Posted on 02/14/2013 6:16:05 AM PST by NYer
Of all the scandals that have been pinned to Benedict XVIs papacy, perhaps none has been more divisive than the so-called clampdown on American nuns last April. Its no wonder, then, that sisters across America are hoping that the next pope gives them a fairer shake. In an exclusive interview with The Daily Beast, the head of the largest group of American nuns shares what she is looking for in a new leader.
Sister Florence Deacon. (Seth Perlman/AP)
The American nun scandal came to a head last spring when the Vaticans Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued an eight-page doctrinal assessment of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), an umbrella group with more than 1,500 members representing 80 percent of American nuns. In it, they chastised the American sisters for pushing radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith. They also accused the sisters of staying silent on a number of the churchs teachings on sensitive topics like euthanasia, womens ordination, and same-sex marriage. A fierce backlash ensued when Father James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author of several faith-based books, called on the Twitterverse to start tweeting support for nuns under #whatsistersmeantome. More than a million tweets supporting the sisters followed. There is a danger of backlash because of the esteem [in which] so many Catholics hold nuns, Martin told The Daily Beast at the height of the scandal. For many Catholics, sisters are the glue that holds the church together.
Now the leadership of the LCWR hopes to start fresh with a new pope. There were two investigations of Catholic sisters undertaken during Pope Benedicts era, Sister Florence Deacon, the current president of the LCWR, told The Daily Beast after Pope Benedicts resignation announcement. One damning report quoted Pope John Paul IIs gratitude for the sisters deep love of the church and generous service to Gods people but then lashed out at the sisters for not toeing the Vaticans party line. While we appreciate this expression of gratitude, we found the whole process of the investigation flawed and question the findings and the mandate given to LCWR, Deacon says. We hope a new pope would be open to dialogue with the U.S. Catholic sisters and work with us to support our mission.
Deacon says she was not surprised by Benedict XVIs resignation. She said there had been rumors swirling around recently that he was ailing quickly. I had heard from people in Rome over the past few months that he was visibly slowing down and that he was only working a few hours a day, she says. Putting those two facts together I was not surprised by his decision to resign.
Nuns have no voting power in any church matter, especially when it comes to electing the next pope. But Deacon does have her own hopes for the future of the Catholic Church under a new leader. I would like a pope who has had direct experience working with a diversity of people and who understands the joys and challenges of ordinary Catholics trying to live the Gospel in the midst of chaotic family lives and stressful job situations, she says. She would also like a pope with an open mind. Id like one who is able to integrate church teaching and advances in science, psychology, anthropology and who strives for understanding and acceptance of all persons.
She would also like to see a pope who understands how detrimental it is to the future of the Church that women are walking away. Id like someone attuned to the voices of young people, especially young women who are leaving the church in the U.S. in large numbers because they dont feel valued.
We hope a new pope would be open to dialogue with the U.S. Catholic sisters.
One of the greatest dividing lines between the male hierarchy in Rome and the American nuns has been the interpretation of the Second Vatican Council, which, 50 years ago, loosened the rules for religious women. It was then that some religious orders stopped making the habit a mandatory dress and let sisters have more individual freedom in their lives. That freedom has been a thorn in the side of many cardinals who feel the sisters should be more conservative. Sister Deacon wants the new pope to remember that those decisions that came out of the Second Vatican Council were made in the spirit of renewal. On this 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council it is important that we have a leader who is imbued in the spirit of the council, who appreciates the roles of the laity and of women religious who have accepted its call to renewal and who are committed to building a more just and peaceful world, she says.
Kenneth Briggs, author of Double Crossed: Uncovering the Catholic Churchs Betrayal of American Nuns is doubtful that the Vatican will alter its official judgment against the nuns, but he says a new pope might change the churchs attempt to reform the nuns in light of that judgment.
The Vatican and the LCWR are tiptoeing around each other for now; the sisters dont acknowledge the charges, the three bishops dont make preemptory efforts to enforce particular discipline, he told The Daily Beast. Its shadow boxing of a sort. The reason for the bishops reluctance to be more aggressive, I believe, is that the groundswell of support for the sisters by the Catholic laity has provided a kind of political obstacle to Romes designs. Further alienating the laity during a time when the church in America is in crisis would likely deepen that tension.
