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U.S. women religious leadership, at the crossroads
'Last major struggle over an understanding what it means to be Catholic'
Aug. 07, 2009
Ken Briggs
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PDF versionAs I see it, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which gathers next week in New Orleans, faces a bleak choice: either die or survive at a great cost to its integrity and dignity.
The Vatican has thrown down the gauntlet. The choice is stark: acquiesce to a “doctrinal assessment” of leadership conference views -- on women’s ordination, the primacy of Roman Catholicism and homosexuality – or reject the probe as an unwarranted fishing expedition bent on putting the organization out of business.
What we have here, I believe, could be the last major struggle over a way of understanding what it means to be Catholic. Sisters have retained more of Vatican II ethos and spirit than any group in the church, in the face of formidable opposition to large segments of it by the last two popes.
If Rome succeeds in wrecking this last organizational remnant of Vatican II, then all of American Catholicism suffers a great loss. Yet the will to resist appears to have dissipated. Without active protest, LCWR, as it’s been known, will exist no more. Voices of appeasement who counsel trust in Vatican intentions sound sadly out of touch with Rome’s hard line aims.
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Vatican, U.S. Women religious tensions go back decades
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Meanwhile, the two investigations of sisters are in full stride, couched in terms of routine check-ups. One examines the “quality of life” in sisters’ congregations. It covers the chief components of governance, work and spirituality, the areas that became the touchstones of renewal. The other is aimed squarely at the leadership conference, long regarded as a thorn in the Vatican’s hide. Having failed for decades to break the Conference of its Vatican II identity, the latest offensive appears determined to finish the job.
Renewal was the word that encapsulated that search for the new life mandated by the Council. It is a word rarely spoken any more because its practice belongs largely to the past. But leadership conference has continued to uphold many of its values.
The superiors of the congregations have maintained near total silence in response to the investigations. Some believe the Vatican’s assurances that they have nothing to worry about. And because they believe they’ve done nothing wrong, they don’t appear worried.
If they don’t look squarely at what’s happening and speak out against it, however, I think the struggle to preserve even a semblance of the LCWR’s vibrant past will be lost. This dynamic conference, born in controversy because the Vatican objected strenuously to the term “leadership” in its name change, could forfeit its legacy of defending not only sisters but a wider cohort of Catholic women and American Catholicism’s stake in renewal.
The seeds of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious subversion were sewn in 1971 when opponents organized a separate group called Consortium Perfectae Caritatis. By 1992, the group had won official recognition from Rome and renamed itself the Council of Major Superiors of Women.
The alternative conference portrayed itself as strictly traditional and sharply opposed to the liberal direction of LCWR. The United States thus became the only country in the world with two recognized sister organizations. Only one of them, of course, found favor at the Vatican. The liberal group was suspected of promoting “radical feminism,” selling out to secular culture and questioning authority. To many prelates, the women's leadership conference was both vexing and threatening.
The insurgent group became the wedge. Over the years, it would employ various means to take advantage of a women's religious group weakened by constant criticism from church officials and flagging interest in the ideals of Vatican II by those who tired of the fight. Among its latest efforts is to show that young women are flocking to “traditional” orders that obey the old rules in contrast to the sharp losses among communities involved in renewal. The truth is something different.
A few years ago, I did a book on the fate of American sisters from before Vatican II to the start of the 21st century. I wasn’t looking for particular causes of the dramatic fluctuations in numbers of sisters and their welfare, but understood from initial research that there were many factors involved.
The establishment of the CMSW was one of the principal events that led me to the conclusion that the church’s hierarchy had been the chief reason that renewal hadn’t be able to finish the task and therefore contributed mightily to the decline of so many sister communities.
Critics of my conclusion said it was simplistic and placed blame in the wrong place. Some said sisters had brought on the crisis themselves by betraying the true mission of religious life – and the Council’s intent -- by living outside the convent, pursuing a variety of professions rather than pursuing a common service and choosing alternative forms of worship (not surprisingly, similar “abuses” are now cited in defense of the investigation). The damage caused by painful divisions in many orders over these big changes was cited by critics as further proof that sisters had brought it on themselves.
Unless sisters became obedient and returned to prescribed roles, the critics said, order couldn’t be restored and I had sorely misread the history.
Rightly or wrongly, not only hasn’t my thinking in this regard changed but the investigation strengthens it. Having failed otherwise to persuade LCWR and many of its leaders to abandon its commitment to renewal, as they interpreted it from the Vatican II document addressed to them (the only group in the church singled out in a discreet document), the Vatican appears to have chosen another blunt instrument to instill cooperation.
Depending on how the leadership conference and various sister leaders respond, the Vatican may have already accomplished its end by injecting enough intimidation to coax many reluctant sisters to go along with the directives quietly.
I’m in no position to judge whether or not silence is justified and I deeply respect the consciences of those who have actually lived through a long period of trial. Some sisters say that speaking out could jeopardize the welfare of their communities, especially their oldest members; others feel that a good faith effort is called for; still others hope that being inconspicuous will reduce chances that the Vatican operatives will come calling. Hunker down and wait till it blows over. But it’s difficult to see charitable purposes as the motivating force.
