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PDF versionSpeak up for our women religious
Jul. 26, 2010
Members of the LCWR march through Woldenberg Riverside Park in New Orleans for a prayer service to preserve the wetlands, part of the LCWR's gathering last year. (CNS/Frank J Methe)
U.S. women religious, whose leaders meet in Dallas next month, find themselves in a terrible position. On one hand, they can defend their approach to religious life. Through decades of prayer and work together, they have discerned that approach, articulated in their Vatican-approved charters, as God's call. The process has drawn them deeply into social apostolates through which they have become a powerful representation of Catholic life throughout U.S. culture and the wider world.
On the other hand, they can work quietly in attempting to navigate the institutional shoals, placating those among the hierarchy who believe that a 19th-century model of religious life, shuttered up and held in place by an unthinking acquiescence to a male hierarchy — mistakenly referred to by some as obedience — is the salvation of religious life. The option holds the possibility of avoiding a public confrontation and the unpleasant consequences of such a standoff. However, it also holds the likely possibility that religious life in the United States will be re-engineered in secret by the men in the Vatican. It holds the prospect that the soul of a project rooted in and encouraged by the Second Vatican Council would be hollowed out.
The social sciences have a term for the situation of women who feel compelled to be compliant with the men who are bent on demeaning and humiliating them: They call it battered wife syndrome.
So much is at stake in the decisions the Leadership Conference of Women Religious will take about how to proceed because the very integrity of the organization has been called into question with a Vatican-initiated "doctrinal assessment" of its activities.
The doctrinal investigation of the Leadership Conference, which represents 95 percent of women's orders in the United States, was initiated by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. As much as it is, in itself, an affront to the sisters in the United States, it is all the more insulting because the congregation is headed by an American, Cardinal William Levada. As a former bishop and archbishop in the United States, he certainly could recite, with little prompting, the countless ways religious sisters provided him with an educated, inspired and active church over which to preside. Certainly he knows as well as anyone that the Catholic presence in the wider culture — from institutions such as hospitals, schools and colleges, to ministries in parishes, and to the neighborhoods of desperate inner cities — would be seriously diminished without the sisters whose loyalty he now questions. In that context, the investigation is a shameful betrayal of trust.
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The doctrinal congregation's investigation is only part of the nuisance distracting U.S. women religious today. They are also contending with another investigation — said to be, of course, for their own good — conducted by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, headed by Cardinal Franc Rodé. The benignly titled "apostolic visitation" is by any other name an invasive probe of how the sisters live and whether they conform to some unspecified measure of what religious life should be. At best, it's a setup. Rodé has several times revealed his conclusions about religious life in the United States, and they are hardly appreciative of what the sisters have done.
Rodé recites the tired shibboleths of a minority who see the future in the enthusiasm of a few small conservative orders that have gone back to habits and regimented community life. That approach is not to be dismissed, but it must also be noted that it has limited appeal. The numbers, by comparison to the alternative, are miniscule. The conservative model should be able to coexist with newer forms of community that involve different levels of membership and a greater role for lay associates. Imagining that the future of religious life resides primarily in a re-enactment of the past is similar to dealing with the priest shortage by insisting on a celibate all-male clergy even if it means raiding other priest-short countries to maintain the impression that all is well.
Underlying all of this, particularly the doctrinal investigation of Leadership Conference, is the basic question: What do bishops hope to achieve?
Before attempting to answer that question, it is necessary to note that the Vatican, in initiating these investigations, is revealing not a crisis in religious life but rather a crisis of the clerical and hierarchical culture.
It is a crisis most graphically depicted in the scandalous behavior of the hierarchy worldwide in its handling of the clergy sex abuse crisis in which bishops systematically and repeatedly chose the preservation of their culture over the lives of children.
In the case of the sisters, what Vatican officials hope to achieve appears to be a forced, public acknowledgement by the sisters that the bishops and cardinals hold all the cards and are the final arbiters of how the women will conduct their lives.
The resultant clash is inevitable. The Vatican that repeatedly extols the dignity of women and whose representative at the United Nations recently argued for the equality of women culturally and economically is the same structure that insists that men, and celibate men at that, are the only humans qualified to make major decisions for the Catholic community. The hypocrisy is embarrassingly evident. The theological and exegetic rationales for such duplicity are by now threadbare and rotting.
Framing the current situation in such stark, adversarial terms may seem to some counterproductive, even detrimental to the sisters and their attempts to work with and reason with the Vatican.
Indeed, there are rich opportunities in these conflicts for seriously exploration of the future of religious life. But to do so in a way that recognizes the work and intelligence of the women involved would require a sea change in hierarchical attitudes about authority, women and what it means to lead a community.
It is impossible to have a dialogue when one side is convinced of the outcome before the conversation begins. It is impossible to have a dialogue when one side believes it is vested with all of the wisdom and answers necessary, when it inherently distrusts changes to the status quo, and when it is convinced that leadership is defined as the ability to control.
