Voice of the Faithful Orange County (VOTFOC)

Bishop Robinson, Author of Confronting Sex & Power in the Catholic Church, to Speak in Costa Mesa over Objections of Bishop of Orange, Tod Brown

COSTA MESA, CA 30 MAY 08 –The decision of Australian Bishop Geoffrey Robinson to proceed with his June 11 talk in Costa Mesa despite the objections of Bishop Tod Brown opens up a major debate within the local Catholic Church over the issue of doctrine versus policy. Bishop Robinson, who was appointed by the Australian Church in 1994 to lead a task force to overcome the sexual abuse crisis, has turned his learning and experience into a book through which he hopes to help the Church reform through a re-evaluation of church attitudes toward power and sex. Catholic News Service reported that Bishop Brown, in a letter dated May 16^th asked Bishop Robinson to cancel his June 11 visit to the Orange Diocese saying:

"Lest your visit be a source of disunity and a cause for confusion among the faithful of our local church of Orange, I want you to know that you do not have my permission to speak in the Diocese of Orange, and I ask you to cancel your speaking engagement here.”

Bishop Robinson has been invited to speak at the Costa Mesa Neighborhood Community Center at 7:00 PM on Wednesday June 11 by Voice of the Faithful Orange County (VOTFOC) an organization of loyal, mainstream Catholics that seeks to shape structural change within the Church in full accordance and harmony with Church teaching.

“We seek a change in Church policy, not Church doctrine.” says Steve Dzida, Chairman of VOTFOC. “We fully accept the teaching authority of Bishop Brown on matters of doctrine. However, Church teaching requires us to speak out when Church policy is in error. We’re encouraging the Church hierarchy to hold bishops accountable to the people they serve and to embrace full participation of Catholic women and men in Church decision-making. That’s why it’s so important that Bishop Robinson’s ideas for structural change be heard.”

“We have invited Bishop Brown to also speak, or send a representative to speak, at the program in order to clarify any areas of disagreement or concern he might have with Bishop Robinson. Our goal is not to take sides in the disagreement between the bishops. Our goal is to learn from and understand how the sexual abuse crisis came about so that we can avoid similar ones in the future.”

In a statement issued on May 16 at the beginning of his U.S. book tour, Robinson said "my book is about the response to the revelations of sexual abuse within the church. Sexual abuse is all about power and sex, so it is surely reasonable to ask questions about power and sex in the church." Prior to his June 11 stop in Costa Mesa, Robinson is visiting major East Coast cities from Boston to Washington D.C. He will speak in Los Angeles on June 12^th over the objections of Cardinal Roger Mahony who invoked the Code of Canon Law, saying in a letter to Robinson that he had decided to "deny you permission to speak in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles."

During his recent U.S. visit, Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged that the priest sex-abuse scandal had been sometimes badly handled and that he was “deeply ashamed." Dzida believes that the Pope modeled the behavior that he expects from his followers in the Church by his openness, honesty and dialogue. “The sexual abuse crisis is a wake up call for laity to take action to avoid abuse in other areas of Church administration,” Dzida says.

“We thank Bishop Brown for the great strides he has made in helping to prevent future sexual abuse problems in the Diocese of Orange, “Dzida continued. “Bishop Brown is to be commended for his commitment to compensate victims at a significant level, for the establishment of a functioning Sexual Misconduct Oversight and Review Board (SMORB) and for creating the “Covenant with the Faithful” operating principles to safeguard our children. We look forward to an ongoing dialogue between Bishop Brown and Voice of the Faithful in our efforts to advance meaningful lay consultation and guardianship of major personnel, administrative and financial decisions in the Diocese of Orange.”

Bishop Robinson’s talk will take place at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, June 11 in the Hamilton Room at the Costa Mesa Neighborhood Community Center located at 1845 Park Avenue Costa Mesa, California. For more information visit the Voice of the Faithful Orange County website at www.VOTFOC.org.

Voice of the Faithful Orange County (VOTFOC) is part of a worldwide movement of concerned mainstream Catholics formed in response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis. The group’s mission is 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. Its goals are to support survivors of clergy abuse; to support priests of integrity; and to shape structural change within the Church in full accordance and harmony with Church teaching.