Voice of the Faithful honors Church authority, fills essential role

This is in response to the letter of Father Chester F. Carina, What real purpose does Voice of the Faithful serve? Nov. 27.

Father Carina states that he "does not trust any group that calls for the restructuring of the Church along democratic lines as well as redefinition of our traditional understanding of Church governance."

Mistrust can come from misunderstanding. VOTF can easily be examined and scrutinized by signing on to their website at www.votf.org where one reads:

Father Carina also states that even if VOTF is trustworthy, "What purpose do they serve?" At the national bishop’s conference in November, Bishop Wilton Gregory encouraged dialogue between bishops and lay people, citing Pope John Paul II:

"The theology and spirituality of communion encourage a fruitful dialogue between pastors and faithful: on the one hand uniting them from the beginning in all that is essential [to the faith and the Church], and on the other leading them to pondered agreement in matters open to discussion" (NMI, n.45).

I believe that VOTF is trustworthy and humbly fills this need to dialogue in the healing of the Body of Christ.

Opinions expressed in this section are those of the letter writer and do not necessarily reflect Church teaching, nor the position of The Catholic Spirit or the Diocese of Metuchen.

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