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VOICE OF THE FAITHFUL™ (Bullies for You) by Kelly Clark — the lady in the pew — March 24, 2003
I want to begin this article by announcing that the group known as “Voice of the Faithful™, based in the wealthy suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts, led by aging hippies loathe to retire their love beads to mothballs, and determined to “change the Church” into an institution modeled upon the Constitution of the United States, has self-destructed. However, since I can’t do that, allow me instead to offer some tips on handling bullies. Like you, I get a lot of e-mail. I get work-related stuff, notes from family and friends, messages that require one to scroll down through a myriad of “forwarded recipients” to get to the meat of the message (which is usually something ultra-profound, like “have a nice day”), and, naturally, messages assuring me either that “Size Does Matter.” But I also receive notes from rather irate Catholics across the fruited plain wondering what they can do to prevent: Quote-Those-Idiots-From-YOUR-Neck-Of-The- Woods-From-Infiltrating-My-Parish-Unquote!!! Which brings me to Opie Taylor and The Bully. I owe a debt of thanks for the following material to “The Andy Griffith Show,” which, in my humble opinion, should be required viewing for all Christians. It seems a new boy — a rather rich kid — moved into Mayberry. Since he was older, taller, and had cooler toys that the other Mayberry kids, he immediately became the center of an admiring — if rather cowed — circle. The boy was intimidating, in part, because of a rather peculiar (to Mayberry kids, anyway) tendency to lash out, verbally and sometimes physically, against any given kid at any given time. He was, for example, given to the sudden hurling of stones, apple cores, and other weaponry at victims chosen apparently at random. He also deemed it great sport to taunt the other kids into doing things they ordinarily wouldn’t do — pranks like ringing doorbells and then running away, and, perhaps more seriously, helping themselves to apples and other fruit without permission. The rich kid hated Opie Taylor on site. He hated Opie because the latter was honest, kind, obedient, respectful to his elders, and unwilling to engage in improper behavior. These qualities earned Opie not only the sneering contempt of the rich bully — who usually referred to him as “Dopey Opie” — but, strangely enough, that of the kids who’d always been his good friends. First instinct: avoid the problem! Opie’s initial reaction to the hazing was to avoid the situation altogether. Taking great pains to distance himself from the bully, he devised alternative routes to and from school, eschewed his usual hangouts, including — and this is pretty scary — his favorite fishing spot! And while Opie escaped harassment, another problem reared its troublesome head: Opie grew very lonely. “Paw?” It didn’t take long for Sheriff Taylor to notice his boy’s unhappiness. Inevitably — and here, I’ll skip the well-intentioned but totally ineffective efforts of Deputy Barney Fife to solve the problem — father and son had a talk. In his sublime, understated manner, Andy conveyed an important message to Opie: that, no matter how unpleasant, sometimes it’s necessary to stand up for what’s right. And that stealing apples, playing tricks on neighbors, and bullying just ain’t right. No sirree. “Step across this line. I dare ya!” With understandable trepidation, Opie nevertheless walked purposely toward the bully, who was holding court, as usual, with the younger Mayberry set. “Here comes Dopey Opie,” taunted the lad, amidst the nervous titters of the other kids. But Opie stood his ground. The bully drew a line in the dirt with his shoe, daring Opie to cross it. And Opie did. A bit taken aback, the bully then dared Opie to knock a piece of wood off his shoulder. Down went the piece of wood. Suddenly, the “bully” didn’t seem to be all that daunting anymore. And when Opie slowly raised his head, looking his adversary straight in the eye (he had to raise his head, since said adversary was much taller than he), guess what happened? Yes indeed! The “formidable opponent” turned to jelly and ran like the dickens. And the kids all cheered Opie and all was serene again in Mayberry, U.S.A. “Uh, Kelly? There’s a point here, right?” I think so. I think that, in many ways, the “Voice of the Faithful™” crowd use bullying tactics to get what they want. In fact, I know they do. Quick example. There’s a guy — a really nice guy — who, while living in the VOTF hub of Wellesley, Massachusetts, has been coming to my inner city parish church for some time now. It seems that this gentleman had been active for years in his Wellesley parish, but objected to the VOTF propaganda. The result? He was “relieved” of several duties he had performed for his parish for many years. Heartbroken, he quit his parish. The damndest thing about it, though, is that the VOTF crowd, according to him, anyway, and I believe him, represents a tiny, tiny, minority of parishioners! Personally, I’m happy that this gentlemen has decided to worship at my parish. He has roots in the area, and seems happy and very comfortable with us. But that’s beside the point. Because I’m wondering: how many of his (former) fellow parishioners don’t want to leave their parish, but also don’t want to be subjected to the bullying tactics liberally employed by VOTF to get their anti-Church teaching messages across? My humble suggestion: stand up to the bullies! First of all, know with whom you’re dealing. Voice of the Faithful™ is a “virtual” organization, both in the sense that it’s nearly 100% Internet driven, and in the literal sense of the term. The opposite of “virtual” is “actual.” The organization isn’t actual. It isn’t, in a very real sense, well, real. Yet, for an “unreal” group, they’re affecting very real people! And so it’s imperative to visit the group’s web-site on a regular basis. And to copy everything you see, either by downloading the site, or by copying and pasting their latest information. Why? Because their positions are as changeable as New England weather, that’s why. And — unlike, for example, diocesan records which can be subpoenaed — VOTF records can, and do, “disappear.” If something seems to be getting a negative reaction — poof! — it’s vaporized. For example: you won’t find the VOTF slide-show that declares the Church dead and proposes a “new” Church based on the United States Constitution on the web-site anymore. I’ve got it, because I downloaded it a year ago. In my opinion, it remains the most compelling reason for any reasonable parish priest to nix the formation of a VOTF chapter at the get-go. Some nuggets from the VOTF web-site, March 20, 2003 include:
