In a statement released this morning, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious acknowledged the sadness and public humiliation they experienced during the six years they were under Vatican review, but they said they hoped the process would be a valuable learning experience for both the wider church and community.
This is the first time LCWR has spoken publicly since last month’s conclusion of the Vatican oversight of their group. They had maintained public silence on the matter for 30 days, per the Vatican’s request.
"We believed that the sanctions called for in the CDF mandate were disproportionate to the concerns raised and we feared the sanctions could compromise the ability of the LCWR officers and members to fulfill the mission of the conference," LCWR leaders wrote in their statement, adding that were times of darkness when "a positive outcome seemed remote." But they did ultimately get that positive ending, encouraged, in part, by the prayers of their supporters around the world.
LCWR, an association for the elected leaders of women religious communities in the United States, has more than 1,500 members and represents almost 80 percent of Catholic sisters in the country.
In 2009, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith began a doctrinal assessment of LCWR as a result of its “radical feminist themes” and “problems” promoting church teaching on topics such as homosexuality. The investigation concluded in 2010, and two years later, the doctrinal congregation issued both its findings and a mandate for implementation of the assessment, appointing Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain to supervise the process.
The mandate – as well as Sartain’s oversight – was given a lifespan of five years, so when it ended last month after only three, it was considered abrupt and unexpected by some. Yet LCWR president Immaculate Heart of Mary Sr. Sharon Holland told Global Sisters Report, it was anything but.
“It was a very intensive three years of work and dialogue in coming to the conclusion,” she said.
The statement from LCWR today doesn't give details about the process of working through those discussions, but it does give an outline: Through sustained prayer and contemplation, the LCWR leaders say they were given the strength to stay at the table and to have difficult conversations. They also thanked Sartain for his sincere manner and genuine respect, which they say made them confident that honest dialogue would in fact foster mutual understanding.
In last month’s joint statement from LCWR and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, head of the doctrinal congregation, said his office was confident that LCWR had proven its mission to foster a religious life that is “centered on the Person of Jesus Christ and is rooted in the Tradition of the Church.”
In that same statement, Sartain said it had been an honor to work with LCWR leadership and members and called the dialogue between the sisters and the bishops a “blessing from the Lord.” He has not yet, however, responded to GSR requests for additional comment, now that the requested 30-day silence has expired.
read full article at Global Sisters Report
Friday, May 15, 2015
LCWR evaluates end of mandate
Dawn Cherie Araujo
Global Sisters Report
May 15, 2015
In a statement released this morning, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious acknowledged the sadness and public humiliation they experienced during the six years they were under Vatican review, but they said they hoped the process would be a valuable learning experience for both the wider church and community.
This is the first time LCWR has spoken publicly since last month’s conclusion of the Vatican oversight of their group. They had maintained public silence on the matter for 30 days, per the Vatican’s request.
"We believed that the sanctions called for in the CDF mandate were disproportionate to the concerns raised and we feared the sanctions could compromise the ability of the LCWR officers and members to fulfill the mission of the conference," LCWR leaders wrote in their statement, adding that were times of darkness when "a positive outcome seemed remote." But they did ultimately get that positive ending, encouraged, in part, by the prayers of their supporters around the world.
LCWR, an association for the elected leaders of women religious communities in the United States, has more than 1,500 members and represents almost 80 percent of Catholic sisters in the country.
In 2009, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith began a doctrinal assessment of LCWR as a result of its “radical feminist themes” and “problems” promoting church teaching on topics such as homosexuality. The investigation concluded in 2010, and two years later, the doctrinal congregation issued both its findings and a mandate for implementation of the assessment, appointing Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain to supervise the process.
The mandate – as well as Sartain’s oversight – was given a lifespan of five years, so when it ended last month after only three, it was considered abrupt and unexpected by some. Yet LCWR president Immaculate Heart of Mary Sr. Sharon Holland told Global Sisters Report, it was anything but.
“It was a very intensive three years of work and dialogue in coming to the conclusion,” she said.
The statement from LCWR today doesn't give details about the process of working through those discussions, but it does give an outline: Through sustained prayer and contemplation, the LCWR leaders say they were given the strength to stay at the table and to have difficult conversations. They also thanked Sartain for his sincere manner and genuine respect, which they say made them confident that honest dialogue would in fact foster mutual understanding.
In last month’s joint statement from LCWR and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, head of the doctrinal congregation, said his office was confident that LCWR had proven its mission to foster a religious life that is “centered on the Person of Jesus Christ and is rooted in the Tradition of the Church.”
In that same statement, Sartain said it had been an honor to work with LCWR leadership and members and called the dialogue between the sisters and the bishops a “blessing from the Lord.” He has not yet, however, responded to GSR requests for additional comment, now that the requested 30-day silence has expired.
read full article at Global Sisters Report
In a statement released this morning, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious acknowledged the sadness and public humiliation they experienced during the six years they were under Vatican review, but they said they hoped the process would be a valuable learning experience for both the wider church and community.
This is the first time LCWR has spoken publicly since last month’s conclusion of the Vatican oversight of their group. They had maintained public silence on the matter for 30 days, per the Vatican’s request.
"We believed that the sanctions called for in the CDF mandate were disproportionate to the concerns raised and we feared the sanctions could compromise the ability of the LCWR officers and members to fulfill the mission of the conference," LCWR leaders wrote in their statement, adding that were times of darkness when "a positive outcome seemed remote." But they did ultimately get that positive ending, encouraged, in part, by the prayers of their supporters around the world.
LCWR, an association for the elected leaders of women religious communities in the United States, has more than 1,500 members and represents almost 80 percent of Catholic sisters in the country.
In 2009, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith began a doctrinal assessment of LCWR as a result of its “radical feminist themes” and “problems” promoting church teaching on topics such as homosexuality. The investigation concluded in 2010, and two years later, the doctrinal congregation issued both its findings and a mandate for implementation of the assessment, appointing Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain to supervise the process.
The mandate – as well as Sartain’s oversight – was given a lifespan of five years, so when it ended last month after only three, it was considered abrupt and unexpected by some. Yet LCWR president Immaculate Heart of Mary Sr. Sharon Holland told Global Sisters Report, it was anything but.
“It was a very intensive three years of work and dialogue in coming to the conclusion,” she said.
The statement from LCWR today doesn't give details about the process of working through those discussions, but it does give an outline: Through sustained prayer and contemplation, the LCWR leaders say they were given the strength to stay at the table and to have difficult conversations. They also thanked Sartain for his sincere manner and genuine respect, which they say made them confident that honest dialogue would in fact foster mutual understanding.
In last month’s joint statement from LCWR and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, head of the doctrinal congregation, said his office was confident that LCWR had proven its mission to foster a religious life that is “centered on the Person of Jesus Christ and is rooted in the Tradition of the Church.”
In that same statement, Sartain said it had been an honor to work with LCWR leadership and members and called the dialogue between the sisters and the bishops a “blessing from the Lord.” He has not yet, however, responded to GSR requests for additional comment, now that the requested 30-day silence has expired.
read full article at Global Sisters Report
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