Women religious cannot pull themselves out of the quicksand into which they have been thrown. Even while tormented by conflicted loyalties, they still seem to hold on to some hope that someone in the hierarchy will actually hear what they are saying. They are aware, too, that any response they make must take into consideration not only their own convictions and integrity but also the needs of the vulnerable in their communities, especially the elderly. If they have any hope of moving beyond the battered wife syndrome, they need strong, public support of the Catholic community they have so diligently served for decades.
Individuals, parishes, justice groups, alumni groups, all of those who know how different the world would be had it not been for the life of a woman religious need to speak out now and let the Vatican know how much the sisters are appreciated. We all have the power to easily join the discussion and perhaps affect the course of things. Individuals and groups can sign respectful letters and make sure the local bishop and those in the two Vatican congregations conducting the investigations understand the depth of feeling that exists for women who have dedicated their lives to service of the church and others. Send copies of all correspondence to the papal nuncio in Washington.
It is also time for bishops who understand the unseemly politics of the moment, who in private wince at each new insult to religious women, to show some courage. Those who know how dependent the life of their local church is on the service of religious women should end their silence. Speak up. Use your newspapers, Web sites, columns and blogs to highlight the contributions of women religious. You could be taking a first step toward both altering the culture that has brought on this sad episode as well as healing the growing and unnecessary breach between women religious and some members of the hierarchy.
If we want religious women to continue to minister while exploring the possibilities of the future with confidence and integrity, they need to know the church is behind them. Ending up with sisters who feel battered will serve no one and will only bring further shame on an already beleaguered community.
* * * * * * * *
Links to the stories NCR has published online and in print about the apostolic visitations of U.S. women religious is found here: Index of stories.
Poor women, between a rock
Poor women, between a rock and a hard place! What is needed is to follow the Spirit, no matter what it costs, the Spirit is the Spirit of renewal! And we all need to do the same. This is the moment of renewal, the crisis will pass but we all need to be faithful to the Spirit. Change comes from below, because the structure needs to be changed, we don´t need to oppose the structure, just follow the Spirit and the new structure will appear, like the mythological Phoenix´s rebirth, like the butterfly that emerges from the cocoon. God help us all to have faith in this critical moment!!!
Poor women, indeed, between
Poor women, indeed, between Scylla and Charybdis. Yet why is it that we must fall prey to the imagined. Has anyone ever seen a Spirit, let alone follow one...like the 'mythological Phoenix's rebirth' is the manner of argument used to rationalize following spirits, ghosts, hobgoblins. What we need is rational discourse of that which lies within our realm; intellect and action.
The Spirit of Whom we speak
The Spirit of Whom we speak is the Holy Spirit,(Who is God and really exists) The spirit of God working in the world: The Creative Spirit. God works in the world beyond structures. According to Bishop Angelelli, Murdered bishop of La Rioja Argentina, we must work with one ear listening to the Gospel and the other to the needy, the poor, the outcast. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, it was the Samaritan who was truly the good neighbor, not the priest, nor the Jewish passerby. What do you suppose Jesus wanted us to learn from that? We have to follow our consciences, even Pope Benedict said this, listening to our consciences, with prayer and meditation we (each person) find our carism, in many of the old congregations persons were used as pawns, the superiors didn´t have the gift of discernment as to what the calling of individuals under their care was, they sent them just to fill up holes in their institutions. This still exists in some congregations. For example, among the franciscan fathers, I know of a priest who as a teen left his home and lived on the street. He discovered St. Francis, the holy wandering medicant, and fell in love with his vocation, he entered the franciscans, loves the rejects of the world, as did Jesus and Francis. I would say he truly has a Franciscan vocation. But his superiors put him in charge of a highly organized parish. He´s not doing a good job, has a terrible time with organizations, meetings, finances, and the formation of leaders... People in the parish are angry and he is frustrated, killing himself with work, and achieving little. In a more democratic setting he would be following his carism, the insights God has given him. Many of the Sisters in the post Vatican II Church are following their carisms. Some are making mistakes, only one sister accompanied a woman to an abortion clinic, not all the sisters, and that one sister was stopped by her superior. In order to understand what is happening, we need to study the history of the Church. It wasn´t always stuctured the way it is today. We need to study the first 400 years, before it was tied to the Roman Empire, and that is what the Sisters are trying to do. Anothr thought about all this problem is to reflect on the fact that at that time there were no Sisters, only disciples, followers ( both men and women) of Jesus, and maybe that will be the Church of the Future: Real Followers of Jesus, that´s what it´s all about, isn´t it?
Sister, you're insights are
Sister, you're insights are invaluable. Wisdom and freedom to follow the charism given by the Holy Spirit is essential to a healthy church. Institutional blind obedience stiflies the Spirit. The abuse scandal of the hierarchy is evidence of corrupt mis-guided authority. I especially want to underscore your call to study of church structure during the first 400 years. Returning the church structure to its democratic early heritage is what is needed, not more inquistions from the so-called holy office.
Thank you for your faithful service.
