Free Republic

These holy women need the fierce protection and ongoing support of Catholic laity in the face of a coordinated onslaught by this papacy to undermine, secularize, and monetize this cloistered order.'FAIRFIELD, Pennsylvania (LifeSiteNews) — A community of traditional nuns have rejected Vatican instructions aimed at undermining their contemplative way of life. Catherine Bauer, the official spokeswoman for the traditional Carmelite nuns of Fairfield, Pennsylvania, has given an interview to Catholic World Report explaining the situation of these nuns in the wake of a recent apostolic visitation that took place at the end of September. She described the changes being demanded...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A top Vatican official said religious orders today are in a "crisis" caused in part by the adoption of a secularist mentality and the abandonment of traditional practices. Cardinal Franc Rode, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, said the problems go deeper than the drastic drop in the numbers of religious men and women. "The crisis experienced by certain religious communities, especially in Western Europe and North America, reflects the more profound crisis of European and American society. All this has dried up the sources that for centuries...

The Catholic Church in the United States is in a state of profound transition. A priest or layman transported through time from 1965 to 2005 would be astonished and most likely disconcerted by the dramatic changes that have taken place in the 40 years following the close of Vatican II. Evaluating American Influence Of course, the hierarchical and sacramental nature of the Church remains unchanged. What, however, has clearly changed are the numbers and status of laity, religious, and clergy in the mystical Body of Christ. Related to this is the altered understanding of their roles in the Church. I...

he vilification of religious orders, such as the Christian Brothers and the Mercy Sisters, may have contributed to the scant media coverage the Nora Wall case received, writes Conor Brady On 1 December, a 56 year old woman entered the Court of Criminal Appeal in Dublin to seek a judicial declaration that she was innocent of a terrible crime, allegedly committed many years before. Grey-haired and thin, she appeared older than her years. Accompanied by her lawyers and her family, she entered and left the Four Courts without uttering a word. Six years previously, Nora Wall had been convicted in...

KATRINA-ORDERS Sep-2-2005 (1,040 words) xxxn Hurricane devastation challenges religious orders, Catholic colleges By Jerry FilteauCatholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Gulf Coast devastation left by Hurricane Katrina in late August posed major challenges to some Catholic religious orders with headquarters or educational institutions in the hurricane's path. With the entire city of New Orleans being evacuated and shut down for months, the fall semester appeared to be entirely lost for the three Catholic colleges and universities there. The Jesuits' Loyola University of New Orleans has about 6,000 students. Xavier University of Louisiana, run by the Sisters of the Blessed...

hen the leaders of the nation's 125 Roman Catholic religious orders meet next month in Philadelphia, they will confront the issue of what to do with sexually abusive priests who belong to religious orders, like the Jesuits, Franciscans and Benedictines. One-third of the nation's Catholic priests belong to religious orders, and their fates will be determined not by bishops, but by the major superiors and provincials who lead their orders. Leaders of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, which will meet next month, say the orders are unlikely to take the same approach as the nation's bishops. The bishops...