Sister Deacon wont be in Rome when the conclave meets, but she does have a word of advice for the members of the College of Cardinals who will go into the Sistine Chapel in March to elect the next leader of the Catholic Church. Recall the sense of excitement with which each session of the Second Vatican Council was received, she says. Vote for someone who can capture that spirit, who sees the church as being more than its leadership, but includes the whole body of its members.
I have some advice for the good Sister - you do not need me or anyone else to tell you that the Church's theological arguments work and those of the dissenters do not. However, this is not about arguments, but about the authority of the Church or rather your conflict with authority. Simply put, your problem lies with your own selfish pride and achieving your own goals which are not aligned with Church teaching.
CC
Saul Alinsky was Fink’s mentor according to Fink’s autobiography.
Placating a bunch of leftist, lesbian, heretic harridans (Oops. Excuse me. I mean Amercian "nuns") would be contributing to the problems.
Your granddaughter was wise beyond her years.
Generally, the lesbians and 'activists' are the ones who quit wearing habits.
Precisely. The traditional orders are growing, while the old ones that threw away their habits are dying off. This is a photograph of novices from the Dominican Order of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist:
>>>What they need are Nuns who are actually Catholic>>>
Agreed.
Communism actually works for that kind of community, who have subjugated their needs to the needs of all. But the cloister is not the real world, nor is the university or the rectory.
Each member of the "umbrella group" is a religious community with few/several/many nuns. The 1500 number is not the number of nuns, but rather the number of religious communities that are part of the LCWR.
“Nuns have no voting power in church matters, especially in electing a Pope.” - Neither does my parish’s pastor.
We have a sister-friendly Pope. The problem is that these “sisters” are not Catholic-friendly. They need to go join the Episcopal church or some other heterodox group that will cater to their bizarre beliefs.
I believe that you are 100% wrong. The media focuses only on those they can mock or that support their agenda.
The ones that support the liberal agenda are media whores and make themselves available. Numerous others are teaching, working as nurses, and other "mundane" tasks leading very prayerful lives.
I had two Great Aunts who were Nuns.
One was Sisters of Charity of Nazareth the other Little Sisters of the Poor. They went in back in the dark ages before WW1, both very bright women, both very religious.
I had a 1st. Cousin who went into a cloistered order and was very happy there,until they stopped being cloistered, and stopped wearing habits.
They took in pregnant girls and helped them deliver their children, and adopt them. She quit when the leader of this group started letting the girls out to have abortions.
I too believe one of the greatst problems with the nuns today is lesbanism and feminism, two things that go together like peach’s and cream.
I have a lot of memories about the older Nuns, and their love of God, today I believe they are more interested in politics, womens right, becoming Piests, and their lesbian relationships than their love of God. Like one poster stated we cannot paint them all with the same brush, but the vocal ones lead me to be suspiscious.
I have the blessing of working with some Carmelite nuns here in SoCal. They love this Pope.
Nuns take vows of poverty, chastity, & obedience. Each nun owns her habit, a rosary & a toothbrush & that’s pretty much it. I was taught by nuns of the Second Franciscan order (Poor Clares) & their convent life was led in common & rather ascetic.
Denial of earthly goods in the religious life is for some not incompatible with the ideology that preaches hard work & the frugal life for the masses.
We were taught as students to avoid `the temptations of a corrupt world’ and how to be vigilant for `signs of the worldly spirit’. Only when I was much older did I learn that to be called worldy was to be complimented.
The redoubtable Father Z made fun of them because their original headline was "VIVA LA PAPA" (grammar idiot alert). They took that down pretty quickly.
But the article is still stupid. Your translation is about right on: "Dissident 'sisters': we want a figurehead who will just agree with everything we want."
They need to go join the Episcopalians -- but then they wouldn't get any airtime or press because that lot agree with everything they say, so no "courageous stand against evil patriarchy" hook for the loons at the Beast.
I thought so too. here are some facts.
“In the 2008 US Catholic demographic census there were found to be 59,208 religious sisters serving in the USA. This is a stark contrast to a mere 40 years ago when there were over 175,000 religious”
BTTT
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.