Posts Tagged sisters
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.
Cardinal Seeks Truce in Fight between U.S. Nuns and Vatican’s Doctrinal Office / Religion News Service
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Religious Women, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on May 22, 2014
A senior Vatican official on Tuesday (May 20) tried to defuse the damaging rift between the Vatican and U.S. nuns after a recent rebuke over obedience and doctrinal differences.
“Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, who heads the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life that oversees men’s and women’s religious orders, said there had been ‘sensitive times,’ but relations between religious orders and the Holy See remained ‘very close.'”
By Josephine McKenna, Religion News Service — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Nuns Accused of Not Cooperating with Vatican / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Religious Women, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on May 6, 2014
The Vatican chief of doctrine has accused U.S. women religious leaders of not abiding by a reform agenda the Vatican imposed on their leadership organization following a doctrinal assessment of the group.
“Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, told the leadership group they were ignoring procedures for choosing speakers for their annual conferences and questioned if their programs were promoting heresy.
“Using the most direct and confrontational language since the Vatican began to rein in the Leadership Conference of Women Religious two years ago, Müller told leaders of the conference that starting in August, they must have their annual conference programs approved by a Vatican-appointed overseer before the conference agendas and speakers are finalized.”
By Dennis Coday, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Pope Franics Keeps Cleric Who Led Crackdown on Liberal U.S. Nuns / Associated Press in Christian Science Monitor
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Religious Women, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on September 23, 2013
Pope Francis on Saturday effectively demoted a highly conservative Italian cardinal who led the Vatican’s department on clergy, while keeping in place a German prelate who wages the Catholic church’s crackdown on liberal U.S. nuns and helps craft its sex-abuse response.
“After six months on the job to study the workings of the Vatican’s curia, or bureaucracy, Francis has now put his imprint on several key positions which help administer the Roman Catholic church’s worldwide flock. His management picks will likely both please and disappoint both conservatives and liberals alike, perhaps in line with his fledgling papacy, which has often defied labels in either camp.”
By Frances D’Emilio, Associated Press, in Christian Science Monitor. Read the rest of D’Emilio’s story by clicking here.
U.S. Nuns Strike Positive Note on Vatican Investigation / Religion News Service
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Religious Women, Voice of the Faithful on August 20, 2013
U.S. Catholic nuns — accused by Rome of “radical feminism” for advocating social justice at the expense of issues such as abortion, gay marriage and euthanasia — responded to a Vatican knuckle rapping with a brief, conciliatory statement on Monday (Aug. 19). After its four-day annual assembly, the board of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which represents 80 percent of the nation’s 57,000 sisters, emphasized the positive, and remained tight-lipped about negotiations to resolve the investigation.” By Mark Pinsky, Religion News Service
Read Pinsky’s entire story by clicking here.
LCWR Sisters Receive Few Details from Sartain on Reasons for Vatican Concern or on Process of Investigation Going Forward
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, church reform, Religious Women, Vatican, Women Deacons on August 16, 2013
In his first address to representatives of U.S. Catholic sisters since his appointment in April 2012, the archbishop tasked by the Vatican to oversee their leadership group reportedly had little to offer regarding the reason for Vatican concern or how the process goes forward. Leaving Thursday’s (Aug. 16) closed-door meeting between Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), several sisters said they felt frustration at the lack of detail given by the prelate nearly 19 months into his mandate.” By Joshua McElwee, National Catholic Reporter
Read McElwee’s entire article, “Sartain Offers Few Details, Some Sisters Say,” by clicking here.
Vatican Religious Prefect: Gender Inequality Exists in the Church / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Religious Women, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on August 13, 2013
Gender inequality exists in the Catholic church because men and women forget they cannot be “fully human” without one another, a key Vatican cardinal said in May. “Man without woman is not fully human,” Cardinal João Braz de Aviz said. “And woman without man is not fully human either. Each without the other is a piece of humanity, incomplete.