Bill
Juanita, Good points, well
Juanita,
Good points, well said...the Church has been a champion regarding social issues. My point is magical thinking using the Holy Spirit as the prop. No one has either seen the Spririt or can attest to any positive outcome. The cardinals go into conclave to elect a pope, therein call upon the Spirit to guide them...with what results. The average American president is a better person than the average pope. If the Spirit is in the world and guides the Church He is doing one lousy job of it. I prefer the world of intellect and reason with concomitant social action, not superstition and expecting a positive outcome.
In regards to studying the first 400 years; I'm all for that. In fact that is what I've been doing. Contrary to Church teaching Peter was never Bishop of Rome. He went to Rome once and thereupon was executed. Indeed he was never even pope. Four centuries past before the Church had a pope similar to today. That Church in the 4th century became Rome, replaced the Roman idols with Xtian ones, and so began the hierarchy which we have none today; autocrats.
Democratic settings? That
Democratic settings? That summarises the baggage being carried, throughout this post.
Assumptions based, not on Scripture, Tradition or Church, but on personal desires and feelings. You may think its Christian but how can it be when its so divisive, confusing, power based and self serving?
How do you know you've got a Charism, how do you know that the sisters and brothers wearing habits are not fullfilling the lessons of the Good Samaritan better than others? How do you know - when the position you adopt is outside Church teaching - that you're actually listening to the Holy Spirit, instead of just what you want to think yourself? Your "conscience" knows better? Big call.
Stop using the Holy Spirit hotline direct to your conscience as an excuse for your opposition to His Church, which He alone guaranteed ... not you or these wayward Sisters. Intellectual honesty demands that one seeks the full story from the Church, pray about it and in matters of dogma, give assent. When you actually go through the reasoning in what the Church teaches, its unsurprisingly easy to give assent, because your conscience is finally satisfied ie if one is humble enough to assess the arguments objectively. To the contrary, these sisters know they've been flying under the radar for decades, now everything is coming into the light.
The bottom line is that these wayward sisters are committing fraud, maybe unintentionally, but I cannot see that. If they were selling a product called the Catholic Faith, they'd be gaoled for mis-representation.
They be gaoled for mis appropriation as well. They've been given responsibilities to pass on the faith, not their idea of it and they've had resources from many generations for use to that end - without abusing or selling them for their own pursuits.
Yes you need to study Church History ... it was never a democracy, it was never meant to be. The structure we have was chosen to keep everyone united behind the one Truth, they're the Real followers of Christ as you put it, not the ones who decide they know better yet are not even in harmony with so many other denominations let alone the teaching Church.
Yes actually it was a
Yes actually it was a democracy. The bishops in the church up through the 6th Century were elected by the people, (not the priests) to be the shepherds of the church. You can't deny church history. The most well known example is St.Augustine, elected Bishop of Hippo. He had to be ordained before he could become a bishop.
Those who want to "Speak Up
Those who want to "Speak Up for Women Religious" may write to those conducting the investigation at:
APOSTOLIC VISITATION OFFICE
HAMDEN, CT 06514
its handling of the clergy
its handling of the clergy sex abuse crisis in which bishops systematically and repeatedly chose the preservation of their culture over the lives of children
And what is to distinguish the institutional behavior of religious orders in this regard from the bad behavior of the bishops? Not a thing, as many of us who advocate for the survivors of abuse have discovered to our disappointment.
Therefore, this isn't a very apt juxtaposition.
the Vatican...is revealing not a crisis in religious life but rather a crisis of the clerical and hierarchical culture.
Of which women religious, as much as they would attempt to deny it, are an integral part. As witness their response to survivors of abuse which their members either committed, enabled, or permitted to continue.
This is not a case of one guilty party victimizing another, external, innocent party.
It is rather more of a case of the organization attacking a part of itself, in its state of illness and distress.
What are the names &
What are the names & addresses at the Vatican to which the letters should be sent? We need to flood Rome with mail about this issue! And everyone who is able should get the addresses on their Facebook and other pages.
PLEASE NCR POST THESE VATICAN
PLEASE NCR POST THESE VATICAN NAMES/ADDRESSES OF VATICAN CONTACTS. THANK YOU.
For what is is worth this is
For what is is worth this is the official vatican web site. www.vatican.va
All addresses are provided including the popes email address. I have used it several times. I doubt he sees them but at least I feel I am doing something.
I also copy our cardinal as well as my parish priest when I do this. All of the contact information i found on the web with a little digging. Not hard at all.
This insightful editorial
This insightful editorial holds some of the critical elements of the situation for women religious in the US, and perhaps elsewhere. The urging in the final paragraphs, of the absolute need for individuals, parishes and conscientious bishops to support the ministry and works which have become the commitment of religious women and to make that support public is crucial. Religious women think organically about the needs of the people of God with a constant evolution of their ministry to meet those needs. Indeed, this is their commitment to following the lead of the Spirit. She invades their discernment!
