Post-Christian Sisters: A CWR Special Report

Post-Christian Sisters | By Ann Carey | A Special Report | Catholic World Report

The Vatican's investigation of women religious in the US was a long time coming.

The unprecedented decision by the Vatican to undertake an apostolic visitation to assess the quality of religious life in orders of sisters in the United States came as a big surprise to many people when it was announced in January. That surprise was doubled with the news two months later that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) will be conducting a doctrinal assessment of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), which represents most of the leaders of US women religious.

But people who have been closely watching the deterioration of many of the women’s religious orders in this country were not at all surprised that the Vatican initiated these assessments. Indeed, many sisters themselves have asked and prayed for Vatican attention to the condition of women’s religious communities. Certainly there is concern that the numbers of sisters are plunging and ecclesial properties are being converted to secular use, but even more critical problems are evident: many sisters no longer work in apostolates related to the Church and no longer live or pray in community, and sometimes sisters even openly dissent from Church teaching on matters such as women’s ordination, homosexuality, centrality of the Eucharist, and the hierarchal nature of the Church.

Likewise, the LCWR has had a stormy relationship with the Vatican for the past 40 years, and the LCWR has been very clear about its determination to “transform” religious life as well as the Church itself.

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Comments

[Joseph Danielson]

Sr. Brink has reportedly said in her role as head of the LCWR: “Who’s to say that the movement beyond Christ is not, in reality, a movement into the very heart of God?”

I already posted about this issue of women religious a couple of days ago, but I am moved to comment again. The above statement is so utterly absurd to any Catholic it is beyond comprehension. Sr. Brink is like a baseball commissioner who would suggest to the teams and players that the game as it is to be played now will not use baseballs, bats, or bases. And this is progress! Religious life has utterly no meaning or reason to exist without Christ at the beginning, center, and end of everything. Sr. Brink's words really make me sick to my soul.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am beyond understanding why bishops do not publicly and forcefully condemn the nonsense these so-called women religious put forth. These women can not see themselves for what they have become: ridiculous in every sense of the word. It is a shame the good ones among them have to put up with it, probably, one suspects, to have a place to live and food to eat. As anyone who has worked with these extremely liberal "feminuns" knows, they have about as much charity and concern for those who love tradition and evangelical dedication to Christ as a wolf does for a lame lamb.

I will get off my soap box now. But I surely hope the result of the Visitation will be to publicly clear the air about what many of these women have been doing for years.

[Linus]

Long, long over due.

[Dan]

The cover photo -- the sisters beating on drums -- is perfect.