Sister Joan Chittister standing with Holy Mother Church?

[blackforest]

Is Sister Chittister still in good standing with the Catholic Church? Should we give heed and honor to what she says and writes?

She may have pointed out that pro-lifers can be hypocrites, as both pro-choicers and pro-life liberals often do. But she has never outright articulated any advocacy for abortion choice.

She supports women’s ordination, so perhaps that is your concern?

The reason she is “prominent” is because she supports the media point of view.

This. It’s as if she’s used to say, “See? A Catholic nun believes it. You should, too.”

 

[tafan2]

She may have pointed out that pro-lifers can be hypocrites

But it is a baseless accusation. If one looks at the activities of any Catholic pro-life group, they are heavily focused on helping mothers and babies. It is nothing less than calumny to imply otherwise.

 

[TheLittleLady]

There are hypocrites in both camps. While you may not have experienced them, they are out there.

 

[commenter]

The reason she is prominent is because her sisters have in the past elected her as prioress, and because leaders of religious communities once elected her as their president

There are many sisters chosen as superior, or elected to serve a term as president of an orthodox association of religious orders. They express their views, and present truths that are unpopular, outside the media priority.
Their views get ignored by the media.

Their books don’t get published by big corporations, they don’t get reviewed in large corporate magazines, they don’t get promoted by Amazon or big media companies.

When Sr Joan did a book tour in my city years ago, it was widely publicized and covered. When we bring in an orthodox speaker, we get in a few parish bulletins.

 

[tafan2]

I have yet to meet a pro-life activists who want all children born, but not fed. That level of hypocricy does not exist. And make no mistake, she explicitly stated that these people want the babies to not be fed if schooled.

 

[Donkey]

I’d rather align with a conservative Protestant than a dissident, leftist “catholic” who hates their own Church.

It was a rather depressing time for me when I realized this.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I think it’s often partly a wish not to give more attention to the “rogue” by speaking out. Religious order members pushing boundaries is nothing new for the Church. Also, the activist baby boom generation of religious are getting on in years, and Fr Martin aside, I’m not sure that there’s a bunch of younger ones stepping up to fill their shoes, given that vocations are down and those entering clergy or religious life these days seem much more inclined to traditional views.

 

[TheLittleLady]

I have met people who feel that abortion is the only issue and they are vehemently opposed to spending on food programs. There are many other forms of hypocrisy on both sides. I’ve known people who oppose abortion yet would not care for their own grandchild if it is conceived out of wedlock.

I’ve met people who are appalled that parents bring children to pro-choice rallies, and then bring their own children to pro-life rallies, that is a form of hypocrisy.

I’ve encountered people who have a car covered with anti abortion bumper stickers yet they are protesting for the death penalty.

Hypocrisy wears many faces.

You have not met hypocrites, that that does not mean they do not exist.

 

[po18guy]

Sister is an activist and an activist hates nothing so much as silent contemplation and the cloistered life.

Lights! Camera! Action!

For those in the OP’s parish that are so shocked and affronted at allegations of Church wrongdoing, were I closer, I would offer them a ride to the nearest Episcopalian community.

They can everything they want - and more - over there.

 

[Dovekin]

Prominent Catholics who seemingly espouse views at odds with the church seem really weird to this convert too. In my mind it’s like a McDonald’s executive who would speak about how unhealthy fast food is. It makes no sense to me why the higher-ups don’t see the damage that the “rogues” are doing and rein them in.

They seem really weird to me as well, and I was baptuzed Catholic as an infant.

The thing is, the people who taught you are the “rogues” in my estimation. They are like the person who takes your order at MacDonald’s who starts griping about how dirty the building is.

The people that support the mission of Popes John, Paul, John Pauls, Benedict and Francis are the one who get labeled as dissident and rogues by the real dissidents and rogues. Half the time they admit it, saying they haven’t listened to the leftist priests in years. It is just weird that so many have chosen to isolate themselves from the Church’s leaders in the name of Catholicism.

 

[Dovekin]

There are many sisters chosen as superior, or elected to serve a term as president of an orthodox association of religious orders. They express their views, and present truths that are unpopular, outside the media priority.
Their views get ignored by the media.

There are other reasons for that. The “orthodox associations of religious orders” are miniscule compared to the mainstream LCWR that chose Ms Chittister. They position themselves as not representative of all religious, so why ask them? They choose to be a backwater, an isolated community fighting against the larger culture, so they are treated that way, as outside the circle that wishes to engage on the issues. It is in some ways an unfortunate situation, and a blessing in other ways, but it is not just the media’s fault.

 

[tafan2]

I’ve encountered people who have a car covered with anti abortion bumper stickers yet they are protesting for the death penalty.

Protests for the death penalty? Not saying it hasn’t happened, but I don’t recall these type of protests making the news.

I have met people who feel that abortion is the only issue and they are vehemently opposed to spending on food programs.

Maybe you have. I live in an area known for political conservatism, and yet I don’t recall people being vehemently opposed to food programs. Perhaps back in the 60s.
I would also ask if these people you have met actually wanted the babies to not be fed?

I’ve known people who oppose abortion yet would not care for their own grandchild if it is conceived out of wedlock.

I don’t see how this is any level of hypocrisy. It is, admittedly , an unusual view on life, but it doesn’t seem as if would make one a hypocrite.

