Six weeks after the Vatican issued a reprimand for what the Vatican said were “serious doctrinal problems,” the Leadership Conference of Women Religious issued a statement that said the report was based on “unsubstantiated accusations” and a “flawed process.” The nuns also said:
Moreover, the sanctions imposed were disproportionate to the concerns raised and could compromise their ability to fulfill their mission. The report has furthermore caused scandal and pain throughout the church community, and created greater polarization.
You can read the nuns’ statement here: lcwr_public_statement_-_6-1-12.
Boiled down, representatives of LCWR intend to meet with officials in Rome, and then meet with members to see what their response should be. They are not rushing into anything.
Welcome home! I too stand with the sisters. Through all the scandals of the Church the sisters remain steadfast in their good works. Power to the Sisters!!
It’s hard to argue with that kind of faith, the sisters’. So I won’t, and I suggest the Vatican not, either (but I bet they won’t listen to my advice). And welcome home, yourself!
Good luck to them…I guess.
They’re going to need it. I seriously doubt Ratzinger, or Lavada and Sartain, will entertain any notion of female clergy as partners in a religious mission. The Inquisitors will demand female clergy remain captive to Ratzinger’s reactionary dogma. The bishops cry out for religious freedom while Ratzinger moves to take it away from female clergy.
They sound like the politicians: “In order for things to remain the same, things will have to change.“
I don’t think the church can survive losing the sisters, so I hope that’s part of the conversation.
The Vatican has no idea what it has stepped in. But it will.
“the bishops, who are the church’s authentic teachers of faith and morals.”
That’s a joke, right?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/02/us/nuns-speak-about-vatican-criticism.html?src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB
I don’t think the RCC will change as long as evolution can’t occur freely. The RCC has declared their “king”, the Pope, and it is a dictatorship, not a democracy. If some Catholics want a democracy, I think they need to leave. And, let the nuns lead the way. They can create a reformed Catholic church. There would be plenty of support here in the US. I don’t understand this fight ( and I fully support the nuns).
Just to clarify, I completely understand the protest. It’s the fight against the Vatican that I think is futile.
I get that, and speaking as someone who has left a faith group for similar — though not the same — reasons, I understand what might be the futility of this protest. But I stand with them, anyway. I appreciate what they may be trying to do.
The RCC power structure reflects that of the ancient Roman Empire which made it the state religion. I left the Church because of the autocratic nature of the local Bishop and joined the Episcopal Church, whose structure is the reverse of the Catholic Church: bottom up from the local parish.
I grew up thinking the Episcopal church was thisclose to the Catholic church. I was wrong.
And this is not a paid endorsement of the Episcopal church, though I know a lot of Episcopalians who are extremely happy with their church, both people who were born that way, and people who joined the church later.
If I were to return to the church, Episcopalian is the way I’d go.
Do you think you’ll ever return? I ask because I wonder about that for myself.
I doubt it. It was a good way to plug in to a new community years ago when I was young and single. But now I’m old-ish and single, and I have my library family and online family and, always, the church of rock’n'roll.
Yep. I haven’t made my way back in, either.
For me, I need to hear good sermons in order to keep coming tonbe
(darn phone) …to keep coming back to church.TThere needs to be a level of honestytthat allows open discussion & questioning, without answersssometimes,iinspiration, and pathways to put myffaith into action.
That sounds like an awesome church. I do so often feel like a pill that I just can’t get comfortable. The fault, if we can call it that, lies with me, not the churches I’ve tried.