The last paragraph of this
The last paragraph of this excellent editorial says it All! While I realize that all women religious orders are not perfect, since Vatican II they have been invaluable in bring Catholic social teaching as well as religious education to a generation that would otherwise have been kept in the dark if it were left up to most parish priest. These brave women deserve our support and in many ways offer our best chance as lay Catholics to keep a balance of power now and in the future
of our church.
The Religious of the Sacred
The Religious of the Sacred Heart in Chicago and New Orleans are responsible for any success I had in college,later with my Fulbright and, indeed, kept my faith going in some dark times. I do not understand why the "old" way and the "new" way cannot coexist. Don't people remember St Teresa of Avila? She wasn't a "compliant" woman. She heard the voice of the Spirit and stood up to slander, hardships and the Inquisition. She was both a "Martha" and a "Mary".
I also do not understand why people are lumping the scandal of the abuse and cover-ups with the "woman" issues. Why are people like Maciel not excommunicated and a nun who, after much consultation, obeys her conscience considered "sinners"? This is why there are cafeteria Catholics. (I am now an Orthodox Christian.)
In twenty years the liberal
In twenty years the liberal orders you extol will have died out and all of this will be moot. The experiment in religious life which evolved after Vatican II has failed... miserably.
Why don’t you write to extol
Why don’t you write to extol the virtues of the “real nuns” as shown on EWTN, you know, the gals with the medieval habits, headgear, who live behind screens, who live in a time warp from the past? Do you really think that trying to restore this kind of living and lifestyle for all religious women would do the Church any good? Why don’t you become a benefactor of a “traditional” religious order?
Yes, it would do a lot of
Yes, it would do a lot of good. First of all, back in the medieval centuries, the Church THRIVED. The religious lived strict lives of prayer and austerity. They prayed the Liturgy of the Hours devoutly, assisted the poor greatly, attended Mass reverently, and had devout souls. The religious life is a supernatural calling outside of this world. They are not to live lives like the average person, but they are set apart to live lives of prayer. Second, a vocation to the religious life is a calling outside of the world: a vocation to live a life focused on knowing and loving our Lord through a life of prayer. The modern view completely distorts and destroys the religious life. Rome by all means has the right, and responsibility, to check the status and orthodoxy of the religious orders of the world, and the United States. This article is terribly inaccurate and flat out disgusting. There are different forms of living out the religious life (benedictines, franciscans, trappists, cistercians, etc) (whatever order they belong to/way of living). Virtue is acquired by embracing the 2000 year traditions of the Church, not abandoning them for the culture of the world, which is what several "religious" orders have done in modernity. Praise God for the authority of Rome to investigate the offenses (and those that are good) against the religious life and the creation of almighty God through distrust of His vocational creation. This article is horrendous and I stongly discourage its use for any purpose except to show the horrid nature of media in the present day.
Yes, Luke, as you said, "back
Yes, Luke, as you said, "back in the medieval centuries, the Church THRIVED." Of course, it could burn heretics at will, which made things run a lot smoother. And sense, as you so cogently put it, "Virtue is acquired by embracing the 2000 year traditions of the Church, not abandoning them for the culture of the world," it's high time those women stop messing around in soup kitchens, homeless shelters, hospitals, clinics, ghetto schools, and other nefarious haunts of the wordly. I do have to caution you, however, that you may be bordering on blasphemy when you imply that "the authority of Rome" is "the creation of amighty God."
Yes, indeed, the Middle Ages
Yes, indeed, the Middle Ages were the age of truth...let's bring it back. Banish all who oject and refuse to recant. Let superstition reign again, humbly the wretched shall kneel, and accept your whip. Pius X had it correct; sins of Modernism swallow all the good from the past, women must know their place and the religious orders demand of each member to take the oath swearing allegiance and forsaking all that which is modern. Yes the Church thrived in the middle ages once it adopted the Roman way of austere authority suffering disperity not well.
Maybe these "bad" nuns should
Maybe these "bad" nuns should join the Salvation Army, who seem to do what Christ taught, "what you do for the least of my brethren you do for me."
And please don't forget how
And please don't forget how mean-spirited the EWTN "Mother Superior" is....I watch her re-runs
for comic relief!
How ignorant! The only thing
How ignorant! The only thing that has failed is your courage to accept the bold teachings of Vatican II.
MERELY BECAUSE SOMETHING IS
MERELY BECAUSE SOMETHING IS NEW, UP TO DATE, POPULAR ETC. DOESNT MEAN IT IS BETTER. THE TWENTIETH CENTURY SO ALOT OF CHANGES...NAZISM, STALISM, MAOISM, ETC ETC. AS FAR AS THE BOLD TEACHINGS OF VATICAN II I ACTUALLY HAVE READ THE DOCUMENTS OF THE COUNCIL AND FULLY ACCEPT THEM. HAVE YOU?? DID YOU KNOW TEH COUNCIL ACTUAL SPOKE ABOUT RELIGIOUS HABITS AND OBEDIENCE AND HUMILITY. IT ALSO SPOKE ABOUT REVERENCE FOR THE POPE AND GREGORIAN CHANT AND ALOT OF OTHER THINGS.....
