Citing doctrinal problems, Vatican announces reforms of US nuns' group

cns ^ | April 18, 2012 | Francis X. Rocca

[NYer]

Archbishop Sartain gave the homily during the annual Red Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington last October. (CNS/Leslie E. Kossoff)

By Francis X. Rocca
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Citing "serious doctrinal problems which affect many in consecrated life," the Vatican announced a major reform of an association of women's religious congregations in the U.S. to ensure their fidelity to Catholic teaching in areas including abortion, euthanasia, women's ordination and homosexuality.

Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle will provide "review, guidance and approval, where necessary, of the work" of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the Vatican announced April 18. The archbishop will be assisted by Bishop Leonard P. Blair of Toledo, Ohio, and Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Ill., and draw on the advice of fellow bishops, women religious and other experts.

The LCWR, a Maryland-based umbrella group that claims about 1,500 leaders of U.S. women's communities as members, represents about 80 percent of the country's 57,000 women religious.

In Silver Spring, Md., the presidency of the LCWR issued a statement saying it was "stunned by the conclusions of the doctrinal assessment of LCWR by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Because the leadership of LCWR has the custom of meeting annually with the staff of CDF in Rome and because the conference follows canonically approved statutes, we were taken by surprise.

"This is a moment of great import for religious life and the wider church. We ask your prayers as we meet with the LCWR National Board within the coming month to review the mandate and prepare a response," the statement said.

A spokeswoman for the LCWR said its leadership would not be granting interviews until after a wider consultation with its members in May.

The announcement from the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith came in an eight-page "doctrinal assessment," based on an investigation that Bishop Blair began on behalf of the Vatican in April 2008. That investigation led the doctrinal congregation to conclude, in January 2011, that "the current doctrinal and pastoral situation of LCWR is grave and a matter of serious concern, also given the influence the LCWR exercises on religious congregation in other parts of the world."

Among the areas of concern were some of the most controversial issues of medical and sexual ethics in America today.

"While there has been a great deal of work on the part of LCWR promoting issues of social justice in harmony with the church's social doctrine, it is silent on the right to life from conception to natural death, a question that is part of the lively public debate about abortion and euthanasia in the United States," the doctrinal congregation said. "Further, issues of crucial importance in the life of the church and society, such as the church's biblical view of family life and human sexuality, are not part of the LCWR agenda in a way that promotes church teaching."

The Vatican also found that "public statements by the LCWR that disagree with or challenge positions taken by the bishops, who are the church's authentic teachers of faith and morals, are not compatible with its purpose."

According to the Vatican, such deviations from Catholic teaching have provoked a crisis "characterized by a diminution of the fundamental Christological center and focus of religious consecration."

But the congregation's document also praised the "great contributions of women religious to the church in the United States as seen particularly in the many schools, hospitals, and institutions of support for the poor, which have been founded and staffed by religious over the years," and insisted that the Vatican "does not intend to offer judgment on the faith and life of women religious" in the LCWR's member congregations.

During his tenure as the Holy See's delegate, which is to last "up to five years, as deemed necessary," Archbishop Sartain's tasks will include overseeing revision of the LCWR's statutes, review of its liturgical practices, and the creation of formation programs for the conference's member congregations. The archbishop will also investigate the LCWR's links to two outside groups: Network, a Catholic social justice lobby; and the Resource Center for Religious Institutes, which offers legal and financial expertise to religious orders.

The doctrinal assessment was separate from the Vatican's "Apostolic Visitation of Religious Communities of Women in the United States," a study of the "quality of life" in some 400 congregations, which began in December 2008. The visitation's final report was submitted in December 2011 but has not yet been published.

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Editor's Note: The text of the Vatican's doctrinal assessment of the LCWR will be available in Origins, Vol. 41, No. 46, dated April 26, 2012.

[NYer]

Ping!

[frogjerk]

Ping!

[therut]

Long time past due date.

[Jim Noble]

the presidency of the LCWR issued a statement saying it was "stunned by the conclusions of the doctrinal assessment of LCWR by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Because the leadership of LCWR has the custom of meeting annually with the staff of CDF in Rome and because the conference follows canonically approved statutes, we were taken by surprise.

YOU LIE!

[ScottinVA]

Out comes the lassoo and pull back to doctrine. About time.

[Jim Noble]

The only "surprise" that they were taken by was that there were enough faithful leaders in the Church that they got caught in heresy AND that the report didn't get blocked.

Come to think of it, that IS kind of surprising.

[the invisib1e hand]

Long time past due date.

my first thought was, "what took so long?"

[iowamark]

It sounds as though Archbishop Sartain also has some liberals in his own diocese to deal with re: homosexual marriage. I wish him luck.

[Natural Law]

"Out comes the lassoo and pull back to doctrine. About time."

There has been a steady decline in the number of women in religious orders over the last 40 years and a corresponding increase in the average age if the remaining women in those orders. Some find themselves in a position where they have more retired than active members. That suggests that rather than women leaving these orders they are not attracting new members.

I am not surprised that this mirrors their dramatic move to the left and away from Catholic doctrine. When you remove the Church from the orders you can't be surprised when Catholic women fail to join.

[Cicero]

The Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (CMSWR) was formed by the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in 1992, by those orders of nuns who remained faithful to the teachings of the Church.

The LCWR was the original umbrella organization of women’s religious orders, but they had fallen into dissent, heresy, and other troubles. They are still the larger religious group of the two, but millions of nuns have quit their orders over the years, and most of their orders continue to dwindle.

As the date suggests, something like this should have been done about 20 years ago, if not 40 years ago. And it remains to be seen how fast American authorities will move to actually do anything about this sad mess.

Nobody wants another Inquisition, but it’s not doing the souls of Catholics any good to let this terrible mess fester for all these years. Some of these nuns are still in charge of catechetical programs for Catholic kids.

[Eepsy]

Our parish used to run regular Reiki sessions and Enneagram seminars. Funnily enough, it stopped as soon as the last parish nun retired and left. The best part was not having to listen to her homilies, anymore....

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

Yeah. And the orthodox congregations are experiencing explosive growth.

[Biggirl]

God Bless and best wishes in this needed house cleaning.

[Biggirl]

A needed spring cleaning.

[GOP Poet]

The announcement from the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith came in an eight-page "doctrinal assessment," based on an investigation that Bishop Blair began on behalf of the Vatican in April 2008. That investigation led the doctrinal congregation to conclude, in January 2011, that "the current doctrinal and pastoral situation of LCWR is grave and a matter of serious concern, also given the influence the LCWR exercises on religious congregation in other parts of the world."

My only question is what took them so long to document what we all know? Two thoughts. I have an aunt that is in her 70s and is a nun. I have been questioning her left leaning philosophies for some time now. I actually believed she voted for Obama.

Anything with the name of 'social justice' anymore means commies that want to either extort you, fry you, or just plain ole' steal your stuff. I think the Catholic See needs to address this as it clouds the relationship and perception of the group as well as puts in jeopardy the religious intent when interacting with supporting 'groups' that often are quite evil and ill intentioned. i.e. the occupiers etc.

[GOP Poet]

Yes. God bless and guide this needed spring cleaning.