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isabella R

America Magazine LCWR: Praise for The Process - 0 views

  • the ‘collective wisdom’ of  God’s spirit moving within and among the group, so that they might, in the end, make a response that would be “for the good of the church, for the good of the LCWR, for the good of religious life throughout the world, and ultimately for the good of the human family,” as LCWR President Sister Pat Farrell put it. 
  • My prayerful hope is that the assembly’s call to the LCWR officers to conduct their conversation with Archbishop Sartain from “a stance of deep prayer that values mutual respect, careful listening and open dialogue,” will be met, as it seems that it might be from Archbishop Sartain’s initial response: "Along with the members of the LCWR, I remain committed to working to address the issues raised by the Doctrinal Assessment in an atmosphere of prayer and respectful dialogue.”
isabella R

A history lesson in papal pettiness and misogyny - 0 views

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    It seems the all-male hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church was aggrieved and threatened simply by the fact that the Leadership Conference of Women Religious had the audacity to include the word "leadership" in the name of a women's organization. The misogyny is that deep and that visceral:
isabella R

Why The Hierarchy Fears The Nuns - 0 views

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    The Vatican has revealed itself in the current spectacle as more reactionary than conservative. Even the suggestion of discussing progressive takes on dogma is often denounced as heresy. Arguably, moderate and liberal Catholics live in a new reign of terror whose principal players are Bernard Law, disgraced former Boston Cardinal; Cardinal William Levada, Prefect for the Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura; and well-placed, movement conservative-friendly bishops and cardinals in cities such as Madison, Wisconsin, New York and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
isabella R

In defense of our women religious | National Catholic Reporter - 0 views

  • By comparison, this reflects badly on the hierarchy, fixated on retrieving their own image and power by dragging the Church backward in time. They fuss about obedience, dogma, retro-liturgical maneuvers, the charade about religious freedom, women’s reproductive behaviors, and who marries whom. American nuns find such issues to be counterproductive to the works of the Gospel, at worst; and mere distractions at best. Hence, they refrain from pursuing them. There is so much to do in helping “the neighbor” survive in human dignity that nuns have no time for what is surely not on the Holy Spirit’s agenda. And, therein lies the danger! Today these issues are foremost on the hierarchical agenda.
  • Exhibit A, entered by the defense: The Gospels.
  • Exhibit B, entered by the defense: Teaching from Vatican Council II
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • Exhibit C entered by the defense: Statements from the Catechism of the Catholic Church
  • Exhibit #D entered by the defense: Papal statements quoted in opening paragraph, above.
  • It seems very disingenuous for Pope Benedict XVI and his predecessor, John Paul II, to “appeal” for a greater participation of women in the formal leadership and missions of the Church. It is in the Pope’s power to accord equality to women, and he can bring it about whenever he chooses to do so.
  • It is reasonable to think that this accusation of doctrinal unfaithfulness would not have been directed to the LCWR if women provided balance in the Vatican tribunals and bureaucracies. Women, with their “superiority” and “genius” would surely help the males prioritize issues according to appropriate judgment concerning their importance for the common good and the mission of the Church.
  • Exhibit #5E entered by the defense: Warnings and indictments addressed by Jesus to those in power.
  • : Jesus detested hypocrisy. In the light of recent public exposure of deplorable behavior and practices by the hierarchy, for which they have yet to assume public responsibility, I submit that these words of Jesus should be entered into the court documents as reflecting on a lack of integrity in the prosecution. The Defense Rests
  • Catholic theologian Regina Schulte is one of the reasons our church is in trouble today. Years ago she went off and got educated. For a while she served the church as a Catholic sister. Eventually she left the religious life and married. For years she and her late husband, Jim, earned their livings as Catholic theologians. Jim died eleven years ago. Regina continues reflecting on life, church, and the human condition while living in partial retirement.
  • Pope Benedict XVI expressed an appeal for women to have a more visible role within the Church. In two earlier instances, the Pope also spoke of the need to expand roles of women. “Women’s spiritual power will know how to make their own space. And we will have to try and listen,” he said on one occasion. On the other: “[Women], and we with them, must look for their right place, so to speak….I believe that women themselves, with their superiority…will know how to make their own space. We’ll try not to stand in their way.”
  • Condescending though they be, these remarks seemed to have handed a blank check to women. But, in the case of U.S. women’s religious congregations, the Vatican is now placing a “hold” on that check. Not only has their “space” been closed, but bishops (as in “men”) have been given control of what nuns have created in that space. The Vatican’s actions speak louder than their words (as in “false prophecy”) It isn’t that nuns were awaiting permission to pursue their modern apostolates; the above-quoted words of Benedict merely endorse what they have been doing in their own inspired way since Vatican Council II. But, perhaps they became too successful “in their space.”
    • isabella R
       
      Pope Benedict XVI expressed an appeal for women to have a more visible role within the Church. In two earlier instances, the Pope also spoke of the need to expand roles of women. "Women's spiritual power will know how to make their own space. And we will have to try and listen," he said on one occasion. On the other: "[Women], and we with them, must look for their right place, so to speak….I believe that women themselves, with their superiority…will know how to make their own space. We'll try not to stand in their way." Condescending though they be, these remarks seemed to have handed a blank check to women. But, in the case of U.S. women's religious congregations, the Vatican is now placing a "hold" on that check. Not only has their "space" been closed, but bishops (as in "men") have been given control of what nuns have created in that space. The Vatican's actions speak louder than their words (as in "false prophecy") It isn't that nuns were awaiting permission to pursue their modern apostolates; the above-quoted words of Benedict merely endorse what they have been doing in their own inspired way since Vatican Council II. But, perhaps they became too successful "in their space."
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    They [the hierarchy] fuss about obedience, dogma, retro-liturgical maneuvers, the charade about religious freedom, women's reproductive behaviors, and who marries whom. American nuns find such issues to be counterproductive to the works of the Gospel, at worst; and mere distractions at best.
isabella R

Bilgrimage: When Communion Is Anything But: Vatican Rationale for Attack on American Nuns - 0 views

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    what might be the primary pastoral obligation of the   men ruling the church in this situation of tension.  And whether the way in which the men ruling the church exercise pastoral leadership might be at the very center of the problem the Vatican and Archbishop Sartain claim they want to address with religious women.  The way the men ruling the church exercise pastoral leadership in contravention of the example of Jesus and the gospels, in the view of growing numbers of Catholics . . . . 
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