Why are you shouting? You
Why are you shouting? You know that caps=shouting? This is a big part of the problem, we don't know how to carry on a conversation with varying views in a civil manner. As long as anyone believes that he/she has a handle on the truth and on the way things "should" be for everyone, we can't have a real conversation.
Are you afraid of change? Of
Are you afraid of change? Of enlightenment? Of clarification? Are you afraid to listen to and to follow educated and thoughtful people who are not clerics? Can you find the “caps lock” key on your keyboard and “press it”?
Now where would you get the
Now where would you get the idea that I am afraid? Do I sound frightened? I welcome change, enlightenment and clarification, but only from people who have an open mind and don't need to shout and shove their ideas down my throat. Your way of shouting and belittling does not frighten me at all, I just find it offensive.
I couldn't agree more! I'm
I couldn't agree more! I'm sick and tired of this 'them against us' mind set. It's so juvenile and 60's.
As for NCR, don't you realize there are perfectly happy productive religious women living a more traditional lifestyle and they have no problems with recruits?
Them against us is a juvenile
Them against us is a juvenile product of the 60's? Well (which incorrectly implies that it is the behavior of the liberals), I will agree it is juvenile, but you must have stopped listening to the discourse sometime in the 60's, because it is what I hear being promoted all the time - and it's ugly.
How right you are anonymous.
How right you are anonymous. The utter hypocrisy that erupts and explodes from this publication's editorial staff, as well as some of it's contributing writers is astounding at times. It seems to get louder the more the misery of failure is exposed. People are starting to notice the misery for what it is and realize what they have been missing for the last 40 years or so, give or take. I know I have.
Pax Christi
You must be kidding. Any
You must be kidding. Any good will that the Catholic church has right now is due to the tremendous, altruistic service and Godly role modeling that the sisters religious have provided. They will continue to be respected, admired, and held in good stead while the decay in Rome will continue.
Go sisters!
Perhaps it was God's
Perhaps it was God's intention to have many of these religious orders die out. Perhaps he has other ways in mind for women to serve his Church.
If they are dying out, why
If they are dying out, why the urgency to rush the process? Why not let the more "traditional" orders grow and these "Vatican II Liberal" orders die out? It seems to me, that by rushing the process the Vatican and the Bishops have only created a publicity nightmare for themselves. Unless of course they are not dying out and the statement that modern woman prefer more traditional orders is mere wishful thinking. Of course different women will chose to go in different directions. Cloistered, teaching, nursing,social justice etc.. Why not let them chose, why the rush to kill something that you say is dying?
Why try and save them?
Why try and save them? Because there are individual sisters whose souls are in peril. They have been lied to and led astray by the moral relativism that crept in the Church under the guise of the "spirit of Vatian II". This investigation is an act of love. Let's home some of these misled sisters are salavaged because of it.
Could it be that Pastor
Could it be that Pastor Niemoller's poem applies to these good nuns; but someday, might apply to you and your conservatives as well?
Really ? and where is the
Really ? and where is the data, facts to support these statements? If you talk numbers , well, I did not know numbers constituted religious life or a congregation. If you use ministrial dedication, a committed prayer life and a life modeled after Jesus and his followers, religious life post Vat.II is alive and well and only impeded from continuing so by the interference of
Rome with its investigations and doctrinal "stuff".
I find it interesting that
I find it interesting that people wish to make comments but do not wish to own them by submitting their names with them. Positive or negative, a comment is worth nothing unless it is owned.
Judith Hurley
You wish, you wish. It is
You wish, you wish. It is not going to happen. I have admired Mother Teresa of Calcutta very much. She was a completely dedicated, devout women. However, She had no priest and bishop have any say in the internal affairs of her order. Of course the constitution of her order had to be approved by Rome. Somehow, they missed that. May be they overlooked it because her rules for her sisters is rather strict.
What I will never understand is, that when she finally started an order of Missionaries of Charity priest, she granted them much more freedom than her sisters. Oh well, nobody is perfect. When I will meet up with her again, upstairs, I will question her about that. Her complete biography by Catharine Spink (who followed her around for years) makes for wonderful reading of the fascinating saint of the gutter.
You are certainly right!
You are certainly right! Whatever one thinks of Vatican II, the document on Religious life did not mandate the kind of changes we have seen in religious life, particularly in female religious life. There is a tradition in the Church on what religious life is all about. There are variations as well. There is life in the cloister & life somewhat in the world.
This is not a doctrinal matter. There could be some change & variation. For example the habit is not a necessity but it should not be arbitrarily jettisoned. I have never heard a valid reason for the abandonment of the habit myself & I think some common form of garb should be maintained. In particular the Vatican II document said the habit should be simple, modest & becoming. The Vatican II document assumed the continued use of the habit.
Now I know that all the liberals will say that we conservatives are fixated on minor things like the habit which is not the case. The essentials of religious life are the vows, the community, a degree of separation from the world, a common prayer life & a common apostolate. Notice I did not mention the habit!
