Posts Tagged congregation for the doctrine of the faith
Pope creates abuse tribunal for cases of bishop negligence / Associated Press
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on June 10, 2015
Pope Francis has created a new Vatican tribunal section to hear cases of bishops accused of failing to protect children from sexually abusive priests, the biggest step the Holy See has taken yet to hold bishops accountable.
“For years, the Vatican has been criticized by victims, advocacy groups and others for having failed to ever punish or forcibly remove a bishop who covered up for clergy who raped or molested children. In April, Francis accepted the resignation of a U.S. bishop who had been convicted of failing to report a suspected child abuser, but that wasn’t a forced removal.
“The Vatican said Wednesday (June 9) that Francis had approved proposals made by his sexual abuse advisory board. They create a mechanism by which the Vatican can receive and examine complaints of abuse of office by bishops and adjudicate them.
“A special new judicial section will be created inside the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ‘to judge bishops with regard to crimes of the abuse of office when connected to the abuse of minors,’ a Vatican statement said.”
By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Hierarchy’s flaws persist despite collegial end to LCWR investigation / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Religious Women, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on May 1, 2015
It seems, in what can be gleaned from the final report of the doctrinal assessment of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, that a certain reasonableness ultimately prevailed in an exercise that has rightfully been called ‘a disaster.’
“Religious women remain one of American Catholicism’s great treasures. Of all the matters in the church in need of investigation, the organization whose members are leaders of more than 80 percent of women religious in the United States was not one of them.
“The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s ‘assessment’ of LCWR was a disaster, an unnecessary sign of distrust. Keeping that assessment in mind should temper the celebration coming from some quarters of the church and commentariat acclaiming the success of ‘dialogue.’”
Editorial by National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this editorial.
Vatican ends controversial three-year oversight of U.S. sisters’ leaders / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Religious Women, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful, Women in Catholic Church on April 16, 2015
A controversial three-year program of Vatican oversight of the main leadership group of U.S. Catholic sisters has come to a curt and unexpected end, with the sisters and the church’s doctrinal office announcing that the goal of the oversight ‘has been accomplished.’
“The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has accepted a final report of the doctrinal assessment of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, ‘marking the conclusion’ of the oversight, the Vatican announced Thursday (Apr. 16).
“The lengthy process saw the Vatican issue what the sisters called unsubstantiated sharp critiques of their work and life while appointing Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain to oversee a program of reform for LCWR. Thursday’s news release says the Vatican and the sisters both noted the ‘spirit of cooperation’ of the ordeal.
“The end of the mandate, the Vatican release says, came in a meeting Thursday morning between LCWR officers, Sartain, and officials of the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation. Sartain and the LCWR officers presented a joint report on the implementation of the mandate, which the doctrinal congregation approved.”
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Francis wants more women theologians advising the CDF / Commonweal
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Future of the Church, Vatican, Women in the Church on September 5, 2014
In an interview with L’Osservatore Romano (not yet published in English), Cardinal Gerhard Müller, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, revealed that Pope Francis has directed that more women be included in the Vatican’s international theological commission …
“According to (Cardinal Gerhard) Müller (head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith), the number will increase to ‘five or six,’ which ‘would be a significant increase,’ Tornielli points out …
“What kind of difference could that make? Well, imagine if the U.S. bishops’ conference committee on doctrine had sought out the input of some women theologians before expressing its alarm at Johnson’s not-very-radical thoughts on female images of God.”
By Mollie Wilson O’Reilly, Commonweal — Click here to read the rest of this article
What’s eating Catholic women? / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful, Women in the Church on September 4, 2014
Two years ago, when Cardinal Gerhard Müller criticized the Leadership Conference of Women Religious for promoting radical feminist themes, the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith offered a stark reminder that feminism has no place in the Roman Catholic church.
“In his most recent interview in L’Osservatore Romano (the Vatican’s ‘semi-official’ newspaper), Müller further indicates that any suggestion of misogyny on the part of the hierarchy is a claim best answered with a punch line.
“Sadly, it’s a comedic lesson Müller likely learned from his boss, the pope …
“The time has come for the hierarchy to stop making jokes about gobbling up women and to start talking turkey about the ways in which the church’s structural sins exacerbate the suffering of women globally.”
By Jamie Manson, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this column.
