He's Coming to America

The video was taped by the Pope in advance of his visit to the United States. Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) is circulating a petition (text below) which you can access and sign online at the VOTF site.

VOTF Petition
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, according 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.