Without resolve to resist, it seems quite likely that the LCWR will be swallowed up into the conservative religious women's council that appears to be close to achieving victory in a contest for hearts and minds over the character of Catholicism that was triggered by the Vatican’s installing of the rival group.
The LCWR could lose its character even if a shell of its structure remained. But make no mistake: Rome is committed to resolving this dispute in its favor.
Those who trust that the best response is peaceful non-resistance or resignation may be right. Who wouldn’t like to have answers to some of the serious troubles that hamper so many communities, even if it required compromise? At the same time, trust and wishful thinking could worsen those troubles. As it is, Rome has given these women so little support that there’s little to take away. On the issue of obedience, Rome may have already accomplished its goal.
Ken Briggs has written extensively on Catholicism as a member of the staff of The New York Times and many other publications. He is the author a recent book, “Double Crossed: Uncovering the Catholic Church’s Betrayal of American Nuns.”
It's tough at the top. We
It's tough at the top. We have to remember that the Sisters-in-charge have the liability of being in charge of a diminishing number of mostly elderly Sisters who put all their eggs in this one basket.
It takes great gump to say "This isn't the way we believe we should go" and to quit. I suggest that all US Sisters ask, individually, for an indult of exclaustration or whatever the term is for non-monastic religious. Ask, individually, but at the same time. Stay together or separate as seems good, but don't take this lying down.
The Church MUST see that you are properly supported while you ponder the nature of your calling. You are entitled to a simple frugal safe lifestyle, in keeping with your profession of poverty.
Goferit!
+ I'm not sure why the Church
+
I'm not sure why the Church would support a group of individuals, which has actively pursued her destruction. I certainly will never contribute to members of the LCWR.
I also find it ironic that while the Vatican is attempting to renew the LCWR, the author refuses the renewal. No, No! We must stay the same as we decided to be in the 1960's -rightly or wrongly. We accept your advice from 1960, but not now. Isn't it ironic? At least orthodox Catholics are consistent.
A quick peek at this website
A quick peek at this website should explain to all why Rome needs to assess the LCWR.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/oct/09102302.html
You think so? I find lots of
You think so? I find lots of so-called orthodox Catholics quite inconsistent. Please do not generalize or you show your own stupidity.
While I appreciate Mr Briggs'
While I appreciate Mr Briggs' concern for the future of women's religious life, I respectfully submit, that maybe the Vatican has the same concern.
Setting aside whatever imagined enemies Mr Briggs and other conspiracy theorists have in mind, maybe we could just look at the plain facts.
Following a trajectory of abandonment of principles and way of life that bore much fruit in the early histories of their congregations, these same congregations in the last 4o years have, for all intents and purposes, died. The choices they made did not bear fruit. Nobody wants to join what these congregations have created.
No outside enemy is responsible. There is only the leadership of these congregations and LCWR to blame. It is time they take responsibility. It is time they face reality. Nobody is oppressing them. They just made mistakes- big ones.
But maybe there is time to recover a little bit of the life and vitality that was once there. Maybe admissions of mistakes could be made so as to bring about new life. Maybe women's consecrated life doesn't need to vanish in this country. That's my hope. I believe that's the hope of the Vatican and the bishops in this country. I know it's the hope of countless laypeople who have been enriched by the service and witness of women's religious through the generations.
Let's quit blaming faceless, non-existent enemies, come to grips with reality and do something before all is lost of this beautiful gift to the Church.
I am so surprised by these
I am so surprised by these comments, as a Catholic Woman of the 21 Century, I can tell you, what the enemy is, is a catholicism, that does not stand strong, against the horror in Africa, based on the Vatican's consistent drum beat that simple condom use can not be allowed to help stop the spread of the aids virus, a Vatican that does not stand strong against priests and and yes nuns who abuse children here and in Ireland .... the wonderful nuns i know in habit and out of habits, who hold the presence of Christ Love, strong in their hearts, do not shame homosexuals, use Sufi poems of Rumi, believe in the work of Thomas Berry, of the early social work in South America, that Rome has done its best to stamp out ... it seems to ask a question or to have an honest inquiry into the questions of women priests, ( as there is really nothing in the bible against it ... or an honest inquiry into a priest's ability to marry, which again is not literally against Christ's teaching, or Peter's or Paul's and is a late development ... are consistently seen as a threat to what, the love and work of Christ? no, these inquires are seen as a threat to the power of Rome ... and are a turn off to any thinking, feeling woman in the 20/21 st century ... who has the ability and willingness to use the mind and heart that was given to them by God ... the ability to reason, dream, quest, question, not just the ability to obey ...
beautifully said
beautifully said
indeed...
indeed...
The enemy has a name. It's
The enemy has a name. It's time we as a collective church remembered it. St. Michael Archangel, pray for us.
John Paul II? But he's dead
John Paul II? But he's dead now - you can't keep blaming him for everything.
Dear dennis n, Before John
Dear dennis n,
Before John Paul II died---he set into place his policies and he made sure that the man that he wanted to be his successor got elected to carry out the policies---and that man is Benedict XVI.
And our Church has and is suffering. What we need is an autochithonous American Church!
