Catholic Nuns Group and Vatican Remain at Odds" By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2012-06-11/nuns-catholic-pope-vatican/55555772/1

...On Tuesday, the LCWR's president, Sister Pat Farrell, and executive director, Sister Janet Mock, met in Rome with Sartain and Cardinal William Levada, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is the guardian of who and what is truly Catholic.

"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 afterward, the Associated Press reported.

The Vatican issued a statement saying that although the meeting was cordial, "the LCWR must promote church unity by stressing core church teachings," the AP said. The LCWR sisters were more focused on social justice efforts than on backing the bishops in their push against abortion and gay marriage, the report said.

"Neither side is prepared to budge," says John Allen, a Vatican specialist for National Catholic Reporter and CNN.

This is not just about the Vatican vs. the nuns, Allen says. It's about "what it means to be Catholic in the 21st century."

It will be August, after weeks of consultation and prayer, before the LCWR decides what to do, a spokeswoman, Sister Anne Marie Sanders, said last week....

...The LCWR's choices are to accept the bishops' supervision or to pull out, order by order. The consequences of that would be to lose their "canonical recognition" — papal approval under church law.

That would have financial and religious consequences, raising such questions such as who owns their property. It would jeopardize their tax-exempt status, even their right to call themselves Catholic sisters. It also would take the LCWR out of the halls of influence.

Sister Theresa Kane told the National Catholic Reporter that the Vatican has been after the LCWR ever since she shocked Pope John Paul II in 1979 by telling him women deserved to be in "all ministries" of the church. Her public challenge to the pontiff came days after he reiterated that the priesthood was solely for men.

Sister Ilia Delio, a scientist and a theologian at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., sees something "very simple" behind this contemporary conflict. "It's God! God is always creating anew."

Delio predicts the LCWR "will not give in. We are not doing anything wrong. … It's the Spirit at work in our lives."

Toledo Bishop Leonard Blair led a "doctrinal assessment" of the LCWR, which was the basis of the Vatican's takeover decision. He pinpointed moments viewed as defiance of Catholic doctrine. He focused particularly on a 2007 speech by Sister Laurie Brink, then the LCWR president, in which she appeared to praise a "post-Christian" congregation that left the institutional church.

Theologian George Weigel, a Roman Catholic who is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, agrees with Blair. He says, "It's not about power. It's not about misogyny. It's about doctrine. … Church-attending Catholics would find it difficult to accept the idea that religious life can be 'post-Christian.' "

Weigel says the LCWR "only exists because the Holy See says it exists. The question of who decides what it is or is not is up to the church. There's not a lot of room for to-ing and fro-ing."

Bridget Mary's Reflection

The church is the people of God, not the hierarchy alone. The Vatican is NOT the church, nor should it be the one to decide the LCWR status. It is your decision and you can decide to declare your emancipation: Like the great civil rights movement you can proclaim your liberation: "Free at last, thank God almighty, we are free at last" No more male domination, patriarchal oppression or clerical control!

Sisters, the ball is in your court! Now the possibility of nun priests is on the horizon. Just think what a blessing it would be for our church ! In many ways, you will  be able to pursue justice in other arenas as well such as public advocacy of hot button issues such as women's health care and  gay marriage. 

The recent hostile take over by the Vatican of the LCWR is an example of Vatican abuse of women, some have called a "war on the nuns". It should be deliberately renounced by the entire Catholic community. Once again the Spirit of God is leading and nuns are living a a new paradigm of religious life which has become a threat to the hierarchy.

 As I have said a number of times, it is time to shake the dust off your feet, Sisters, and  continue your witness to Christ's compassion in our world. I rejoice that a new day of liberation is dawning for nuns in the church, and the LCWR is leading the way!

Bridget Mary Meehan, sfcc, arcwp

www.arcwp.org