But except for the vows, it seems to me that all the other things listed have been jettisoned to a greater or lesser extent. After the vows, the second most important thing is the community. The term sister or brother signifies belonging to a community so close that it is like a family. In order to have authentic religious life a community is necessary.
And without a community how do you have a common prayer life & a common apostolate? The answer is you don't. And without a common apostolate with every nun going her own way, there is excessive immersion in the world. In particular in order to live the vow of chastity which at its root is purity of heart, one can not be immersed in the world.
So the present situation of worldliness poses a challenge for this vow in particular. And where does the vow of obedience fit into a situation where every nun is on her own? This particular vow becomes moot. And excessive immersion in the world with each nun needing an apartment, a car, a wardrobe, a cell phone, etc. waters down the vow of poverty. I don't have a cell phone so why should a nun?
So after all the changes besides the abandonment of the habit, what is really left of religious life? How is the life of a nun really any different from a truly Christian woman living single in the world? Living single in the world is a vocation in itself but it is not the vocation of a nun.
While there is much truth in
While there is much truth in the beauty of living perfect, consecrated, solitary life in behind thick stone walls, there is also a possibility of chastity in the world, of poverty with a cell phone, and of religious life without a uniform. They are simply separate callings. I would hesitate to say that priests don't live a life of chastity because they are in the world, nor that African nations which cannot lay wire and instead use cell phones are rich, nor that the demarcation of a uniform makes a significant difference in attitude, dedication, or ability.
One of the things that these changes do is assert women religious as players in the community. By dressing like "normal women" sisters can blend in and be approachable in a good and proper way. People who would avoid a black habit for its other-worldliness are willing to get close to these more "ordinary women," as Dorothy Stang, martyr, noted. Male religious, such as the Franciscans and Jesuits, wear different clothes for different occasions--and sometimes traditional religious dress is most appropriate. But the religious are capable of making that decision themselves.
Finally, part of the revolution of women religious since the '70s is doubtless a reflection of the desire of women to serve the church officially and with their whole selves. If there is no consecrated outlet for women outside of a convent as adults then women who are called to this life of mature (independent, self-directed) religious vocation will pursue other options. For example, they may feel pushed to leave the church for another which offers more respect and independence to women. Another road could lead to lay pastoral ministers, effectively retaking the tradition of the Deaconess as the keeper of the home church. Or perhaps the most radical direction could be to follow the footsteps of Dorothy Day who managed to change the church in society without any ordination or blessing but the spirit's own call, even before Vatican II. The Spirit is the credential that counts--a gift and an order that no body on earth, not even the Pope himself, can take away.
If the church silences women, the very stones will cry out the truth: Women, and particularly women religious, are equal to men in God's image and, as an image of God, carry equally the qualities necessary to make decisions, lead lives, receive personal revelation, and demonstrate God's will and action in the world with or without a habit, a cell phone, or a cloister.
It's not either living behind
It's not either living behind walls or living in the world. The modern nuns are way too worldly. If their newstyle vocation was as wonderful as you paint it, then why are these orders dying out? What I am talking about is a middle way which has been the way for most orders at least until the Council which never mandated the worldly way of modern nuns which you extoll above. The nuns need to be somewhat removed from the world in order to live their vocation. Immersion in the world has led to a vocations crisis & to a dying out of the orders which have been around for centuries.
Paulte every objection you
Paulte every objection you list here can be leveled at the diocesan priesthood. Why don't you take them to task because the diocesan priesthood has been far more of a scandal than the LCWR orders.
The diocesan priesthood is
The diocesan priesthood is not the religious life. There are priests in religious life & they should be living similar to real nuns not LCWR types. Granted the diocesan priesthood has not exactly shined & there is need for reform but the answer is not to put all priests in religious orders. It is interesting to note that when it comes to the abuse scandal, religious order priests only abused at about half the rate of diocesan priests so the vow of chastity had some effect.
And to be fair it should be noted that over the long time frame from 1950 to 2000 where there were more than 100,000 priests overall only about 4% had credible charges of abuse leveled at them according to the John Jay report.
Amen! I couldn't agree more
Amen! I couldn't agree more with everything written here! I accept the challenge!
This is an excellent idea,
This is an excellent idea, that we should all write our bishops, blog, and generally make it known that both current investigations are unacceptable. Hard to imagine where the US church would be without these women; certainly I wouldn't still be around except for a number of them. Keep up the excellent coverage.
We are behind the sisters
We are behind the sisters 100%.
Office of the Papal Nucio:
Apostolic Nunciature
3339 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20008-3610
(202) 333-7121
I certainly hope that NCR
I certainly hope that NCR would not print such a misleading comment as one that comes from the nunciature if, indeed, that is not the case. True journalism checks such facts and is unbiased.
Beloved sisters... You have
Beloved sisters...
You have done so much for us... you continue to beckon the best within us...
May the Spirit's Light continue to enkindle the people of God --
May those under the Darkness of control and power and mock-infallibility be consummed by TRUE LIGHT of CHRIST that is never to be placed under a bushel basket!!!!