Johnson to LCWR: Sisters ahead of hierarchy in living Vatican II renewal / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Religious Women, Voice of the Faithful, Women in Catholic Church on August 18, 2014
Sister Elizabeth Johnson, “… the tensions are ecclesiastical because women religious have undergone the renewal called for by the Second Vatican Council and the hierarchy has not.”
Johnson to LCWR: Sisters ahead of hierarchy in Living Vatican II renewal
The Vatican and women religious are caught up in a tension with historical, sociological and ecclesiastical roots, but a solution could be found, Sr. Elizabeth Johnson said …
“Johnson was honored Friday (Aug. 15) with the Outstanding Leadership Award by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the largest group of women religious leaders in the nation, representing about 80 percent of the 51,600 sisters in the United States …
“Johnson is widely admired by LCWR members, and she urged them to hang on despite an ongoing investigation by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.”
“‘Certainly, the LCWR and the sisters they lead are far from perfect, but they have got the smell of the sheep on them,’ she said to heavy applause. ‘Post-Vatican II renewal has not taken place at the [Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith].’”
By Dan Stockman, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this article.
Stakes are high as LCWR heads into annual assembly / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Religious Women, Voice of the Faithful, Women in Catholic Church on August 11, 2014
As the largest leadership organization for U.S. women religious prepares to gather for four days in Nashville, Tenn., Aug. 12-16, the group appears to stand on a precipice.
“But what lies on either side or what path the membership will choose to follow, no one can say.
“The Leadership Conference of Women Religious has been under the shadow of a Vatican-ordered doctrinal assessment since 2009. Following the investigation in 2012, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ordered it to reform its statutes and appointed a bishop to oversee changes.
“Now, the situation is starker: In April, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect of the congregation, ordered that after this assembly, speakers at the group’s events must be approved by Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain, who heads the five-year reform agenda for LCWR.
“But will LCWR members choose to follow Müller’s edict that Sartain have approval power over speakers at major events? Or will the group decide to stick to its contention that the sanctions are ‘disproportionate to the concerns raised and compromised the organization’s ability to fulfill its mission'”?
By Dan Stockman, Dawn Cherie Araujo, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Conflict with Vatican shadows upcoming LCWR assembly / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Religious Women, Voice of the Faithful on August 5, 2014
U.S. women religious leaders face an uncertain future as they gather Aug. 12-16 in Nashville, Tenn., for their annual assembly. More than 800 elected congregational leaders will discuss how they plan to react to continued charges of infidelity leveled by the church’s top enforcer of orthodoxy, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as well as to the congregation’s plans to take over the organization after the assembly …
“The issues are multilayered, involving disputes over the role of religious life, the relationship between religious and bishops, questions of obedience, and differing visions of church priorities and mission.
“Beneath these is one more: the role of women in a church that maintains a gender-determined authority system. The conflict between LCWR and the doctrinal congregation has become the most visible manifestation of this highly charged issue.”
By Thomas C. Fox, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this article.
Priests Criticize Head of Doctrinal Congregation for Rebuke of LCWR / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clericalism, Religious Women, Voice of the Faithful on June 18, 2014
The Association of U.S. Catholic Priests in a letter to Pope Francis criticized the head of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for his recent comments chastising the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.
“The Seattle-based association, which claims 1,000 U.S. priests as members, focused its letter to the pope on comments made by the congregation’s prefect, German Cardinal Gerhard Müller, in an April 30 welcoming address to LCWR leadership.”
By Catholic News Service in National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
The U.S. Sisters & the Holy See / Commonweal
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Religious Women, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful, Women in Catholic Church on June 4, 2014
Why hasn’t Pope Francis stepped in to get the Vatican off the nuns’ backs? After all, he has said he wants a more collegial church, in keeping with the vision of the Second Vatican Council. He urges priests and bishops to focus on encounter and outreach. He talks about leadership roles for women.
“And yet the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s 2012 “assessment” of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious stands, and the LCWR—composed of the heads of some 80 percent of U.S. sisters—is still under orders to reform its ways to the satisfaction of the CDF. If Francis really wants a less authoritarian, more mission-focused church, shouldn’t he have called this whole thing off already?”
By Mollie Wilson O’Reilly, Commonweal — Click here to read the rest of this article.
Voice of the Faithful
A lay movement for governance reform in the Roman Catholic Church, responding to the clergy sexual abuse scandal and supporting survivors.
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