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September 16th, 2009
12:49 am - What this Blog is about
This is the blog of Voice of the Faithful Orange County, the affiliate in Orange County, California, of the national Voice of the Faithful organization. Our website is at: http://www.votfoc.org.
This blog is for Catholics, and those who care about them, who love the Church enough to want it to change and grow and truly be Christ's people.
It is called "The Back of the Church" in honor of all who never sit in the front. : )
Welcome! Keep the faith. Change the church.
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July 30th, 2008
05:57 pm - Bishop Geoffrey Robinson
Bishop Geoffrey Robinson spoke in Orange County on June 11th. Press coverage of the controversy over the speech may be found at the Voice Orange County website:
http://votfoc.org/
A question: Was this more of a "controversy" because of Bishop Robinson's alleged "doctrinal errors" or because the hierarchy attempted to stop him from speaking about ANYTHING AT ALL including the abuse crisis?
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June 9th, 2008
02:23 pm - Bishop Geoffrey Robinson
Bishop Geoffrey Robinson will speak in Costa Mesa on June 11, 2008. The program is sponsored by Voice of the Faithful Orange County and details are at:
http://votfoc.org/
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November 1st, 2007
08:43 pm - Meetings at the parish level
Individual parishes in Orange County are also organizing Voice chapters. For example, parishioners of Sts. Simon & Jude in Huntington Beach are meeting again on November 8, 2007. For details, see the entry for this date on our website calendar (you can get to our website from the link at the left side of this blog).
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October 17th, 2007
04:02 pm - Continued Need For and Relevancy Of Voice of the Faithful
Commonweal Magazine has published a pertinent article on the continuing problems in the church caused by a clerical culture that resists lay participation.
The article may be read at:
http://www.votfoc.org/Articles.html
As stated in the article:
"The crucial question for American Catholics is: Have the bishops corrected the problems that caused the crisis of sexual abuse? Have survivors received the justice they should expect from the church? Have we as a church done all we can to reach out to survivors and their families, to make sure that their voices are heard as our church makes its decisions, and to insure that pastoral as well as legal considerations guide our response to lawsuits against the church? How is responsibility shared among the hierarchy, clergy, deacons, ministerial professionals, and laypeople for addressing the roots of sexual abuse and the cover-ups? Are we Catholics organized in a way that will allow us to carry out our mission in the years to come?
In response to such questions, VOTF's members believe that the work needed to resolve the sexual-abuse crisis is far from over. The conditions that gave rise to the crisis-lack of shared responsibility, transparency, and accountability-have not changed significantly, and in many dioceses have gotten worse. Repentance, renewal, and reform are painful, sometimes messy, endeavors, but lay Catholics cannot afford a return to business as usual. A reinvigorated American Catholicism will come about only if lay Catholics take personal responsibility for their church. The good news about Voice of the Faithful is that thousands of Catholics, active in their parishes and in church ministries, have held fast for five years in their pledge to “Keep the Faith, Change the Church.” The bad news is that these members fight on alone, and that too many others, well informed about church affairs and sharing VOTF's values and goals, have wished VOTF well but have not joined or sent a check. Nor-and this is crucial-have they formed alternative organizations through which to carry out their responsibilities as Catholics."
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July 22nd, 2007
04:29 pm - It's not all about money.
On July 21, 2007, William Lobdell, the religion columnist for the Los Angeles Times, published a column reflecting the doubts that have arisen in his spiritual life because of many religious scandals, including, in particular, the sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church.
The article demonstrates that the highest costs which may be paid by Catholics are not monetary. We will lose and have lost many who were Catholics or were interested in Catholicism. We will lose and have lost adults like Lobdell but also many of our children.
The following is a link to the article:
http://www.votfoc.org/Articles.html
In short, we have lost and will lose more than money. The recent announcement of the monetary settlement in Los Angeles reflects only a small part of the cost of our hierarchy's inability to see beyond its own perceived self-interest in regard to this terrible scandal. We continue to pay, not just in money.
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June 1st, 2007
09:16 am - Litigation and Diocesan Financials--Questions
The audited financial statements for the Diocese of Orange are located at:
http://www.rcbo.org/financials/Financial_Audit_FY06.pdf
At page 14, note 12, the auditors address "Litigation and Related Expenses." This note in and of itself is interesting because it shows amounts spent on lawyer's fees and settlement payments in fiscal years 2005 and 2006.
It is also interesting,however, for what it does NOT say. When companies are audited, the auditors normally investigate to determine if there is any material exposure to liability in actual or potential lawsuits. Material items are often reported in the notes. The audit does not report any such items.
In 1985 the bishops received a report that can be viewed at:
http://ncronline.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2002b/051702/051702a.htm
(and other places on the Internet)
This report was prophetic but ignored until too late. It reported a potential billion dollar liability that clearly impacted the finances of the entire U.S. Church. The Orange County diocese has paid a high price for its share of that liability.
Are there existing lawsuits or potential lawsuits out there right now that, if reported, would materially affect the financial position described in the audited statements of the Orange County diocese? Are there potential liabilities, like the potential billion dollar liability reported in 1985, that are out there right now but are not reflected in the audited financials?
The fiscal year for the diocese ends in June and a new audited statement should be available in a few months.
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March 28th, 2007
08:17 pm - Diocesan Control and Use of Parish and School Funds
The audited financial statements for the Diocese of Orange are located at:
http://www.rcbo.org/financials/Financial_Audit_FY06.pdf
At page 13, note 9, the following is stated:
"Parishes and schools of the Diocese participate in a demand deposit (checking) account concentration arrangement that accumulates daily balances centrally so that excess funds can be invested. These funds bear interest on the average daily balance at .75% and .50% for the years ended June 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively.
Parishes and schools deposit funds in excess of current operational need, for capital projects, and for their general savings into the deposit and loans funds of the diocese. These funds permit the Diocese to lend amounts needed for capital projects to the parishes at preferred lending rates. At June 30, 2006 and 2005, the rate paid on deposit and loan deposits was 4.00% and 2.50%, respectively."
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January 15th, 2007
08:21 pm - Financial Fraud in Parish and Dioceses
The following is a link to the U.S. Bishops' study document on the need for financial controls at the parish and diocesan level. It describes seven types of financial fraud experienced by dioceses and parishes throughout the country.
http://www.usccb.org/finance/internal.shtml
The following is a link to a Villanova University study which states that 85% of U.S. dioceses have detected embezzlement over the past five years.
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/national/CatholicChurchfinances.pdf
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September 21st, 2006
09:35 am - Bishop's Letter
You might be interested in reading Bishop Brown's recent letter regarding renewing and strengthening our faith while living in a materialistic world. His thought-provoking questions provide a path to spiritual self-examination and commitment to a living faith. Click on the URL: http://www.rcbo.org/learning-loving-living-faith/images/files/The-Letter-from-Bishop-in-English.pdf
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