Vatican says US nuns must promote church teachings
Tags
Related Posts
About the author
Sisters Janet Mock (left) and Pat Farrell will now report to the US nuns’ group they lead after meeting with Vatican officials. (Max Rossi/Reuters)
The Vatican insisted after a high level meeting Tuesday that American nuns must faithfully promote age-old church teachings, after the women were accused by Rome of flouting core doctrine and taking an overly liberal “feminist” bent.
Sister Pat Farrell and Sister Janet Mock, respectively president and executive director of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) met with the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal William Levada and the American bishop tasked by the Vatican to overhaul the group which represents about 80 percent of American sisters.
Farrell and Mock came to Rome to present their concerns about the Vatican’s April decision to reform the LCWR from the ground up. Levada’s office had determined that the LCWR had strayed too far from church doctrine and was imposing certain “radical feminist themes” that were incompatible with Catholicism.
The LCWR had termed the Vatican assessment flawed and unsubstantiated, and said Tuesday that Farrell and Mock had brought those concerns directly to Levada and Archbishop Peter Sartain, who, along with two other bishops, will overhaul the group, rewrite its statutes and review its plans and programs.
“It was an open meeting and we were able to directly express our concerns to Cardinal Levada and Archbishop Sartain,” Farrell said in a statement. Stopped by reporters outside Levada’s office, Farrell said she was “grateful for the opportunity for open dialogue” and said she and Mock would now report back to the LCWR board “to decide how to proceed from here.”
The Vatican said the meeting was conducted in an atmosphere of “openness and cordiality.” But in its own statement, it stressed that the LCWR must promote church unity by stressing core church teachings.
It noted that the LCWR was created by the Vatican in 1956 and remains under its direction. The purpose of the Vatican’s assessment, it said, “is to assist the LCWR in this important mission by promoting a vision of ecclesial communion founded on faith in Jesus Christ and the teachings of the church as faithfully taught through the ages under the guidance of the Magisterium.”
The Vatican’s crackdown on the nuns has prompted a remarkable outpouring of support from ordinary Catholics and clergy alike, who have touted the good work the sisters do in education, health care and tending to the poor. Mock told reporters such support has been “very affirming” for the sisters. [More]
SOURCE
AP
Leave a Comment
Photo Archive
-
May 24, 2013 7:00
Historic vote to accept gays as Boy Scouts draws mixed faith response
-
May 24, 2013 6:55
Faith-Healing Churches linked to 2 dozen child deaths
-
May 24, 2013 6:51
Clergy campaign for indigent care
-
May 24, 2013 6:46
Five more come forward alleging abuse by Hawaii Catholic priests
-
May 23, 2013 1:58
Religious freedom reports see little improvement in troubling countries
-
May 23, 2013 1:43
LGBT Catholics find a new supporter: An openly gay priest
-
May 22, 2013 1:37
Tornadoes exact deadly toll; region needs ‘a lot of prayers right now’
-
May 22, 2013 1:32
State Dept. report says countries have repressed religious freedom with laws
-
May 22, 2013 1:23
2 lawsuits filed against Maine Catholic church
-
May 21, 2013 1:32
Church Whistle-Blowers Join Forces on Abuse
39 Comments
Jim, let me try to be clear even with my limited typing and spelling abilities. I believe that sex is ment for the enjoyment and fulfillment and sanctification of a married couple and for the procreation of children..
Believe that the misuse of sex is against the natural law and objectively sinful. However there are times and circumstances that cause some actions not to be sinful. Period.
Even a reading of the catechism wii allow for the possibility of an adolescent not being guilty of sin.
All of that having been said, it would not surprise me that in time we discover that our understanding of sexuality may b expanded.. I really hope you are not setting yousel of judge of who is or is not Catholic. I would leave that up to the individual and God.
In addition there are many actions and inaction that is Serious sin than the ubequous act of masturbatin.
Tony — the 1997 revision of the Catechism says the person’s moral culpability may be “minimal” under certain circumstances, replacing the word “extenuate” used in the 1994 version. Thus, culpability is at least minimal — and thus masturbation always is sinful when the person consents to it.
What about unmarriageable people? Didn’t God create them with sexual needs, too? Is it just the people who were lucky enough to have been born with all the right gifts in life like good looks and great bodies who get married that have sexual needs?