There’s more, but again, I urge you: visit the site frequently and record what you see! Childish vs. “childlike” In a remarkable imitation of TV’s Marsha Brady, ex-priest Anthony Massimini stamps his literary feet and demands that the VOTF crowd be treated as adults!!! (The “We Are Adults” theme is carried throughout the site, flouting Christ’s call to us to become “as little children.” See Matthew 18:3.) An interesting sidelight: do Voice of the Faithful™ leaders simply not know what to do about Mister Massimini? In a stunning display of ambiguity, his article is prefaced by a statement that hardly reads as a ringing endorsement: “This document expresses the view of the writer alone, and not that of Voice of the Faithful.” One wonders why the article was printed at all. Possibly to avoid the sight of Mister Massimini holding his breath until turning blue? I’m telling ya. The more I learn about this group, the more I’m convinced that they are led by spoiled, immature, bullies. And the more I’m convinced that we can all take a lesson from the Opie Taylor School of Thought. “But Kelly? We don’t exactly live in Mayberry.” I know. And many of our “fathers” aren’t exactly Sheriff Taylors, either, more’s the pity. Too many of our “shepherds” are following the downward path to popularity, rather than leading us upward toward the Kingdom of God. That makes the job more difficult than it should be. But it needn’t make it impossible! If your parish priest is considering allowing a VOTF chapter to form, and if you don’t want that to happen, then you’d best let him know why you don’t want that to happen: respectfully, logically, and firmly. He may or may not agree with you. If he doesn’t agree with you, you’ve got two choices, as I see it. You can simply leave your parish. Or you can stay and fight back. Neither course might be pleasant. But the alternative — succumbing to bullies — is so much worse. So say your prayers, stand your ground, look your adversaries straight in the eye, and who knows? The bullies might turn tail and grab the next train outta Mayberry. Thank you for your time. Know you’re in my prayers. And may God be with you today, and at every moment of your life. In Christ Crucified, Kelly End Notes: Some hopeful, and I hope helpful, quotes: “A sort of inverted generation gap began to widen throughout the Clinton years. One pities the aging radicals who thought they offered such progress but are living to see that Holy Mother Church still knows best, and that the generations of priests younger than them aren't interested in their dated ideas and agendas.” Michael Rose, author, Good-bye, Good Men “Fidelity, fidelity, fidelity!” Father Richard John Neuhaus, a convert from Lutheranism and First Things editor, on the prescription for the Church’s current ills “No one was ever molested by a celibate priest who was faithful to the teachings of the Church.” Presbyterian minister turned Catholic apologist Scott Hahn The laity should, as all Christians, promptly accept in Christian obedience decisions of their spiritual shepherds, since they are representatives of Christ as well as teachers and rulers in the Church. Let them follow the example of Christ, who by His obedience even unto death, opened to all men the blessed way of the liberty of the children of God. Nor should they omit to pray for those placed over them, for they keep watch as having to render an account of their souls, so that they may do this with joy and not with grief.(211) Dogmatic Constitution On The Church Lumen Gentium Solemnly Promulgated By Holiness Pope Paul VI on November 21, 1964 And don’t forget to visit the Voice of the Faithful™ web-site — and record what you find there — at http://www.votf.org And now for the fine print: Kelly Clark is your basic nobody. She serves on no parish councils, belongs to none of the myriad of designer-chic "Catholic" groups, or any Catholic group, for that matter, other than the Roman Catholic Church. Holding no theology degrees, she has no desire to see herself or any of her sex wearing a clerical collar. She figures Jesus knew what He was doing when He established His Church, and also figures that it’s His Church, not hers, and not yours. She’s an ordinary parishioner of Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston. Use the links on the left to e-mail Kelly, to visit her parish, read past columns, and check out other cool stuff. (If you don’t see any links on the left, you’ve probably been directed here by a search engine. Just point your browser to http://www.pewlady.com to get to the main site.) Copyright: Kelly Clark, 2003. I don’t care if you share this stuff with others. In fact, I hope you do! Only I’d appreciate it if you’d link me, or print it off as it is. In other words, don’t change anything. Thanks. “The Lady in the Pew” column is updated regularly, God willing. To be notified of updates, please e-mail me. The link’s on the left. “Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us. Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us.”
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