Again, perhaps these various types of hypocrites exist, but it is not common, in the least, among pro-life advocates. If you think it is, you simply have never been involved with them. And statements implying it’s anything more than an abberation is calumny.

 

[twf]

Rome did investigate the LCWR, the umbrella group that many “progressive” congregations fall under, and they were, I understand, told to cut back on some of their more radical statements.
That said, it does sometimes feel like Rome is quick to bring down the iron hammer on dissident rad trads but very slow to discipline dissident rad libs.

 

[po18guy]

Sr. Joan, you say?

The other day, I was browsing used books and saw one entitled “Pope Joan.”

You don’t suppose…???

 

[Ridgerunner]

Some older orders are not dissident, but most are aligned with LCWR, or at least their leaders are.
I feel very sorry for those non-dissident sisters who find themselves “trapped” in an order that has gone radical at the top.

What gives me hope are the new orders that have more applicants than they can handle and are much, much younger. The average age of religious sisters in the U.S. is in the 70s. But some of the newer ones probably average in their early 30s. One of my favorites is this one:

Homepage - Sisters of Life

I always contribute to them. Their charitable work is “hands on”, not filing lawsuits to “change society”, as with some. Their main ministry is in the South Bronx of NYC, where they go into that rather dangerous place and seek out women who are in danger of abortion. They counsel with them, provide medical care, a home if needed, education and job referral. They recently opened a new convent in Colorado.

But regardless, we’re going to see a severe shortage of sisters, priests and observant Catholics in just a couple of decades, maybe before that. Maybe when the Catholic population shrinks (which I hate to see) the sisters and priests will be sufficient.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Protests for the death penalty? Not saying it hasn’t happened, but I don’t recall these type of protests making the news.

This abortion v death penalty conflict made the news in 2018

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/...-life-march-over-death-penalty-concerns-47607

Maybe you have. I live in an area known for political conservatism, and yet I don’t recall people being vehemently opposed to food programs.

Google will help you find story after story about Republican leaders and elected officials opposing SNAP, WIC, school lunch programs, this is hardly a secret.

https://educationvotes.nea.org/2018/05/15/congress-could-put-265000-kids-at-risk-of-losing-school-meals-critical-to-health-learning/

If you think it is, you simply have never been involved with them.

Having held office with the largest group, that counts as involvement I think.

 

[Peeps]

This seems a rather frightening thread… OP, are you asking people to validate your belief that you’re more Catholic than Sister Joan?

Why frightening?

No, I’m not asking for validation that I’m more Catholic than Sister Joan. I am a convert (15 years!), and therefore, I would consider myself a baby in the Catholic faith with a long way to go.

What I wanted to find out is how Sister Joan Chittister stands in relation to the teaching of the Catholic Church. If she is respected and revered by the Church, then I must respect her views and study them more closely. If she is “on the 'fringe,” so to speak, I must be careful when I read her views and rely on the wisdom of others to help process what she teaches. And if she is “rejected” in any way by the Church, then I must stay away!

I have no plans to make any comments about Sister Joan in any columns that I write for our local paper because I agree with Tis_Bearself’s suggestion earlier to simply state what the Catholic Church is doing as opposed to what the local activist is saying that the Church is doing and NOT doing.

E.g., the local activist and her “group” is stating that the Catholic Church in our diocese has perpetuated a culture of discrimination against the poor neighborhoods in our city because the Catholics schools in those neighborhoods are being consolidated into one Catholic school in a central location near those neighborhoods, but not in those neighborhoods.

This is not factual. There is one large Catholic K-12th grade school in the “poor” side of our city.
There is also a large Catholic high school right in the middle of the “poor” side of the city, and this school is ranked among the best high schools in the nation.

Another fact is that the population of Catholics in those neighborhoods has decreased markedly, as African Americans are the main population group. It is not cost-effective to keep schools open when there are only a few dozen students who wish to attend. With such small numbers of students, it is pretty much impossible to provide them with a teaching staff and the specialty classes in STEMC and in the arts , that a K-8 grade school needs nowadays to adequately educated their students.

I hope this clarifies.

And I really would be interested in why you find this thread “frightening.”

 

[Greenfields]

Quoted from an article from life site news.
I hadn’t heard of her till yesterday,but I trust my bishops judgement.
"American Sister Joan Chittister, O.S.B., a prolific author and past president of the left-leaning Leadership Conference of Women Religious, gave an interview to The New York Times this Monday in which she expressed her displeasure that she will not be speaking at Australia’s National Catholic Education Commission’s annual conference in September 2020.

According the the NYT, Chittister received an email a few weeks ago telling her not to come to the conference because her invitation had not been “endorsed” by Archbishop Peter Comensoli, the ordinary of Melbourne. "

 

[blackforest]

I agree with you that the argument is flawed and even ridiculous. But not every bad argument constitutes a heresy.

 

[blackforest]

If she is respected and revered by the Church, then I must respect her views and study them more closely. If she is “on the 'fringe,” so to speak, I must be careful when I read her views and rely on the wisdom of others to help process what she teaches. And if she is “rejected” in any way by the Church, then I must stay away!

You’re going to meet a lot of Catholics who don’t see eye to eye on matters . . . assuming you haven’t already. Make a list of her statements, beliefs, and actions that you find questionable. Then go look up Church teaching about them. If you’re still not sure, come here and look up “What does the Church say about X?”

Finally, come to your own conclusions.

I’m not sure that we need to crowdsource the issue in a public thread.