Beautiful indeed. There is
Beautiful indeed. There is energy, strength, compassion, hope and understanding of the human condition.
AMEN Sister!
AMEN Sister!
Yes! Indeed! Very well
Yes! Indeed! Very well written and very true. I believe that this "inquisition" is driven by Rome's own fear.I firmly believe that this is, also, is a smoke screen put into place by Rome's Good Old Boys Club so as to take the focus off of Their lack of seeking out the truth amongst themselves. They need to look at their protection of Cardinals and Bishops who have allowed horrible abuses to go on for too many years to even think about. They are the ones who have created any division in our Church by alowing corruption and decay to take place from the inside..Somehow this sounds familiar. I think Jesus said somthing about this too
How well said and true. The
How well said and true. The Power Monger in Rome rules.
Beautifully written, Jessica.
Beautifully written, Jessica. I concur with your view, but wonder what will happen to all of us Catholics who love the church, but abhor the oppression of women by a patriarchal society? Leaving the catholic church and joining another church seems out of character with my lifestyle, but an option that has recently become more plausible. My question though is, to where do I go?
Thank you, CSC, for this sane
Thank you, CSC, for this sane and fatually accurate comment. The groups supporting the LCWR have few recruits or none - and no wonder. What young woman would want to join a group of older (mostly much older) women who are angry at the Church and hate men? The groups represented by the CMSW are full of joy and are growing rapidly. They are the true "wave of the future." 39 years ago I preached a sermon to a group of Sisters gung-ho for (misunderstood) "renewal" (later published in a national journal) on the theme, "Dare to be different." I said that the 3 religious vows were a particular way of being "different" from society in general. If Sisters decided that they no longer wished to be different, preferring simply to blend in with suburban hosewives, recruits would stop coming, Sisters' schools, hospitals, and other institutions would be taken from them, and the congregations which established and supported these wonderful works would die. Everything that I predicted 39 years ago has now happened. Only the Sisters' groups who truly "Dare to be different" are flourishing. The others are rapidly dying - and seem not to care, since they know they are right.
Have news for you Presbyter
Have news for you Presbyter Felix,
There are a number of congregations of women religious who belong to the CMSW, who don't have large numbers of new members joining either.
How does taking the three vows make people LOOK different--to attract attention? No way---unless, of course, they dress differently, live in large convents, etc. But is dressing differently ESSENTIAL to living the vowed life? It is not! A good number of religious founders had no desire for their followers to wear anything that was different than the people around them wore. St. Vincent de Paul, for example, wanted along with St. Louise de Marilac, the women followers to just be "the good ladies of the parish, whose chapel was the parish church and their cloister, the streets of the town." It was the Vatican that demanded that the Sisters of Charity move into large convents and wear a form of religious habit.
Your implication seems to be that unless these women LOOK different---they can't dare to be different. Halloween costumes do not make women religious---it is their dedication to serve God's people that does.
Finally, as the 20th century was approaching, it was stated over and over again that this was the Age of the Laity. Well, it is. And perhaps the time for consecrated religious is ending---because the laity will be living the Gospel life more deeply and more spiritually.
You miss the point about the
You miss the point about the "habit." It brings visibility to the order as does any uniform to any profession. An attractive uniform makes an impression on young and old alike. It is like a "hook" that draws inquirers to a deeper understanding of the symbol and life behind the look. I was at a traditional convent where an "extern" nun was milling about the many visitors. In full traditional habit, at least 8 school girls were flocked around her asking questions. I doubt seriously that anyone, adult or child, would have been enthralled by a plain-clothes nun just coming back to from a wonderful trip to Haiti doing all kinds of charitable work for the Lord.But in a habit, I bet there would be a great deal of inquisitive interest in the witness of this person. In my town there were once 50 nuns/sisters living in the vicinity. Today there are three and they are plain clothes nuns/sisters. No one except a small exclusive group of friends and acquaintances even know we have these three, although they do all kinds of great work both seen and unseen. Our kids have to gone on line to figure out what a nun is, let alone what one does. It time for the dying nuns, whether traditional or not to wake up and smell the coffee.
Dear Presbyter, 'School girls
Dear Presbyter,
'School girls flock around a Sister in traditional habit?' What decade are you writing about?
I see young girls in third world countries flocking to the convents of traditional communities---and they do so for the same reasons that young girls in America did in the 1930's-1950's---it meant respect and upward mobility for youngsters in immigrant families and in families where the parents were the first generation born in America.
The world has changed, my friend---and youngsters in Catholic schools are in regional/Diocesan schools. They are from the upper middle class or else from well-to-do families. They are planning to enter careers that pay big bucks and they are not intending to take vows of poverty, chastity or obedience.
And they would not be the type to put up with the nonsense from the Vatican. They are inspired by Twitter, internet, their friends, movies, songs, TV programs and the life-style of their own parents---where Mom and Dad (if there is a Dad) both work. They are taught to be skeptical of what they see and hear by the news media and by their own parents. And the Church is NOT the center of most Catholics' lives, work, recreation, or education today. Many Catholics consider themselves good Catholics if they go to week-end Mass once a month. Excellent Catholics if they go most of the time. Americans are getting very much like the Europeans have been for decades. Hey, when was the last time that you were in Italy? You don't even see priests except in Rome.
