyle, California Jane Bradford, California Mark Bradshaw, California Bonnie Bravo, California Michael Briley, California Wendy Brophy, California Mary Brown, California Dean Brown, California Robert Bugiada, California Dick Bureson, California Nancy Bureson, California Lupe Burkhardt, California James Burns, California Susan Burton, California Patricia Butler, California Maria Elena Byron, California LIla Caffery, California Jacqueline Calderon, California Colleen Callahan, California Paul Canavese, California Lesley Cannan, California Maryann Cantlon, California Ann Carberry, California Melissa Cardenas-Dow, California Robert Carey, California Maureen Carlson, California 3 Donald Carroll, California Deirdre Catalano, California Vincent Cesare, California Michael Cheng, California Marianne Chow, California Most Rev. +neil Christensen, c.s.e.f., California Kathleen Christenson, California James Clark, California Leslee Cody, California Jessica Colosi, California Bernadette Condon Wood, California Clare Conk, California George Conk, California Father John P. Conley, California Eleanor Conlon, California Sue Connor, California JoAnn Consiglieri, California Diane Cordone, California Maureen Corrigan, California Barbara Corrigan, California Kathleen Corrigan, California Thomas Cortez, California Terry Council, California Patricia Coyne, California Rita Creagh, California pat crowley, California Thomas Cullen, California Thomas Cullen, California declan cunniff, California Mathew Dalpino, California Kristina Davare, California Leonard Davey, California Iris Davey, California Peter Davey, California Philip Davey, California Kurt Davey, California Terri Daxon, California Alan Dean, California Sionie Del Rosario, California Michael Demaree, California Gerardo Demarsico, California Therese Denham, California Dorothy Denko, California Matt Denko, California Eugene Denko, California Paula DeRango, California Ronna Devincenzi, California Thomas Diesel, California Teresa Dillinger, California Susan Dillon, California Carol Dion, California Christine DiSandro, California Mary Doak, California Kevin Domecus, California Charles Donaldson, California Joan Donlon, California Mark Donnelly, California Edward Donovan, California James Donovan, California Julia Dowd, California Margaret Downes, California kate dreher, California Jacqueline Drummond, California Betty Dudney, California Betty Dudney, California Leonard & Ruth Duggan, California Edmund Duggan, California Gregory Dumas, California 4 Joseph Dunn, California Steven Dzida, California Christine Dzida, California Joseph Dzida, California Robert Eberhard, California Mary Eckert, California Robert Eckert, California Ann Egan, California Ann Egan, California Anne Eggleston, California Patricia England, California Kathy Esfahani, California Cindy Ewing, California Justin Ezzi, California Mary Fadhl, California Julia Fanara, California Diana Farias, California Nancy Feit, California Mary Felando, California Gregory Fiorini, California Rita Fisher, California Stephen Fitzpatrick, California Alfred Fleischer, California Paul Flick, California Sally Flotho, California Marie Foley, California John Foley, California Frank & Jean Forbath, California Roberto Foss, California Rey Francisco, California Reynaldo S.