Vatican demands reform of American nuns' leadership group [CWN]

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JoanC said:
I would like to thank God for all the sisters who influenced my life and helped form me in my Catholic faith. There are too many to name. I have been fortunate indeed.
Who else can thank God for the sisters and their positive influence?
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I don’t think anyone is denying that there are wonderful sisters who have positively impacted many people. That isn’t the point at all, however there is certainly nothing wrong with pointing it out.

The issue is that there are serious problems as well, and those need to be taken care of. The Pope and the Bishops in communion with him are the ones responsible for protecting and passing on the faith. So, when things go off the rails a bit, which they have, it is their job to step in.
 
jwinch2 said:
I don’t think anyone is denying that there are wonderful sisters who have positively impacted many people. That isn’t the point at all, however there is certainly nothing wrong with pointing it out.

The issue is that there are serious problems as well, and those need to be taken care of. The Pope and the Bishops in communion with him are the ones responsible for protecting and passing on the faith. So, when things go off the rails a bit, which they have, it is their job to step in.
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This is correct.

And Joan C.

I would expect that the good and faithful sisters you remember would like to see these things that were pointed out in the Vatican’s letter cleaned up. This stuff can’t be easy to put up with day after day.

I mean seriously: Barbara Marx Hubbard? Really? Moving beyond Jesus? What?
 
JoanC said:
Since this investigation is going forward, it is Archbishop Sartain’s job and his brother Bishops’, to meet the LCWR where they are. If they really believe the sisters are wayward, it is so very important to remember the lessons from Prodigal Son and be true compassionate and forgiving “fathers”. Acting like that will demonstrate true ministry, respect, and a true hope for reconciliation. If they don’t, it will not be good for the church even if they correct the “wayward” ways. It will be a sign that my suspicions are correct and I am right to sympathize with the LCWR and not with bitter old men. Hope I’m wrong.
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You’re wrong in your suspicions. Archbishop Sartain isn’t a bitter old man…nor is our beloved Pope. They are loving shepherds. If the LCWR is truly interested in changing their “wayward” ways, then they will be welcomed with loving arms.

The response from the LCWR certainly doesn’t lead me to sympathize with them, since it is combative rather than loving. I hope I’m wrong.
 
Actually, the women religious themselves, to their credit, are indulging in very little of the unfair-speak. They just want to be free to follow their community charism and help their parishes with their individual gifts.
 
JoanC said:
Actually, the women religious themselves, to their credit, are indulging in very little of the unfair-speak. They just want to be free to follow their community charism and help their parishes with their individual gifts.
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My apologies. I don’t see any reaction from the LCWR, only from the former leader of the LCWR - Sister Chittister. It could very well be that the current leadership doesn’t hold the same views as Sister Chittister. I hope they work with Archbishop Sartain in a warm and loving manner.
 
rlg94086 said:
My apologies. I don’t see any reaction from the LCWR, only from the former leader of the LCWR - Sister Chittister. It could very well be that the current leadership doesn’t hold the same views as Sister Chittister. I hope they work with Archbishop Sartain in a warm and loving manner.
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The reaction on their website simply says that they were stunned by the mandate and the severity of the situation. Because they have said nothing more to date officially, I am hopeful that things can be resolved in a positive way. I don’t think that the Sister Chittister’s, Keehan’s, etc. of the world will ever renounce their dissent, but perhaps I am wrong. Either way, I am hopeful that the majority of women religious will see things as a chance to undo some of the harm which was done on all sides of the issue in past decades and move forward to be an authentic Christian witness in the world. We sorely need it.

I thought the response from Mother Mary Asssumpta Long, OP that I posted above was very enlightening and while it is probably too much to expect that all of the communities will respond in similar fashion, I can certainly hope that most do.

Peace,
 
jwinch2 said:
I thought the response from Mother Mary Asssumpta Long, OP that I posted above was very enlightening and while it is probably too much to expect that all of the communities will respond in similar fashion, I can certainly hope that most do.

Peace,
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Excellent!
http://www.ncregister.com/images/sized/images/uploads/MotherAssumptaWeb-255x255.jpg"Why spend three years assessing the state of the LCWR and then subsequently mandate a five-year plan of change going forward? This intensive mandate seeking to initiate renewal within the LCWR reflects the Church’s love for consecrated life and is in continuity with the Church’s conciliar and post-conciliar call for renewal of religious life, according to the charism of her founders."

Read more: ncregister.com/daily-news/doctrinal-assessment-of-the-lcwr-safeguarding-the-integrity-of-consecrated/#ixzz1t0op9c9k
 
JoanC said:
Actually, the women religious themselves, to their credit, are indulging in very little of the unfair-speak. They just want to be free to follow their community charism and help their parishes with their individual gifts.
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If that were the case, there would be no problem at all. Unfortunately, there are theological and doctrinal problems with their teaching, which isn’t a good thing for the parishes. Also, there is no authentic community charism in the Church that contains dissent or overt omission of the truth, much less acting against it. Have you read the document?

usccb.org/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=55544
 

"Archbishop Sartain said that his main role in the reform process would be to “facilitate relationships and understanding.”

