On Monday evening, Ames residents concerned about the changes in polices of the Roman Catholic Church are invited to attend an open forum.

The forum will focus on current events within the Catholic Church.

It will be at the St. Thomas Aquinas Church & Catholic Student Center, 2210 Lincoln Way, at 7 p.m. on Monday focused on current events within the Catholic Church.

Father Jim Hayes said topics will include what happened at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Dallas in June and how it will effect the church.

“It will give people a chance to talk and vent frustrations,” Hayes said.

Also on the agenda is the official change of the abuse policies by the Archdiocese of Dubuque.

Ames is in the far corner of the diocese.

This is the second open forum held by the church since the beginning of media coverage of the abuse claims brought forward by members of the church last spring.

The first forum had poor attendance, most likely due to its scheduling during Dead Week of spring semester, Hayes said.

– Dana DeJong