“Throughout history, we have had many difficulties in this area,” Braz de Aviz said. “History became a primarily masculine enterprise. For many reasons — political, anthropological — this mode also dominated religion …
“Obedience and authority need to be re-visioned,” Braz de Aviz said. “An authority that commands kills. An authority that serves generates life. An obedience that merely copies what the other says infantilizes, makes us less human.”
By Joshua McElwee and Biagio Mazza, National Catholic Reporter
On St. Clare Feast, Catholics Support Sisters, Pray for Authentic Dialogue
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Religious Women, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on August 7, 2013
Printed below is the news release disseminated by the Nun Justice Project, which is supported by Voice of the Faithful®, announcing that Catholics will pray in solidarity with the sisters this Sunday, Aug. 11, the feast of St. Clare, in advance of LCWR’s 2013 General Assembly next week, Aug. 13-17 (Download the Nun Justice Project prayer service for the feast of St. Clare by clicing here):
Contact: Erin Saiz Hanna 401-588-0457, Jim FitzGerald 773-404-0004
For immediate release: August 7, 2013
On St. Clare Feast Catholics Support Sisters, Pray for Authentic Dialogue
WASHINGTON D.C. – Next week, hundreds of Catholic nuns are expected to gather in Orlando, FL for the annual meeting of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR).
On August 11, 2013 in solidarity with U.S. women religious, thousands of Catholics will join in prayer [link to prayer] on the Feast of St. Clare.
“The pope intentionally chose St. Francis as his namesake, and he has shown himself to be open to dialogue” stated Erin Saiz Hanna, spokesperson for the Nun Justice Project. “St. Francis of Assisi’s sacred friendship with St. Clare is well documented. St. Francis worked collaboratively alongside his sisters rather than against them. We pray Pope Francis, and Archbishop Sartain, will not only speak but listen and authentically dialogue with the sisters as St. Francis did with St. Clare.”
LCWR, an umbrella group representing 80% of the 57,000 nuns in the United States, remains under scrutiny from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). In the spring of 2012 the CDF issued a statement accusing LCWR of promoting “radical feminist themes” and “corporate dissent,” causing outrage among Catholics around the globe.
LCWR responded that the CDF statement was based on “unsubstantiated accusations’ and the result of a “flawed process that lacked transparency.” Last August, the organization’s president, Sr. Pat Farrell, announced that “open and honest dialogue” would be LCWR’s next step with Archbishop Sartain who had been appointed to oversee the mandate.
Last summer, nearly 70,000 Catholics signed a Change.org petition and hundreds organized vigils to rally around the sisters.
“Catholics around the country have been inspired by the faith and work of the sisters and will continue to support them; we urge Pope Francis to recognize their commitment and contributions and dismiss the mandate,” said Jim FitzGerald, spokesperson for the Nun Justice Project.
The Nun Justice Project is a grassroots movement supported by the following organizations: American Catholic Council, Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church, Call to Action, Catholics for Choice, CORPUS, DignityUSA, Federation of Christian Ministries, FutureChurch, New Ways Ministry, Quixote Center, RAPPORT, Voice of the Faithful, WATER: Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual, and Women’s Ordination Conference.
For more information, visit www.nunjustice.org
As LCWR 2013 General Assembly Approaches, Key U.S. Sister Says Vatican’s Order Is ‘Unacceptable’
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Religious Women, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on August 2, 2013
A year and a half after the Vatican ordered the main representative group of U.S. Catholic sisters to place itself under the control of three U.S. bishops, many sister-leaders still consider complete compliance with the order ‘unacceptable,’ the head of the largest order of sisters in the Western Hemisphere said Thursday (Aug. 2). By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter
Read McElwee’s entire article, “Key U.S. Sister: Vatican’s LCWR Order ‘Unacceptable,'” by clicking here. McElwee also reports today that Archbishop J. Peter Sartain, whom the Vatican appointed to oversee U.S. sisters, will attend LCWR’s 2013 General Assembly, which takes place Aug. 13-16 in Orlando, Florida — Vatican-Appointed Overseer to Attend LCWR Gathering.
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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