That seems to be the gist of this piece in the New York Times from over the weekend.

The controversial lay group, Voice of the Faithful, blossomed amid all the, um, fertilizer that piled up during the priest sex scandals in 2002. But the Voice has lately been all but mute.

And now they’re running out of money:

Voice of the Faithful helped press some dioceses into being more transparent in dealing with abuse cases and finances, joined fights to extend statutes of limitation for sexual abuse, and persuaded some parish leaders to allow greater lay involvement.

Now, it faces a $100,000 deficit in a budget of about $700,000, and (Bill) Casey (the group’s chairman) said at an April meeting that the group was in a “stuck position,” with arguments over leadership and decision-making.

Some members have long urged embrace of confrontational subjects they consider critical to church problems and priest shortages, like clerical celibacy or ordination of women.

“We’ve repeatedly rejected that argument, saying that those are not our issues,” said James E. Post, the group’s first president, who remains on its board. “Even I, from time to time, wonder whether we shouldn’t just declare victory and say a lot’s been done in five years, the church is doing better than it was, and then let the other organizations — Call to Action, Future Church and others that really want to deal with these issues — have the field.”

Instead, this summer, Voice of the Faithful will “be calling for the Vatican to do an ecclesiastical review of the celibacy issue,” said the group’s president, Mary Pat Fox. Ms. Fox said a review was not the same as seeking to end mandatory celibacy and was consistent with the group’s principles because research showed “it plays a role in the abuse crisis.”

Well, good luck with that, Ms. Fox, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. The Church these days doesn’t seem in much of a mood to tamper with tradition. Quite the opposite, in fact, if you’ve been hearing all the excited whisperings about the Tridentine Mass returning.

And, maybe it’s me, but I sense some desperation on the part of VOTF. They’re looking for a cause (perhaps, if not a cause celeb, a cause celibacy?) It may just be time for them to pack up their tent and move on.