In the basement of the parish of St. John the Evangelist Church in Wellesley, Mass., a group known as the Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) was formed. Its mission was "to provide a prayerful voice, attentive to the spirit, through which the faithful can actively participate in the governance and guidance of the Catholic Church."
Yesterday four panelists spoke to a packed room gathered to discuss and learn about this organization, which, in six years, has extended from a Massachusetts basement to 37 foreign countries, and now includes 35,000 members.
The panelists included professor Alan Wolfe of the political science department who has written several books and is a contributor to publications such as The New York Times and Commonweal; professor Jim O'Toole of the history department; professor Jim Post of Boston University and a former president of the VOTF; and Father Dennis Sheehan, a parish priest within the community.
VOTF and lay participation were central themes throughout the presentation. Each panelist urged lay members of the church to speak out and do their part to reform the Catholic church in America.
Wolfe spoke about the organization being a voice within the Church, urging the members to form their own convictions instead of adhering to Church teachings without reflection. "For many Americans, blind loyalty no longer suffices," Wolfe said. "Making oneself heard is a brute force of American people."
He also discussed the ever-shrinking American religious landscape, saying that one-third of native-born Catholics have left the church.The percent of Americans who are Catholic has remained relatively constant, he said, and currently 23.9 percent of the population is Catholic. The consistent levels of Catholics in the United States, despite the exodus of native-born Americans from the church, can be attributed to an influx of immigrants, many of whom are Catholic.
Wolfe compared the loyalty of church members in the past to the current situation among the present generation.
"BC students care about their faith, but are exiting the Church of past generations," Wolfe said.
O'Toole stressed the importance of an active laity for the survival of Catholicism. He spoke of how Catholic action groups started by laity show that the faith can be more than a Sunday practice.
Post and Sheehan discussed the past, present, and future of the organization.
"VOTF filled an important void in the religion between us [laypeople] and the Church," Post said. At present, the VOTF is trying to expand, to take on new classes of people into its ranks and hopes to retain the energy and sense of trust that brought everyone together in the first place.
As for the future of VOTF, when asked if there was room in the Catholic Church for such an organization, Post emphatically said that there had to be. The VOTF, however, does not believe it is responsible for questioning church doctrine, as there are other groups to do that.
O'Toole said there were many opportunities for BC students to become a "voice" within the church.
"There's so much that Campus Ministry offers [here]. The first step is to get involved in Campus Ministry and then find churches to sustain that effort [from Campus Ministry programs]," O'Toole said.
Nancy Sheehan, a member of the audience and BC '65, said she was impressed with the knowledge and experience of the presenters.
"It was very positive to learn we have made an impact, that we are a voice."
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