Thank you for this great
Thank you for this great editorial which reveals so well the hypocrisy of the male hierarchy and the inevitable clash between them and the LCWR. As a former rigigious of 20 years, I am very proud at what the LCWR stands for and all that they do. I pray that they and all women religious will stand proudly for what they have accomplished in spite of the frequent restraints of the male dominated Church.
"As a former religious of 20
"As a former religious of 20 years..." I would like to point out this quote. God calls someone to the religious life for their entire life. It doesn't suprise me that you support the LCWR. The Church is not "male dominated" as you claim. Remember the history of the Church of Christ, the living mystical body of believers. St. Catherine of Sienna brought an end to the Western Schism, and she was a religious- a traditional religious. New age religious orders do more harm to the church than good. Rome has the authority to govern the people of God. The Vatican is not attempting to prove its dominance- it is merely seeing that all the religious orders are being true to their vocations; that they are truly catholic and living out a virtue driven life. The Church is made of all kinds of people, women, children, men, and all sinners. You have an issue with human dignity, not the Vatican. Male and female were created differently. Men are to lay down their lives, as Christ did, to protect. Women foster and nurture new life. There is a difference of their role. Men lead. Women are to be submissive ("under the mission of") to their husband. Men were created to guide and lead and protect. That is a fact.
I can't even begin to
I can't even begin to describe how disgusted I am with your comment. What you are saying is that men have and always will be, bullies! Again, we have the babies; "Mama's don't let your babies grow up to be Catholics!" They deserve better. They deserve full human rights and dignity.
Fact??? Baloney!!!! You know nothing.
Sorry, Catherine was a third
Sorry, Catherine was a third order lay Dominican, not a "traditional" religious! She was a contempletive, is a Doctor of the Church, but not a "traditional" religious....
"God calls someone to the
"God calls someone to the religious life for their entire life."
I don't think that is quite correct. Unless things have changed: in many orders sisters take vows for a time limited period, say 1 - 3 years, called temporary vows if I remember correctly. And at least some orders were made to stop taking "vows for life", which were called permanent vows. So evidently the Church does not necessarily see religious life as always being for life, even though it often and usually was and is.
And, as another writer noted, Catherine of Sienna was not a nun.
Considering the fact that the
Considering the fact that the Church owes its life in the United States to the courage, loyalty, hard work and sacrifices of so many wonderful religious women, it is more than disappointing to hear of this betrayal. Isn't it enough that the many elderly sisters who gave their lives as teachers, nurses and social workers are presently living in homes with no means of support except the charity of Catholics who are more than grateful to assist them?
Is it any wonder our young people are leaving the Church? They see this hypocrisy and want no part of it!
Their roles and numbers have
Their roles and numbers have changed in the last 40 years. When an order is no longer fulfilling its role, perhaps it is best to let the order cease and instead start new orders, openly espousing the new roles. To use the initials of a traditional order and have completely reivented the mission is misleading to the faithful. If an order is not going to teach or nurse, then it should not be using the initials of a long standing order that served those two purposes.
It appears that there must be
It appears that there must be a groundswell of support for the religious and
that means massive denunciation by one or more of the following groups.
(1) Instead of a few courageous bishops speaking up, the majority of bishops, woeld-wide need to show somw Christ-like repudiation of the "Pharisees" and
the "Scribes" negative approach to leadership in the modern Church.
(2) Parish priests and religious orders of men refuse to follow Rome's dictates and mobilize a massive demonstration of power forcing the
Vatican to support the reforms of Vatican II.
(3) The Laity in thousand of parishes revolt against the "pray" (just say your prayers like good little children); "pay" (contribute $ to support a
corrupt system), and "obey" (silently conform.)
(4) All of the above demand an open Council to include laity, especially
women, rejecting the last monarchical structure. and replace it's leadership.
The NCR Editorial Board wants
The NCR Editorial Board wants the Church to get behind women religious. As soon as women religious get behind survivors of institutional sexual abuse by priests, deacons, religious brothers and sisters, and nuns, which they have heretofore not done, the Church should not get behind them at all. The LCWR has repeatedly refused to meet with, give consolation to, or in any way show support for survivors of "religious sister and nun" abuse. Scores of people have been abused by women religious, and the LCWR refuses to do anything about it. If anyone decides to get "behind" the nuns, please give them a good kick in the backside and get them moving on the sexual abuse issue.
Oh give me a break! The worst
Oh give me a break! The worst thing any nun did was smack a kid across the face for being fresh or hit them on the knuckles with a ruler for not doing their homework! In my experience in Catholic grade school only the bad kids got hit & they richly deserved it! I'm no fan of the LCWR but if they refuse to meet with dysfunctional people bringing false claims, I say, right on, sisters!
Please publish the mailing
Please publish the mailing address for the two cardinals in Rome and the papal nuncio in Wasnington. Thanks!
Thanks, Mark. They ask us to
Thanks, Mark. They ask us to write, but don't tell us the address. Can't do one without the other.