Oh Please — ALL are called to sexual purity. No one said it would be easy. And frankly, many married people, especially men, report a problem with sexual infrequency. We are all charged to be on the path of perfection (Matthew 5:48). This is a Catholic website, Oh Please, and the Church clearly teaches what I am saying; so, if you don’t agree, at least have the honesty and integrity to recognize you are not in full communion with the Church.
Who is? The church is a mess due to some of these insane rules and regulations. It’s a laughing stock. We are not required to believe in any human teaching that sounds “insane.”
And, my word, are you telling me that all people who are married are good looking with great bodies? Sounds like you’re pitying yourself, dear friend — there are many homely, obese married people.
Those were just a couple of examples. There are many other reasons why people aren’t or don’t want to marry. People are still sexual beings – not angelic beings — and they should not be ordered to follow rules that are absolutely ludicrous such as not having any sexual feelings because they aren’t married. By the way, the church has some gall in considering itself as being “holier than thou” with the lid of church secrecy having been blown off through the load of clerical abuse scandals that have come to light since the mid-1980s. My favorite was the first one in 1984, wherein attorney Gloria Allred represented the victim, Rita Milla v. the Diocese of Los Angeles. Her lawsuit shook the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. In it she claimed seven Roman Catholic priests sexually abused her when she was a teenager, with one eventually fathering her child. She had once hoped to become a nun but instead ended up giving birth in secret in the Philippines where the archdiocese sent her to cover everything up. Her original lawsuit eventually ended in a $660-million settlement between the church and hundreds of people alleging abuse at the hands of priests.
P.S. Here is the full cite for the Rita Milla lawsuit in case anyone wants to read the lawsuit: Rita M. v. Roman Catholic Archbishop (1986)187 Cal. App. 3d 1453 [232 Cal. Rptr. 685]
So, what’s your point, Oh Please? No one claims that everyone in the Church is flawless; in fact, at every Mass, the first thing that happens is that we confess our sinfulness. Just because some priests fall into the trap of drug addiction (that’s a metaphor, Oh Please — I hope you can follow me) does not therefore mean that it is okay for us to indulge in drugs as well. Quit focusing on the faults of the Church, Oh Please. I thank God I am not married to you, and I think I’ll pray for any man who is involved with you. My guess is that you are depressed and that you complain all day long.
Read the latest version of the Catechism, Oh Please — paragraph 2352. This is definitive Church teaching, not the errors you are advancing.
I don’t follow blind obedience. I think and separate out what is nuts.
Sorry to hear that, Oh Please. I hope a faithful Catholic is praying for you.
Your lack of blind obedience to God, Oh Please, is part of the reason you are so dissatisfied with your life.
Jim, as I understand it, most confessors do not encourage people to dwell on the sin of masturbation but encourage others to llo upon the totality of who they are and what they are as a total person before God. Confessors try to be Pastoral and encourage people to be gentle with themselves and trusting in the infinite love of god
Yes, Tony, but the priests need to have the courage to accurately represent what the Church teaches — which is that every act of masturbation is sinful. Personal culpability can be minimal, per the Catechism, but not non-existent. It is good for the person to struggle with and, with the grace of God, achieve sexual purity.
What we have here is a Mexican stand-off. A priest once told me re: Bishops, “You can’t live with them and you can live without them. Or a bad marriage of two people who know longer love each other and are force to stay together beacuse of Economics. (And Boy are they out there). Let’s hope that the sisters and Rome can come to an understanding, wher both party’s can move on with their lives.
Joseph — The Vatican understands the pseudo-sisters — that is not the problem. The problem is either: (1) the pseudo-sisters do not understand Church teaching; or (2) much more likely, they do understand Church teaching, but believe they are smarter than God (the Magesterium) and can make their own rules. This is precisely what Eve did in the garden.
Jim, Love your rebuttals!
What is so difficult for some people to understand? If we say that we are Catholic then we ascent to the teachings of the Church; not some, but all! This also applies to the LCWR. If we don’t ascent then we are being disobedient and turning ourselves into god.
