Women Religious Question Vatican Probe

[Sonny1954]

From the National Catholic Reporter:

“The Leadership Conference of Women Religious has asked the Vatican to disclose why it is being investigated and who is funding the probe, and questioned why the sisters will not be allowed to see the final investigative report submitted to church leaders.”

See the rest of the story at:
ncronline.org/news/religious-women-question-vatican-probe

 

[the_phoenix]

A description of what the Leadership Conference of Women Religious was talking about at their 2007 annual assembly may help answer the question as to why they’re being probed by the Vatican.

From the Catholic News Agency:

In that keynote, titled “A Marginal Life: Pursuing Holiness in the 21st Century,” Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Laurie Brink commented on the decline of many religious orders. She characterized some successful new orders as being “acquiescent” to others’ expectations and also discussed the possible future of women religious.

She described a “sojourning congregation” as “the dynamic option for Religious Life.”

In Sister Laurie’s words, such a congregation involves “moving beyond the Church, even beyond Jesus.”

“A sojourning congregation is no longer ecclesiastical. It has grown beyond the bounds of institutional religion. Its search for the Holy may have begun rooted in Jesus as the Christ, but deep reflection, study and prayer have opened it up to the spirit of the Holy in all of creation. Religious titles, institutional limitations, ecclesiastical authorities no longer fit this congregation, which in most respects is Post-Christian.”

She described the Benedictine Women of Madison as having a commitment to “ecumenism” which led them “beyond the exclusivity of the Catholic Church into a new inclusivity, where all manner of seeking God is welcomed. They are certainly religious women, but they are no longer women religious as it is defined by the Roman Catholic Church. They choose as a congregation to step outside the Church in order to step into a greater sense of holiness. Theirs was a choice of integrity, insight and courage.”

See the rest of the story at:
catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=15715

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[uther]

From the National Catholic Reporter:

“The Leadership Conference of Women Religious has asked the Vatican to disclose why it is being investigated and who is funding the probe, and questioned why the sisters will not be allowed to see the final investigative report submitted to church leaders.”

See the rest of the story at:
ncronline.org/news/religious-women-question-vatican-probe

In this case, I suspect, no news is good news. If the Vatican investigation finds anything seriously wrong wrt to any given order’s adherence to the faith and canon law, no doubt they will hear about it.

This way, however, it will be less likely that the Vatican will be pre-empted in the press, before they send out any directives.

 

[TheresaLS]

This is great news! I have been doing some digging into the Future Church and a Sister Christine Schenk and I had been told this movement was a passing phase…small and unorganized. I am in hopes the Vatican starts to “lay down the law” and shephard the flock.

 

[JimG]

It seems to me just from things I have read anecdotally over the past 20 years that the LCWR has often been on the fringes of orthodoxy and in the mainstream of trendiness.

 

[Elizabeth502]

^ I respectfully think that “fringe” is too generous. The quoted religious described the supposed new direction as post-Christian. There you have it. Not my words; hers.

 

[mdgspencer]

This organization has for decades been a forum for dissent from Catholic beliefs, and has refused over the decades to reform itself. I am surprised that the Church has been so patient with it. Its positions have been quite public and there seems little need to investigate what they stand for, though I presume that documentation is best. This organization will ignore any effort by the Vatican to reign it in, something it has already done over the years, so perhaps the Vatican soon will simply refuse to continue to deal with it as a channel for religious orders in the U.S.

 

[KCT]

It’s my understanding (please correct me if I’m wrong) that results of these investigations are not usually made public or shown to all members of a congregation. The head of a congregation (or group of congregations) will find out what recommendations are being suggested and they are to implement the suggestions.

There is no official report that is published anywhere.

 

[Terry_from_Ypsi]

Thank God for this investigation by the Vatican.

I was reading Steve Ray’s Blog blog.catholicconvert.com/, in the entry for August 19, 2009:

Sisters of Mercy among sponsors of Obama talk-radio call on healthcare reform
catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=3822
“In an effort to increase support for congressional healthcare legislation amid growing public skepticism, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas and three other Catholic groups have joined over 30 religious organizations in sponsoring an August 19 BlogTalkRadio appearance by President Barack Obama. The show begins at 5:00.”

To think that “Trinity Health” is run by this order is frustrating. No wonder that in the past St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor performed abortions including in the case of “multiple births” the abortion of one of the infants.

Please pray for this order. Prayer for them this morning helped me minimize my anger,
realizing that only God can change people’s hearts.

Are there really any truly “Catholic” hospitals out there whose direction is governed by the teachings of the Church ?

Regards,