The National Coalition of American Nuns Statement: Challenging the Vatican, Calling for Open Discussion on Women's Ordination

The National Coalition of American Nuns (NCAN)

Statements - NCAN Board Meeting - August 16-18, 2010, Detroit, MI

1. Women’s Ordination

As Vatican II Catholics, committed to following Jesus who welcomed all people, we, and the majority of U.S. Catholics, believe in women’s priestly ordination. We cannot remain silent. We call for open, honest, and meaningful discussion.

We have witnessed some of our sisters and brothers being publicly chastised, removed from their ministries, put under interdict, and threatened with excommunication for their belief that women can be ordained priests. We think of Sister Louis Lears, who was placed under interdict for participating in the ordination of a woman priest in St. Louis. We think of Sister Louise Akers who was denied teaching in Catholic facilities because of her support of women’s ordination. We think of Fr. Roy Bourgeois who, according to the Vatican, incurred excommunication because of his public support of women’s ordination. We think of Janine Denomme who was denied a Catholic funeral and burial in a Catholic cemetery in Chicago because she was ordained a priest. We think of all those ordained in the Roman Catholic Womenpriest Movement, and those who attended their ordinations, who are considered excommunicated by the Vatican.

It is beyond our comprehension how the Vatican and individual bishops can summarily dismiss these committed Catholics who believe they are following the implications of the Gospel’s acceptance of women. We are appalled that the Vatican can equate the “attempted” ordination of women with the sexual abuse of minors.

When one of us is punished unjustly, we are all diminished, including those who punish. We call for the elimination of all sanctions against persons who support the ordination of women. We deplore the atmosphere of intimidation and fear that attempts to silence dissent and fails to respect our Gospel-informed conscience.

Silence is a betrayal of the Gospel, a betrayal of Vatican II, a betrayal of our Church, and a betrayal of conscience. The time for us to speak is NOW.



2. Service or Domination

Jesus’ way of teaching was affirming, inviting, encouraging and inspiring. He modeled service, rather than domination. He taught us the Beatitudes, which call forth the best in us, and spoke of God’s rewards for faithful service.

It is apparent that many church leaders do not exemplify the ideal expressed in the Beatitudes, but rather use denunciations, recriminations, dismissal, and punishments. The Bishop of Phoenix declared Sister Margaret McBride excommunicated because she chose to save the life of a mother of four who would have died without the termination of her pregnancy. The Archbishop of Denver allowed the exclusion of two children from a Catholic grade school because they have lesbian mothers. The President of Marquette University withdrew the offer of a deanship to Jodi O’Brien because she is a lesbian who has published articles on gender discrimination.

We feel that the people of God are being held hostage to hierarchical views, which are being enunciated as the “teachings of the Church.” If these indeed are the teachings of the Church, they are far from their teacher, Jesus. We call on our hierarchy to obey the example of Jesus by following His compassionate teachings in the beatitudes. We call on our hierarchy to mirror, not the domination of Roman emperors in their quest to conquer the world, but the service of Jesus in the Gospels.



3. Vatican Visitation

A number of seminary personnel reported that the recent investigation of US seminaries did not reflect their actual experiences. We question how the Vatican will determine the results of their visitation of U.S. communities of women religious. No visitation should be completed without a final report being shared with the investigated community. We believe that the lack of transparency will invalidate the whole visitation process.

We cannot help but feel that this investigation is an attempt on the part of the Vatican to control US nuns and to silence dissenting voices. A recent poll reported in the National Catholic Reporter (Catholics want women religious to speak out on policy issues: Survey gives U.S. nuns strong Catholic backing, NCRonline.org, June 4, 2010) showed that the majority of Catholics believe that women religious should follow their conscience and make public statements concerning church and society even when those statements counter the voice of the bishops.

Religious communities of women have long been engaged in self- studies, ministry evaluations, and spiritual development. Inspired by diverse charisms, under the leadership of duly elected leaders and Vatican approved constitutions, we women religious daily carry out our mission of compassionate service. We decry the assumption that mature women led by God’s Spirit are inadequate to live out their commitments without male oversight. As women religious we are proud of our history and the contributions women have made and are making in church and society.



4. Immigration

As members of the National Coalition of American Nuns, we call on all US citizens to welcome the stranger in our midst and to embrace all immigrants with respect and friendship.

We are alarmed by the anti-immigrant sentiments that have been voiced on the public airwaves. Recent legislation in Arizona and the subsequent state court ruling have fueled a national debate about racial profiling and scapegoating. Studies have shown that scapegoating tends to occur during times of financial stress, and such is the case in our present economy.

As daughters and sons of immigrants who established this country in their search of a better life, our hearts reach out to other immigrants in search of work to feed their families. As women of faith we believe that God’s earth was created for all peoples and that each person, citizen or not, is entitled to the basic human rights of health care, housing, education, and employment.

It is incumbent upon us to work for comprehensive immigration reform.