John, you obviously, by
John, you obviously, by posting here, have access to the internet. Do a little research and locate the addresses on your own!
If you haven't seen this I
If you haven't seen this I thought it would interest you
Love and prayers
John
Well said.
Well said.
Great article, but I had to
Great article, but I had to laugh when I came to the word, "Shibboleths." I remembered seeing a story on TV, where Julia Roberts was interviewed, because she was complaining that leading women actresses made millions of dollars less per film than leading men. The reporter asked her the reason why she thought this was true. Without missing a beat she said something like, "It's obvious. Women don't have penises!" Maybe this is the answer why Women Religious have such a low status in the Holy Roman Catholic Church?
The proclivity toward
The proclivity toward narcissism is a male defect more than female. The defect is one of self-indwelling and failed consideration for other; it is a disorder of “fetus-envy.”
Narcissism is iteratively reinforced in the biological/ psychological experience that males witness the “ontological” preoccupation of females in the wellbeing of other, i.e., for the fetus nurtured in their bodies in nine months of pregnancy. Such personal experience is “ontologically” denied males. Female exclusive pregnancy is an alienating experience that can be characterized in males as “fetus-envy.” Dwelling in envy and self-pity, males conjure ways of self-affirmation to get back for this denial of nature.
Women are physically and psychologically tied to the deep and fierce culture of concern for other, for the other person-in-process in their bodies. Narcissism is an envy that begrudges being left out and takes it out on women and even on children. The evolved culture of patriarchal imperialism projects in domestic violent ways toward other, and aggravates in dominion culture the proclivity of narcissism and over-lording.
Eucharistic altruism is for males a bridge of consciousness that enables them to culture other-concern and find self-worth in serving others and securing the sustainable wellbeing of the “natural other,” and specifically toward the wellbeing of their spouses and children. The prevalence of domestic abuse witnesses the prevalence of narcissism.
In the culture of Eucharistic altruism males acquire sense of ownership. Sense of ownership with females is experienced in the culture of mutuality, complementarity and subsidiarity. In “fierce fidelity” to this trimorphic process, males and females together function rationally and emotionally in harmony, in common service to other, and overcome the defect-proclivity toward narcissism.
Most unfortunately, the default-defect of narcissism is aggravated in the hyped culture of male clericalism, most notably in dominion theology and the male-exclusive culture of the Roman Catholic priesthood. www.divinicom.com
http://justifiedliving.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978...
Our Church has been in good
Our Church has been in good measure hijacked by a group(s) of self-perpetuating old men who are afraid of change. The challenge is to change governance without the losses involved in outright rebellion - if that is possible.
James O'Connell
I wonder what the statistics
I wonder what the statistics will be in regard to the number of people leaving the Church over this part of the crisis, a crisis concerning whether or not it is okay to be human. Jesus gave us the Beatitudes for guidelines that need to be followed in determining our own humanity.(Matthew 5: 1-11). It surely is not rocket science.
Between the obvious disdain
Between the obvious disdain for laity, the persecution of women religious and especially the abuse of children, while the men in fancy robes continue to get off scott-free, I think it's time for another schism. I do not believe this is the Church Jesus had in mind. I believe the actions and inactions of the hierarchy make Him cry.
Maggie O'Brien
Apparently the visitation
Apparently the visitation report on the sisters' communities will be reviewed by a panel of American Cardinals in Rome. Is it possible that this newly declared level of review is designed by another side of the curia to prevent irreparable harm to vowed religious life in the US? If so, then others in the Curia must already know how ill conceived the execution of the visitation is. One can only hope that this 'forecast' has substance.
If vowed religious communities,all of them, have not already done so, they should be consulting lawyers and other experts about transferring their assets, should there be any, to legal structures that are immuned to meddling of the hierarchs. Additionally, all the vowed religious communities should look to legal structures in civil law that will allow them to function as religious communities also with out meddling of hierarchs. This means of course that their loyalty to the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ will have to be front and center when they disengage from the canon law structures which allow Rode and Levada to do that which they do.
The history of our church has many stories of religious communities, usually of vowed women, who lived outside the canon law structures, and hierarchical structures and still remained catholic, vowed, and capable of doing great good. True, some of this was due to war, like the French Revolution, but sometimes it was due to the fact that the hierarchs refused recognition of the communities. It is time to prepare, perhaps, for religious men and women to go to ground so that the work that they do to evangelize the world continues uninterrupted.
Thank you, Thank you for the
Thank you, Thank you for the challenge you are issuing. I was a member of a religious order for 27 years and I know the value of what these women bring to the community. I have also worked with battered women.I am sickened by what the male so-called leaders of our church are doing and so sad to see the bind in which they have placed these women. Unlike those who seek to control them, these women are courageous, compassionate and have one agenda: to use their courage and compassion to help others--often at a great price. They are true witnesses to the basic message of the Scriptures: Love one another as I have loved you. I think this is one of their greatest challenges today--how to continue to love in the midst of being battered while knowing that the battering will only stop when they choose to leave the batterer.
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