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At the present time every affiliate should have an elected
member on the representative council and every member of
VotF should know who their representative council member
is. If you are a member of VOTF and NOT a member of an
affiliate your regional coordinator is your representative
(can be found at www.votf.org )
Because too few of the members of the representative
council can make it to meetings is one reason that the
resolution for restructuring the Council has been made.
There will be a Council Steering Committee member at the
National office Tuesday afternoons 3-5, (barring bad
weather) to provide information in this transistion time
as we consider the resolution and the regions are
reconstructed from the grassroots up. Anyone, including
the non-affiliated are welcome to call 1-617 558 5252. In
the immediate future, ask for Anne Southwood. Affiliate
leaders tell all VOTF members in your area we are at their
disposal in this transition time. If you have not seen a
copy of the resolution it is included below: Revised Draft
- December 17, 2004 (includes a few friendly ammendments)
Resolution to Form a National Council of the Voice of the
Faithful
Whereas:
The existing Voice of the Faithful Representative Council
(the "Council") was founded in 2002 by a group of people,
mostly from a handful of parishes, in the Archdiocese of
Boston, and has become the principal policy-making body
for Voice of the Faithful;
And Whereas:
The existing Council consists, in principle, of a large
number of people: representatives of affiliates around the
nation and the world, at-large representatives, VotF
"founders," and regional coordinators;
And Whereas:
All but three of the Council meetings to date have been
held within the confines of the Archdiocese of Boston,
making it next to impossible for most of the
representatives to attend meetings regularly;
And Whereas:
A Council that truly represents Voice of the Faithful
members throughout the United States (and even more so of
those members outside the U.S.), should consist of
actively participating representatives from every region
of the country (and the world);
And Whereas:
The size of the Council as currently organized is too
unwieldly to respond promptly and appropriately to policy
issues of concern to Voice of the Faithful;
And Whereas:
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops ("USCCB")
has, for its own purposes of communication, established 14
regions in the United States;
Therefore, be it resolved that:
- A new National Council be created, consisting of 30
members: two elected representatives from each of the
fourteen regions established by the USCCB and two
"founders"elected by the founders as a group. This Council
would meet physically together twice a year, and would be
in regular communication electronically.
- It shall be the responsibility of this National Council
to establish substantive policy and to make or ratify
major organizational decisions consistent with the Mission
Statement and Goals of Voice of the Faithful.
Responsibility for the appointment and supervision of
organizational staff and for the management and
expenditure of organizational funds shall remain with the
trustees of Voice of the Faithful, Inc.
- The National Council shall elect a Steering Committee.
It shall be the responsibility of the Steering Committee
to set the agenda for National Council activity, to
organize and facilitate National Council meetings, to
establish and oversee procedures for National Council
action (including procedures by which the National Council
can conduct business through electronic media such as the
internet), and to represent the interests of the National
Council in the governance of Voice of the Faithful.
- For purposes of electing representatives to the
National Council, each Region shall be divided into
Districts, depending on the numbers and location of
members, and each District would have a District Council
consisting of representatives elected by the
representatives of all the Affiliates and non-affiliated
members from that District. These District
representatives shall eventually be responsible for
establishing and implementing a process for electing the
representatives from the Region to the National Council.
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