Thanks, Mary. Many years ago, a Protestant (but very committed Christian) friend of mine observed that it is typically not a head problem; rather, it’s a heart problem. I never forgot his comment; and, I think that is the problem here. Romans chapter one tells us that if we persist in our errors, God eventually abandons us to our own devices. All of these people you see posting here who disagree with some of what the Church teaches have been following their own desires, and not those of God. BTW, I very much appreciate and am fortified by some of your other posts — you’re clear as a bell! It’s nice to know you’re not the only person who believes all of the Church’s teachings.
I wish a charismatic leader would arise and form “The Roman Catholic Church of Vatican II” – I’d be the first to join. Leave the old, tied beast behind!
Maybe you should start such a church, Francis, if you feel so strongly. As for me and my household, we will worship the Lord.
Jim:
Worship the lord if you please, but the love between any two people in none of your business. You worship a god that has nothing to do with love or acceptance.
Well, Jesus gave all Christians the Great Commission — so, all are charged with helping to save souls. Some people persist in their errors, however, and ultimately choose Hell rather than repent.
And, Michael Joseph Francisconi, you are one of those persons too proud to repent, and one of those persons who rejects the light because you prefer darkness to light. May God help you.
Michael — did Jesus accept the behavior of the woman at the well who was married seven times? Answer: NO. The question is not, does God love you. The real question is, do you love God enough to accept His offer of mercy? Jesus said, if you love Me, keep My commands. It doesn’t sound like you’re keeping his commands about sexuality, Michael, and to that extent you do not love God.
The power structure in the Vatican is once again fearful of losing control over the liberated American Women Sisters. If they lose their control over the women they lose their power. It’s kind of like the ending of the Wizzard of Ars. The powerful Wizzard behind the curtain was just a frightened powerless little man.
Well, Tony, there you go again — rewarmed feminist nonsense from the 20th century. The anti-women’s movement has done such great damage to our society; it has driven the divorce rate through the roof, and you can see how both men and women have been damaged by their garbage: now, very few women have men propose to marry them. They just have sex with them and leave them when they’re done.
Jim, Jim, Jim, please.!!! There are guys proposing left and right and all day long. and there are a lot of marriages too. Check out your local City hall and churches, for marriages.
Tony, Tony, Tony — do you live under a rock? Every demographer has documented the substantial reduction in the number of marriages over the last 50 years, while the rate of cohabitation, very very rare 100 years ago, now is so common that no one blinks an eye.
[Saint] Augustine did that!
But only before his conversion, Recovering. Come on, advance some serious points, not these comments that even a fourth grader could effectively rebut.
Tony, honestly, given your beliefs: why on Earth do you consider yourself Catholic? You’re not, my friend — you left the Church some time ago, even if you are not clear on that issue. Attending Church on Sunday does not make you Catholic.
Jim, why do you same I am not a Catholic, I believe. And profess all the doctrines and dogmas of the Church, I attend mass frequently during the week, I try to live the Gospel and serve my brothers and Sisters in ,insist erring to their needs.
I see the need for greater transparency in the Church along with a greater need for collegiality. I would like to see all share their gifts on every level of Church leadership. Not Catholic????
Tony — what makes one a Catholic is what one believes. God looks at our intentions, not our accomplishments. So, an atheist who volunteers at a soup kitchen is not a Catholic, even though they are performing a corporal work of mercy. I’m sorry that you think you’re a Catholic in good standing — you, like so many “Catholics”, are unclear about where you stand because too many priests and bishops have ducked their responsiblity of telling people the truth out of fear of offending and losing parishioners. I say, tell the truth, let all the pseudo-Catholics leave.
Tony — I may have missed what you intended to say, as your post really is difficult to decipher. Wanting more transparency in the Churhc is not bad — but, believing you can masturbate and not incur sin is flat-out wrong, and clearly at variance with Catholic doctrine.
I am glad to know, though, that you attend Mass during the week — but, you really don’t get the graces from Holy Communion that are available if you are masturbating and not confessing it.
With regard to “professing all the doctrines and dogmas of the Church” — that’s just not true. You apparently have your own thoughts about masturbation. And, you apparently do not accept the inerrancy of Magisterial teachings. Plus, you don’t accept Pius XI’s 1930 encyclical, Casti Connubii, which clearly states men are head of the house, and women are the heart.
Jim, please see my response to you which poattered at the top of this page. Thank you