Your comment about the "dying nuns, whether traditional or not to wake up and smell the coffee" can be said about priests, bishops, cardinals, and the Pope as well----who sees them---or has any real association with them. Who lives in a Catholic ghetto anymore?
Our youngsters DO see the laity, live with their parents at home (not in a junior seminary or novitate), and may assume their place in the Church as LAY Ministers. Whether the official Church is ready for them or not---they are already here. And the official Church (hierarch) had better realize that this is the 21st Century---and that they haven't caught up yet.
What religious have failed to
What religious have failed to recognize is that immediately after Vatican II there were very noble attempts to update their lives and to get back to their founders' vision. This meant shedding archaic customs such as habits that were truly impossible outside of a monastic environment. The Sisters of Mercy original update of their habit was marvelous as were the modified habits of other religious orders. However, somewhere shortly after a rather positive updating, things got out of control. Pop psychology, purely secular clothes, sexual license, both homosexual and heterosexual (which most elderly nuns know about but refuse to acknowledge) during the 60's, living alone like bachelors rather than in community or in intentional "diades" which saw a third nun as a threat to that intimacy and the drift away from traditional Catholic spirituality, liturgy and prayer all contributed to what we have now, religious life on the verge of extinction. What is even worse is a radical feminism that promotes the hatred of men, hierarchy and objectivity. What many are writing in the various comments opposing the hierarchy of the Church is schismatic. These religious and their supporters are one of two things, either agnostic or gnostic. Atheists can do good works and sometimes better than religious. What makes a Catholic religious distinct is their Catholic faith, spirituality and prayer that nourishes their good works or "social works." There's nothing distinctively Catholic about social work, many religions and non-religions do that. Our way of doing it is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to offer His salvation to the world through the Church He founded. Gnosticism, Agnosticism and Atheism have no place in Catholic Religious life. Fidelity to the ordinary and extraordinary Magisterium of the church and the living authority of the Church in matters of faith and morals will help current day reformers of religious life listen to the private revelation St. Francis had, "rebuild my Church" which is based not on some secret, gnostic knowledge known only to a few, but on what is out in the open and available to all, Scripture, Tradition and the living teaching authority of our hierarchical Church!
Dear Another Presbyter of
Dear Another Presbyter of Aug. 09,
You have used the moniker "presbyter"--so I am assuming that you are male. It is very easy for you to sit in judgement upon religious life (womens'). But my response to you is---if you haven't lived it yourself---don't presume to judge. You refer to feminism that has a hatred toward men. But you fail to acknowledge the policies of the Church that for centuries that practiced a hatred of women---despising of their gifts, talents and wisdom. And if you believe that this era of hatred of women is over---you are more wet behind the ears than your posting indicated.
You speak as though Jesus was "Catholic" (which he was not). And you identify 'church' as though it is the same as God---which it is not. Jesus' message to others was authentic, because he had what he wanted others to own--Jesus "owned" what he wanted to give. But the church magisterium and hierarchy preaches/practices more like used-car salesmen---and they are not authentic. Like used-car salesmen, all that they are doing is is speaking "about" an attractive product, but not of their experience of what they are selling, because they have not experienced it at all. They may have excellent production records, record sales numbers (all of it acquired on the backs of the religious and hard-working laity)---but they cannot 'sell' cannot persuade---because they don't have "authenticity." They have not LIVED IT.
The hierarchy have not personally experienced poverty from the day that they entered the seminary. They have not personally fed the poor. They have not personally clothed the poor. They have not personally worked with the sick. They have not personally helped the homeless find shealter. They are like learned male obstetricians talking "about" childbirth. Only a mother can give authentic testimony to childbirth. And only those who have lived the message and have carried it out---can give authentic testimony. Jesus was authentic about his message and he showed it in what he did. Jesus told us, that it is not all who call out "Lord, Lord who enter the kingdom of heaven. But those who DO the WILL of the Father."
Your references to magisterium and hierarchial church is amusing! Cardinal Levada is living in the Vatican because he is under investigation by a Grand Jury in the United States. Cardinal Rode loves to be wined, dined and feted. He will promote any religious group who shows him a good time---just like the Leagionnaires of Christ did recently. They and so many like them are not authentic---and the women religious know it. If something looks like a skunk, acts like a skunk, and smells like a skunk---it IS a skunk. And this investigation of the women religious, by the hierarchy smells to high heaven---like the actions of skunks.
And you, 'Another Presbyter', go wipe off the milk dripping from your chin. You don't know, with any authenticity, what you are saying. You only know what the hierarchy has taught you---not from their personal lived experience.
Oh yes the old men=bad
Oh yes the old men=bad women=good argument surfaces again.
So that's the answer: wimples
So that's the answer: wimples and really really big rosaries. And it was right before our eyes all the time.
""You miss the point about
""You miss the point about the "habit." It brings visibility to the order as does any uniform to any profession.""
As I remember, the Nazis had some really snazzy uniforms...
""You miss the point about
""You miss the point about the "habit." It brings visibility to the order as does any uniform to any profession.""
