• Pope Francis reiterates 'radical feminist' criticism of US nuns' group

    Max Rossi / Reuters

    Pope Francis, shown Sunday, reaffirmed the church's official criticism of the group representing most U.S. nuns as having 'radical feminist' doctrine.

    By Philip Pullella, Reuters

    VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis has reaffirmed the Vatican's criticism of a body that represents U.S. nuns that the Church said was tainted by "radical" feminism, dashing hopes that he might take a softer stand with the sisters.

    Francis's predecessor, Benedict, decreed that the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), a group that represents more than 80 percent of the 57,000 Catholic nuns in the United States, must change its ways, a ruling that the Vatican said on Monday still applied.

    Last year, a Vatican report said the LCWR had "serious doctrinal problems" and promoted "radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith," criticizing it for taking a soft line on issues such as birth control and homosexuality.

    The nuns received wide support among American Catholics, particularly on the liberal wing of the church, as LCWR leaders travelled around the United States in a bus to defend themselves against the accusations.

    On Monday the group's leaders met Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, the new head of the Vatican's doctrinal department, and Archbishop Peter Sartain of Seattle, who has been assigned by the Vatican to correct the group's perceived failings.

    "Archbishop Mueller informed the (LCWR) presidency that he had recently discussed the doctrinal assessment with Pope Francis, who reaffirmed the findings of the assessment and the program of reform, " the Vatican's statement said.

    The Vatican reminded the group that it would "remain under the direction of the Holy See," the statement said.

    It was the nuns' first meeting with Mueller, who succeeded American Cardinal William Levada as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Levada, who retired last year, oversaw the Vatican's investigation of the U.S. nuns.

    A statement from the LCWR said the "conversation was open and frank" and added: "We pray that these conversations may bear fruit for the good of the Church."

    In April 2012, the doctrinal department criticized the LCWR for challenging bishops and for being "silent on the right to life," saying it had failed to make the "Biblical view of family life and human sexuality" a central plank of its agenda.

    The nuns supported President Barack Obama's health-care reform, part of which makes insurance coverage of birth control mandatory, while U.S. bishops opposed it.

    Many nuns said the Vatican's report misunderstood their intentions and undervalued their work for social justice.

    Supporters of the nuns said the women had helped the image of the church in the United States at a time when it was engulfed in scandal over sexual abuse of minors by priests. They were praised by many fellow Catholics and the media for their work with the poor and sick.

    Monday's Vatican statement expressed gratitude for the "great contribution" American Catholic nuns had made in teaching and caring for the sick and poor.

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    Pope orders church to act 'decisively' to stop abuse

     

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  • 'Breath of fresh air': Women religious welcome Pope Francis

    Dan Kitwood / Getty Images

    Nuns talk in St Peter's Square after newly elected Pope Francis appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on March 13, 2013 in Vatican City.

    By Becky Bratu, Staff Writer, NBC News

    As the last puffs of white smoke dissipated at the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, women religious in the United States received the news of the pope's election with a mix of surprise and hope that he would shepherd the church through its current crisis.

    Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was chosen to lead the Roman Catholic Church as Pope Francis, a decision the nuns considered unexpected but auspicious.

    "I think it's just wonderful," said Sister Michele of the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of the Church. “The Holy Spirit worked through the cardinals, and God put in the man that he wants."


    Francis is the first pope to be a member of the Society of Jesus, an order founded in the 16th century by St. Ignatius Loyola. Its members, known as Jesuits, take a vow of poverty and are known for their scholarship and work among the poor, which is seen as a draw to nuns, who devote their lives to charity and caring for the less fortunate.

    Nuns flock to the Vatican and celebrate as new pope is elected

    “There’s a lot of promise in that (he’s a Jesuit),” said Erin Saiz Hanna, executive director of the Women's Ordination Conference, which promotes women's ordination as priests. "It’s a breath of fresh air," she said, adding that Jesuits "are known to be more progressive."

    The Sisters of Life, an order founded in 1991 that helps pregnant women and organizes a retreat for women who have had abortions, welcomed the news with "great joy," Sister Mary Elizabeth said.

    “We're praying for [Francis], and we’re excited to see what the Holy Spirit brings," she said. "We’re all part of the family of God; we would rejoice no matter where he came from."

    Sister Mary Elizabeth added that her order believes there’s a complementarity between men and women in the church, and they embrace their role modeled after the Virgin Mary, "a humble handmaid of the Lord."

    The church's attitude toward women and its teachings on contraception, abortion and same-sex marriage are blamed by some for the decline in morale among Catholics. Last year, thousands stepped up in defense of American nuns after the Vatican's doctrinal watchdog issued a report questioning their loyalty to some church teachings, including the nuns' lack of outspokenness on issues such as gay marriage, abortion and contraception. (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was the head of the watchdog group before he was elected pope in 2005.)

    The report targeted the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which represents about 80 percent of the 57,000 nuns in the United States.

    Sister Annmarie Sanders, director of communications for the Leadership Conference, said Wednesday that while the sisters were surprised by the conclave's decision, they welcomed Francis with "heartfelt prayer."

