Voice of the Faithful was formed in response to the clergy sex abuse scandal. The organization claims 30,000 members worldwide.

Voice of the Faithful's stated mission is to respond to survivors of abuse, to support priests living with their vows and to seek structural change within the church to prevent abuse.

In some states, Voice of the Faithful has been met with resistance from the local Catholic diocese. For example, in October, Archbishop John F. Donoghue of the Archdiocese of Atlanta forbade Voice of the Faithful Atlanta from meeting on church property.

"I cannot extend my blessing to your efforts at this time, since I consider them to be inappropriate in the context of this archdiocese," Donoghue said in a statement to the group.

The New Orleans Voice of the Faithful affiliate held its first public meeting Sunday with about 35 people, said organizer Adele Foster.

Adele and her husband, Mark, once lived in Baton Rouge where they attended St. Aloysius Catholic Church. She said they wrote to Archbishop Alfred Hughes about their intentions to form an affiliate.

"The archbishop returned our letter promptly, neither forbidding the religious movement for change or giving us his blessing. He asked that we work within the framework of the existing church and its changes," she said.

The Sisters of St. Joseph, with whom Adele Foster was acquainted in Baton Rouge, have agreed to allow the New Orleans affiliate to use their convent at 1200 Mirabeau, near City Park.

"The sisters have been the spiritual backbone of our affiliate," she said.

In Baton Rouge, about 25 people have been meeting in homes since June. The group does not have a designated meeting site yet, but they have not been told they are banned from diocese property, said the Very Rev. John Carville, vicar general for the Diocese of Baton Rouge.

Carville also said that he has told the group that he would be glad to meet with them. A meeting has not been scheduled.

5 See VOICE, Page 2F

Bishop Robert Muench of the Diocese of Baton Rouge answered a letter from the Baton Rouge affiliate stating that he accepts their stated intention, Carville said.

A couple who are members at St. Joseph Cathedral, Shelton and Billie Bourgeois, started the Baton Rouge affiliate. Both sing in the choir and Shelton Bourgeois teaches RCIA classes, which are classes for adults considering converting to Catholicism.

"We feel a real calling to do this because of our love of the church," Billie Bourgeois said.

Before forming an affiliate, the Bourgeoises spent a year looking at the group's Web site and considering the role of the laity as described in church doctrine, they said.

At the same time that Billie Bourgeois was reading the Web site, she said she was reading books about sex abuse in the church, such as "Lead Us Not Into Temptation" by Jason Berry and "The Unhealed Wound" by Eugene Kennedy.

"I was outraged and I was sad. I couldn't believe that this was happening in my church," Billie Bourgeois said.

Shelton Bourgeois said he felt compelled to do something because of the laity's role in the church.

"I didn't see anything in this group that's contrary to what the church teaches," Shelton Bourgeois said. "Lay people have an obligation."

Shelton Bourgeois cites the Catholic catechism where it says in part, "They (The lay faithful) have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church." (See sidebar for full citation)

"I said, 'This fits,' " Shelton Bourgeois said.

The Bourgeoises have ties with the Catholic church that run deep and backgrounds that give them a strong grasp of church teachings.

Shelton Bourgeois was a Christian Brother for 16 years. After he left the order, he met and married Billie who had been a nun with the Sisters of St. Joseph for seven years.

The Bourgeoises' goal with the Voice of the Faithful affiliate is to foster an open dialogue with the church hierarchy, they said.

"We just want to talk. People are falling away from the church because it's so damaging," Billie Bourgeois said.

Billie Bourgeois said she would like to see the "people in power" get to know the lay people and everyone get to know each other as human beings.

"This is a very hard time for priests. In a sense, they're victims, too," she said.

Voice of the Faithful's third stated goal is to change the church structure, which does not mean change the doctrine, the Bourgeoises said.

We believe in what the church teaches. However, the crisis is not over, Shelton Bourgeois said.

"We need to be a prayerful and repentant group because our church has done this," Shelton Bourgeois said.

For information on the Baton Rouge Voice of the Faithful affiliate's meeting times or to request more information, call 225-757-2769.

The next meeting for the New Orleans affiliate is at 7 p.m. Dec. 9. For further information, e-mail questions to VOTFNO@aol.com.

On the Internet:

http://www.votf.org

Sidebar info:

Catholic Catechism, paragraph 907

In accord with the knowledge, competence and preeminence which they possess, (lay people) have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and they have a right to make their opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward their pastors, and with consideration to the common good and the dignity of persons.

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