As I remember, the Nazis had some really snazzy uniforms...
And it occurs to me that this comment by Rachel is a superbly SILLY and irrelevant.
Re: the habit..... A friend of mine, a religious brother, quit wearing his habit because he found that it gave him privileges and a status in society to which he didn't think he was entitled. For instance, wearing a habit would open doors for him, and allowed him at times to get away with breaking the law (like speeding, and getting away with a simple warning because he was considered to be a "priest"). He wanted to be treated like an "ordinary person", an "ordinary citizen", and so, he wanted to look like one. Yet, people who interacted with him, discovered quickly that he was a "man of God", someone who by his actions and being made God visisble in this world. I had a lot of respect for him.
Henkgal, this is an important
Henkgal, this is an important point you make in this comment. Uniforms are one thing, the military used them originally for identification purposes, but uniforms worn as a testament to someone's 'specialness' is another thing entirely. That smacks of ego dressing. If Gus is right, and our youth are not being attracted to religious life because of it's lack of a special defining uniform, these are youth who do not get what religious life is all about. They are looking for externals to make them feel internally special.
And you hit the nail on the
And you hit the nail on the head, other than those who knew Him through some kind of interaction, knew he was a man of God and a religious. But what about the policemen who give him tickets now, those who don't open the door for him,they don't know who he is and they don't know who was with them and won't share the visible contact they had with anyone else. Yes, being ordinary is just that, and no wonder so few are joining. Most when they are young are idealistic and want to join the extraordinary. All of us have mixed motives about what we do and certainly there is a bit of narcissism in all of us and all of our institutions. But God uses mixed motives to accomplish extraordinary things and the religious who once built might institutions, huge hospitals, big school and universities more than likely did it for their own glory and hopefully for the glory of God and thank God for their narcissism! The collapse of these ministries due to a lack of vocations and the confusion in religious life has made Catholicism very ordinary and that's sad.
"The collapse of these
"The collapse of these ministries due to a lack of vocations and the confusion in religious life has made Catholicism very ordinary and that's sad."
In a post above this Little Bear talks about authenticity, about owning your truth. What you seem to be saying is that to authentically be a Catholic religious one needs to be easily identified by some form of external uniform. Otherwise one is just ordinary and their witness diluted.
Jesus's authenticity didn't require a uniform. His authentic experience of His relationship with His father readily identified Him to those who could 'see' and 'hear'.
Narcissism is a monstrous impediment to authentic spirituality, but a great boon to inauthentic authority. Jesus told us we would not be known by our uniforms but by our love. Too bad, uniforms are much easier to clothe one's self with than love.
There were a lot of Nazis who
There were a lot of Nazis who didn't wear the uniform too. Didn't Rush call radical feminists "feminazis?" It wasn't there uniform that gives them that description!
Hi another presbyter, Thank
Hi another presbyter,
Thank you for stating so clearly and convincingly what anyone who is not closed minded to the reality of the power of symbols will quickly understand and agree with.
The loss of distinctive clerical and Religious attire on the part of many priests and Consecrated women and men was the result of confusion as to the nature of their vocation.
In turn this has resulted in priesthood and Religious life not appearing as attractive as it once did.
It is not the desire for a profession, money, and marriage that dissuades young people from a vocation but rather the poor example that they witness when they see priests and Sisters and Brothers who look just like everyone else, act like everyone else, and some even advocate to live just like the laity.
That is what is not attractive to young people.
They want a vocation that will require sacrifice and that will help them to change the world in a positive way but if they see priests and Religious focused on professional pursuits, in the making of money, and in wanting to be married, then they are not at all interested.
Why become a priest or a Sister or Brother if one is going to be living (or wanting to live) just like the laity?
Anyway, again thanks for stating what you did and especially for being a priest.
I wish you all the best in this Year for Priests.
Pax et Bonum
Dear Gus, I would like to see
Dear Gus,
I would like to see you wear for one week, what the Religious women had to wear about 50 years ago. Starched headwear without permitting air to reach the ears, hair or neck. And wearing surge habits in the summer that dusted off the streets and went into the snow and sleet in the winter.
It was the doctors of the religious that complained to the Bishops and the Vatican that they were treating the Sisters for skin, ear, and hair problems.
Oh, yes, the habits did not permit the Sisters to drive cars----which became more important, since lay drivers were not always available.
Oh, yes, traditional habits really turn kids on---yep! Until they have to wear them for awhile.
What is really visible,
What is really visible, "habits" (clothes) or habits (life), e.g., Christian Humanism? http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977767906
Hi Acolyte, Thanks for the
Hi Acolyte,
Thanks for the link; it shows where you are coming from.
It also shows in its New Genesis Commandments not Christian but only secular humanism.
There are different ways to be a humanist but these are necessarily distinct and different.
Christian humanism is centered on the Incarnation whereby humanity begins to be transformed and elevated by the divine presence.
So in Christian humanism, humanity is celebrated because it was created by God and redeemed by God.
Secular humanism, by contrast, values humanity for its own sake. It needs no appeal to God for its values and even when it makes mention of God it is not a reference to the personal God revealed in Christ but its rather only the use of a name that encompasses everything from monotheism to pantheism to atheism.
