[2] VOTF began when a small group of parishioners met in the basement of St. John the Evangelist Church in Wellesley, Massachusetts, to pray over allegations that priests in the Archdiocese of Boston had abused local youngsters.
At its first conference in July 2002, VOTF attracted more than 4,000 lay Catholics, victims of clergy sexual abuse, theologians, priests, and religious from around the United States.
[5] Voice of the Faithful members were among the protesters who gathered each Sunday at the height of the crisis in the predominantly Hispanic community that is home to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.
[6] Three years after Voice of the Faithful formed to protest the transfers of abusive priests within the Boston Archdiocese, the movement focused on charting a more relevant strategy as a network of affiliates eager to engage bishops.
In March 2014 VOTF expressed "deep disappointment" with remarks made by Pope Francis in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
The statistics on the phenomenon of violence against children are shocking, but they also show clearly that the great majority of the abuses come from the family environment and from people who are close.
[9] Following his installment in December, Bishop of Bridgeport, Frank Caggiano immediately spoke with VOTF members,[10] He met with them again on March 13, 2014 in a meeting he described as "the beginning of a conversation.
"[15] David Zizik, founder of the diocesan Parish Leadership Forum, disputes VOTF's claim to work in and with existing church structures, citing its refusal to support interim Bishop Richard Lennon’s 2003 Lenten Prayer Initiative and opting instead for a so-called "Silent Watch", in which VOTF "called for its supporters to protest at the archdiocesan chancery between noon and 3 p.m. each day during Lent".