Saying that he hoped he could “help the sisters and the LCWR recognize that we are all in this together,” the archbishop called the reform a “great opportunity” for women religious, U.S. bishops and the Vatican to “strengthen and improve all of our relationships on every level.” arkansas-catholic.org/article.php?id=2971
 
Fr. P. Powell:
Given recent developments on the CDF/LCWR front, I thought I’d repost about a piece from April of 2009 on some of the presidential addresses delivered at the LCWR annual assemblies. [2012 editions are bracketed in red].

Again, waiting for my bowl of coffee to kick in, I did a little browsing on the website of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR). They have posted information about their annual assemblies, including the texts of the presidential addresses and keynote speeches.

I read through several of the keynote speeches, and I noticed a couple of themes (that’s what we Old Lit Teachers do–look for themes). Here’s just a few in no particular order:
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hancaquam.blogspot.com/2012/04/8-themes-of-lcwr-worldview.html
 
iloveangels said:
Just wondering. A lot of people have been misled by the situation and have some pretty foggy notions about what’s been going on. The truth of what’s going on has been a lot creepier than many people realized. Just wondering how much you know about what’s really been going on, that’s all.

The link was to the keynote speaker for the 2012 annual LCWR convention. This one’s as New Age as they come, a real tin foil hat and antennae type. Real UFO territory.

New-Age: Rhymes with Sewage. Different first letter, otherwise pretty much the same.
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I find your comment rude. There are better ways of explaining what you find objectionable.
 
JoanC said:
It will be a sign that my suspicions are correct and I am right to sympathize with the LCWR and not with bitter old men.
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In the Catholic Church, are not the bishops considered to be successors of the Apostles? But you are calling them bitter old men and supporting a rebellion movement.

I would think this is rather offensive to your fellow Catholics.
 
iloveangels said:
The truth of what’s going on has been a lot creepier than many people realized.
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Indeed! I remember being horrified by seeing some groups of these nuns practicing reiki and walking the labyrinth while teaching a different gospel about mother earth and eco-spirituality. Others were saying the “Our Father” by starting the prayer: “Our Father, Mother, who art in heaven…”

Still others were supporting “abortion rights”…or staying silent about the horrors of abortion.

These nuns needed to be stopped and reformed long ago. I hope it is not too late.
 
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My eldest daughter graduated from an all girl catholic high school 10 years ago so this isn’t entirely contemporaneous, but I’m reaching the age where I wold like to think it is!!!

Anyway, her sophomore year, one of her best friends got pregnant. When this young scared girl went to her counselor, who happened to be a Sisters of Charity of St Augustine nun AND THE PRINCIPAL:eek:, she was encouraged to have an abortion. That would allow her to have a normal high school experience, was the reason the nun encouraged this.

My daughter never told us this until after she had graduated because she knew we would have immediately pulled her out of that school and she was the big basketball star and didn’t want to leave.

Another All Girls High School here in town teaches Reike as an elective. This one is run by the Congregation of St Joseph and happens to be my wife’s alma mater. This is a symptom of an even bigger problem in the United States, but is for another thread: oversight of Catholic educational institutions all the way from primary through post secondary.

The first school in this thread is now closed. So sometimes, God has a way of taking care of problems.
 
Ignats75 said:
My eldest daughter graduated from an all girl catholic high school 10 years ago so this isn’t entirely contemporaneous, but I’m reaching the age where I wold like to think it is!!!

Anyway, her sophomore year, one of her best friends got pregnant. When this young scared girl went to her counselor, who happened to be a Sisters of Charity of St Augustine nun AND THE PRINCIPAL:eek:, she was encouraged to have an abortion. That would allow her to have a normal high school experience, was the reason the nun encouraged this.

My daughter never told us this until after she had graduated because she knew we would have immediately pulled her out of that school and she was the big basketball star and didn’t want to leave.

Another All Girls High School here in town teaches Reike as an elective. This one is run by the Congregation of St Joseph and happens to be my wife’s alma mater. This is a symptom of an even bigger problem in the United States, but is for another thread: oversight of Catholic educational institutions all the way from primary through post secondary.

The first school in this thread is now closed. So sometimes, God has a way of taking care of problems.
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I guess it’s true that sometimes it is better to send the kids to public school and teach the faith at home. Or homeschool. Although there are big problems in public schools , at least they don’t pass themselves off as being Catholic.

Some sisters and their congregations have been using the Church as cover for too long. The things they teach are just as egregious as any secular error, but worse in the sense that they misrepresent it as being compatible with Catholicism. To whom much is given, much is expected.
 
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