So, are you really a Christian humanist or a secular one?
If Christian, then you would understand that by the Incarnation God entered humanity in Christ and remains in humanity through the Church.
Incarnation is about taking on a limited, fleshy, particular, and historical manifestation; it is not about some ambiguous universal spiritual permeation.
Christian humanism takes the Incarnation seriously and so sees Christ as the unique manifestation of God in history and sees the Church the same way. Secular humanism sees the "divine" universally manifesting itself in humanity.
Again, are you a Christian or a secular humanist?
If Christian, then you would see that just as God respected the human condition with all of its limitations and history so too must we. Respecting the human condition means that we understand the human condition to need symbols. Language is one of the things that makes us human and language is symbolic. Humans need symbols.
The discarding of clerical dress and Religious habits has resulted in the discarding of powerful symbols the result of which can be seen in the loss of vocations.
There is no need to contrast habits (clothes) with habits (life) precisely because the clothes were in the service of the life. The habit was a symbol of the life. The discarding of the clothes has led to the discarding of the life.
If you are truly a Christian humanist (or at least, moving in that direction) then you respect the Incarnation which is to say, you understand the human condition as the limited and historical reality that it is and how it needs symbols to understand itself. If you do this, you will understand why the habit is needed.
Pax et Bonum
P.S. I can see that you do love humanity (as well we all should) and I hope that this has led you to love the God who created and redeemed it in Christ and who continues to save it in the Church. All the best.
You better read more of what
You better read more of what I write to discover that I am not (horrors!) a SECULAR HUMANIST. I believe the body of my writing makes very clear that I am a Christian humanist. Keep reading and get the "rest of the story" before jumping to conclusions.
Sylvester, nice to see you
Sylvester, nice to see you posting occasionally. Too bad Gus wasn't around when the Cafe was going, he would never have questioned your Christian humanist credentials. Maybe your Catholic, but not your Christian.
I should clarify: Christian
I should clarify: Christian humanism supposes secular humanism (intentional symbiosis supposes natural symbiosis) as grace supposes nature. Symbiosis is the way of waging peace rather than war.
Religious Life is NOT about
Religious Life is NOT about the habit. Do the clothes make the man? Does a habit make a Sister? When I realized I was a Middle Age symbol of a Middle Age Church, and clearly I was not a symbol of dedication to God or a symbol of a life lived in love, it was time to modify the way I presented myself so that I could be a believable wittness to God's love and care for every person.
I truly fear that the hierarchy will ask us to return to a time when we were encouraged--not to think--but to submit such responsibilities to another who was smarter than I and who was more able than I to discern the will of God in my life.
Thanks for showing the way
Thanks for showing the way between an 'essential' characteristic and an 'accidental' one. Thomas aquinas would be proud of the mockery you have demonstrated in his behalf. Next reply kindly show some depth and meaning beyond what your olfactory gland might conjure.
I believe you are missing the
I believe you are missing the whole point.........the habit does not make a sister. A deeper call, spirituality and commitment are what matters. If you remember the grand exit of nuns after Vatican II you would see many miserable and unhappy nuns there were at that time. Now the traditional orders are once again forming this type of sister; taking women at 17 and 18 in this society is disgraceful.......they are kids nowadays. I hope you and so many others wake up and live in this century!!
Little Bear, I agree with you
Little Bear, I agree with you that the time for consecrated religious is perhaps ending. Many of the laity have and continue to live the Gospel life more spiritually than bishops, priests, and religious men and women. Where I take exception to your comment and I know you will send a tart response back is that I do not consider the religious habit a Halloween costume. This disparages great orders like the Missionary of Charities who wear simple religious garb. I also have a more inclusive image of the Church than you do. Why can't we say this is the Age of the Church. The clergy are not the enemny as you seem to think. Clergy and Laity are both needed to continue the beautiful work of the Church. A Church that is made of human beings--God's favorite creation--who are not perfect but are striving to live the Gospel message. I only ask that your response be kinder than you have been in the past when I disagree with you.
Numbers of vowed religious
Numbers of vowed religious orders may be decreeasing, but the charism of religious orders is not dying! It is being carried by thousands of Lay Associates, women and men who vow to carry on the work of a particular religious order in their lives. Whether they are married, single, widowed, divorced and even non-Catholic, their dedication to living the charism of their order is evident in action in their parishes and communities. Sometimes they work and pray in conjunction with vowed members, but more often not. Regular meetings with their province directors and other members, vowed and associate, keep them energized and accountable. As a 10 year lay associate of an international order, my faith in God and my desire to serve others, especially the poor and marginalized, has grown exponentially. No, I don't wear a habit, nor do most of the sisters I know; however, I wear a pin similar to that of the sisters to identify my associate membership in the order. Membership has indeed enabled me to "live the Gospel more deeply and more spiritually."
I am glad I missed your
I am glad I missed your sermon, Presbyter felix. I try to find homilists who not only preach love, but live it. Your message betrays you.
What this sorry episode
What this sorry episode reinforces is the fact that the institutional Roman Catholic Church is a church of distrust. How can women trust clerics (hierarchy) who distrust them? How Christian is that?
Hi Presbyter felix, Thanks
Hi Presbyter felix,
Thanks for your words of wisdom. The evidence is overwhelming that you were correct 39 years ago and still are today. Most people who are not suicidally committed to the "spirit of Vat II" can see this and have begun to make changes that help individuals and communities to embrace the orthodox, traditional Catholic Faith. Thanks for being a priest. I wish you the very best in this Year for Priests.
Pax et Bonum
Institutional Roman
Institutional Roman Catholicism is essentially at war with itself because it has one foot in Trent/ Vatican I and one foot in Vatican II. This indecisive straddling is lethal. Vatican II will win out because it is sensitive to the needs of the times and aware of the inadequacy of institutional staticism/ centrism. Vatican II positioned the Church to deal with the evolving challenges of the times—until recidivism set in.
I trust women's wisdom. Women will decide the manner of consecration that best serves the People of God. The culture of male sexism still infects the Church and its exclusionary "leadership". If males demand the further recidivism of women into demeaning subserviency, it will be to the Church's great loss. Women will eventually take their rightful place in the Roman Church. Sooner is better than later.(I am the father of six women. I am old enough to respect female Wisdom—Trimorphic Protennoia.)
I so agree Acolyte. Further,
I so agree Acolyte. Further, with respect to another above comment that this church has become a church of distrust -- it is apparent in the way the CDC, when headed by Ratzinger, silenced theologians. The Women's Leadership Conference is only beginning to experience what theologians like Kung, Curran, Haight, and Phan of late have had to suffer.
What exactly do you mean by
What exactly do you mean by abandoned principles and a way of life that bore much fruit?
I agree with many of the
I agree with many of the thoughts which Mr. Briggs had put forth in this article. There is a war going on within the Catholic Church between the anti Vatican II leaders in Rome and in the United States. Even before Vatican II began the conservative Cardinals and bishops attempted to delay and defeat the Council which Pope John XIII called to bring fresh air into the Church.
The more I read about the actions of the current leadership, the more I agree with those who have been saying that the Leaders of our church hate women. Unfortunately, if the present conservative Pope, Cardinals and bishops have their way the Church will decend into the middle ages again. Jesus did not create the Catholic church organization as we find it today. Humans have created the organizational structure which we find leading the church today. In the article a reference is made about the small number of women who are joining the Nuns today, but that can also be said of the small number of men who are becomng priest too. I hope and pray that the Church will eventually reform its power structure and enter the 21st Century. God bless all of the wonderful sisters who gave me my education in Catholic schools and made it possible for me to lead a productive life.
It is sad to see that the
It is sad to see that the Church continues to disregard its women religious and all that they have achieved through the years here and around the world.They came because God called them, not Rome with all due respect. They gave up family, possessions, and their own wills to do the will of god in charitable works and now they are faced with interrogation and suspicion. Are we back to the days of the Inquisition????
These sisters who think they
These sisters who think they are the only ones persevering the ethos of Vatican II while performing, I am sure, many good works, are not the ones who decide what it means to be Catholic. It is God who decides and communicates it through the living teaching authority of the Church. I would suspect the person in the pew who takes seriously everything about Catholicism, especially Scripture and Tradition, not to mention, tradition with a little "t" preserve the ethos of Vatican II than the vast majority of clergy or religious. The strident "clericalism" of sisters who so oppose "clericalism" is really stunning.
I don't think God - the
I don't think God - the Father/Mother of the Cosmos -gives a flip about who or what is Catholic. Being Catholic doesn't matter. I think God wants justice, change of heart not blind obedience to a man -made institution. Yes, I think the church is a human construct. I think Jesus was about modeling a God-centered life ie - if one is god-centered this is how one thinks and acts and speaks.
So I look at the sisters and I look at the male hierarchy and ask who seems to be living out that modeled life, who seems to be about god and who seems to be about power, authority, control
The whole Bible tells you
The whole Bible tells you what God wants. Humility! It's time that feminist Christians come before the cross, unflex the fist and bow the knee.
Dear Christian, The whole
Dear Christian,
The whole Bible tell you that God wants Humility---really? Cite the book, chapter and verse that states that.
And why is it that only the women are to be humble? What about the hierarchy that doesn't practice justice or accountablility? What about the hierarchy who live like medieval lords? Their life-style, and form of governance has NOTHING to do with Jesus' command that they act as Servant Leaders.
Little Bear, you are
Little Bear, you are exceptionally harsh on "Christian". All are called to be humble both men and women. I am going to assume that you are not talking about the whole hierarchy in your comments. In which case, I agree with you. Certainly Pope Benedict lives a humble life and is a Servant Leader. The Bible is a message of Love--love of God and neighbor--and Humility. If you are looking for exact books, chapters and verses you miss the entire meaning of the Gospel message. I think you will find that you can have a rational dialogue with me.
It's hard to understand how
It's hard to understand how one can consider a man who has a need to wear ermine to be humble and a "Servant Leader". Quite frankly, most members of the Catholic hierarchy (starting with priest, and brothers, up through the ranks) need a reality check. They comport themselves as princes and demand respect and special treatment. Ihave known many of them and have seen very few servants.
"And why is it that only the
"And why is it that only the women are to be humble?"
Exactly. Well said, LittleBear.
Why do you believe that a
Why do you believe that a person with a feminist perspective needs to bow the knee any lower than any other person with a particular point of view? To me, feminism means daring to believe the notion that women are people too. Not better but not worse than men- just people of equal value and dignity in the eyes of God.
As a Catholic female, I
As a Catholic female, I struggle with my need to participate in the Mass and my dismay as I watch the hierarchy systematically de-construct Vatican II, but that issue stands a far second to the pain of hearing priests, with the blessing of our Bishop, use the pulpit for political rantings.
I live in a rural area. Sadly, our congregation is shrinking as families drive to Catholic churches in nearby cities, or worse, to other religions. If Jesus was able to hold vast audiences by preaching love and personal responsibility why do today's priests, who are supposed to represent Christ, feel the need to attack us with personal beliefs that they have somehow spun into biblical teachings. I do not believe that they are going to their Bibles to receive Christ's message. Instead, they take their political topic du-jour and seek God's words to reinforce them. And me? I am left feeling devoid of peace and the spiritual elevation that used to carry my heart out of chuch; empty.
Yes! How much I understand. I
Yes! How much I understand. I am one of the ones who have left but keep in contact with the nuns. I come back filled.
Please tell us how they are
Please tell us how they are 'deconstructing Vatican II"--using words of the Council itself not someone's interpretation.
Lumen Gentium: The Vatican II
Lumen Gentium: The Vatican II Document stating that we, the people of God, are the Light of the World. What I see most happening in the deconstruction of this Vatican II principle,namely, the de-emphasis on the laity's call to "be" Church. In my parish, wherein the community previously took responsibility for helping run various parish organizations, it has devolved into an autocracy. In this autocracy,the priest is Master of all and answerable to none. What used to be a vibrant mass where all members participated and sang is now a passive assembly of robots focused more on external observations and less on the internal awareness of the need for God and conversion in our lives.
If you go just a little
If you go just a little farther into the document than the first few words, you will find paragraphs about the teaching authority of the bishop, the ministerial priesthood, the role of the laity to bring the presence of Christ into the world, as well. So again, specifically tell us what your pastor did at Mass to take away your "participation." Perhaps he was following SC, not the fake "spirit" of the Council.
Country Soul, I am in your
Country Soul, I am in your exact position. I also live rurally and must drive 35-40 minutes to attend a Mass that has homilies on gospel readings rather than politcal agendas. I went for many years accepting that I would have to pay this price in order to receive the Eucharist. I finally had to leave my parish. I was leaving Mass so upset about what was being said week after week that I just knew this was not what God would want me to do. I am just fortunate that I can drive to monastery to attend Mass. I truly miss being part of a parish but it is a small price to pay for the feeling of peace.
If the priest were preaching
If the priest were preaching about the political agendas that LCWR supports would you have left?
If the priesthood is too busy
If the priesthood is too busy to study scripture and come up with a worthwhile lesson from it, what do you suppose that priesthood stands for today? Are they actually carriers of the Christ's message?
I am sorry to say that the
I am sorry to say that the "living teaching authority of the Church", as it has been called above, is often wildly misinterpreted, and "God" does not often
"communicate it" except on the rare occasions when a doctrine is proclaimed or an ex cathedra statement is made by the Pope. I believe the last statement (not counting encyclicals) was made nearly 60 years ago.
One has to remember that the Doctrine of Infallibility is only about 139 years old? And, as for "tradition", think about the popes who had children, mistresses, and other scandals--or are you up on Church history? Reading the History of the Catholic Church is far more enlightening (and one has to be spiritually ready for it--that's why they don't usually teach it until the college level, if then) than reading the Catechism (which also demands a great degree of spiritual readiness, or the innocence of a child.) Armed with all this information and education, then, it is difficult to really judge, or be moralistic about, anyone.
You are correct; it IS God Who decides; but how does God communicate? really these days, the Hierarchy, with the sex scandal cover-ups, (and the elevation of some of the cover-up enablers to major positions in Rome) has lost a great deal of credibility and trust---it IS hard to know HOW the Holy Spirit is making Herself known. If my theology is in "official error" I apologize, but the Church is, after all, a very human institution. I love it nonetheless.
Don't underestimate the
Don't underestimate the Superiors' understanding and creativity. They know how to handle the roman heirarchy!
Amen, Amen Although I
Amen, Amen Although I disagree with Briggs' analysis and some of his assumptions, I do have faith in LCWR and the communities of sisters in the US. If. as Briggs suggests. this is a confrontation between the sisters leadership and Rome I pick ths sisters hands down. The US bishops have made life for their PR people difficult. This could be a nightmare.
This is such a serious
This is such a serious problem that many Catholics have no idea about. The nuns who have nearly single-handedly supported the true work of the church in the U.S. should resist the shameful action of the Vatican. The Church's true leadership died with John XXIII as history has proven. Abuse of power violates the message of Jesus and the institution could become as a rotting corpse if those men in Rome do not wake up.
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