    "As a conference of leaders of orders of Catholic sisters in the United States, we welcome Pope Francis I’s spiritual leadership and look forward to working with him in carrying forward the Gospel message," LCWR's statement read.

    A Pew Research Center poll conducted last month shows that 46 percent of U.S. Catholics surveyed think the new pope should "move in new directions," while 51 percent say he should "maintain traditional positions."

    Hanna, of the Women's Ordination Conference, says she has "a lot of hope" that the new pope will address issues such as gay rights, divorce and contraception, which cause some women to feel excluded from the church.

    And, she added, she hopes Francis will reopen the discussion on women's ordination.

    Last year, Pope Benedict XVI denounced the priests supporting women's ordination, saying their desire to change the church was a "desperate push" driven by their "own preferences and ideas." Instead, Benedict urged the "radicalism of obedience."

    But Hanna and Janice Sevre-Duszynska, a woman priest who was ordained in 2008, think the movement is growing and the time is ripe for women's voices to be heard.

    "We deserve a better church than what we’ve been given," Hanna said.

    Slideshow: The election of Pope Francis

    Dmitry Lovetsky / AP

    Cardinals from around the world gathered in the Vatican to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church following then-Pope Benedict XVI's resignation. On the second day of the conclave, Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope, taking on the name Pope Francis.

    Launch slideshow

  • Clash of the titans: Vatican takes on reforming US nuns

    LCWR, Tony Gentile / Reuters, file

    Sister Janet Mock, executive director of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), is among a delegation meeting Cardinal William Joseph Levada on Tuesday.

    By Claudio Lavanga, NBC News

    ROME - What do American nuns do when they are accused of being radical feminists? They respond as radical feminists might: by challenging the male authority face-to-face.  

    Sister Pat Farrell, head of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), the umbrella group that represents 80 percent of the U.S.'s 57,000 Catholic nuns, traveled to Rome to confront accusations that her organization promotes "radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith." 

    Farrell met American Cardinal William Levada, head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on Tuesday.  The gathering was aimed at reconciling their differences, but it has the potential to permanently alienate many American nuns from the Holy See. 

    From the beginning, the meeting was fixing to be a titanic clash between strong-willed servants of God.  

    On one side next to Farrell sat Sister Janet Mock, the group’s executive director.

    Opposite them, Cardinal Levada was joined by Vatican-appointed Archbishop Peter Sartain, who has been named to oversee the overhaul of the the LCWR.  Sartain has been given the power to rewrite the group's statutes, its meeting agendas and liturgical texts. 

    US priests reportedly behind Vatican crackdown on nuns

    Alessandro Speciale, the Vatican Correspondent for Religion News Service, said the discussions – held in private – were unlikely to have been amicable.

    The Catholic Church accused the nation's largest organization of American nuns of espousing "radical feminist" ideas. MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell discusses the charges with Sister Jeannine Gramick, who was once silenced by the Vatican, and Jeff Stone, communications director of Dignity USA.

    "It will (have been) a deaf argument," he told NBC News.  "They will both try to force their message across, but it's unlikely to be a friendly chat."  

    Both sides emerged from Tuesday's meeting without giving much away. 

    Farrell told journalists outside the Vatican she had an "open dialogue" with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and found the support in America "very affirming."

    Likewise, the Vatican did not go into much detail on the meeting's outcome, but said the gathering had happened in an "atmosphere of openness and cordiality."  

    Catholic nuns group 'stunned' by Vatican scolding for 'radical feminist' ideas

    What is almost certain is that Farrell, a determined representative of thousands of American nuns, asked Levada to reconsider the damning assessment his office issued about her group. The report followed a two-year investigation into the nuns' outspoken social and political outreach, which has often differed from the Vatican's official position.

    Tensions between the American nuns and the Vatican have been simmering for years, and stem from the open discussion among LCWR's members of sensitive issues such as gay marriage, contraception and on the ordination of women.

    On April 18, the Vatican harshly criticized the group, and accused it in a statement of perpetuating "a distorted ecclesiological vision, and (having) scant regard for the role of the Magisterium as the guarantor of the authentic interpretation of the Church's Faith."

    Magisterium, the official teaching authority of the Catholic Church, is made-up of the pope and bishops.  Ecclesiological refers to the nature and functions of the church.

    Catholic heavyweights challenge Obama rule on contraception

    In his first ever Twitter message, Pope Benedict XVI announced a new online portal that aggregates the Vatican's various media on one website. The Tweet from the pope was sent from and ipad.

    The Vatican then appointed a trio of bishops to deal with the differences with the LCWR.  

    The LCWR's official response came more than a month later, but it was just as strong-worded.

    The nuns said that the Vatican's charges are based "on unsubstantiated accusations and the result of a flawed process that lacked transparency. Moreover, the sanctions imposed were disproportionate to the concerns raised and could compromise their ability to fulfill their mission. The report has furthermore caused scandal and pain throughout the church community, and created greater polarization."

    Whatever happened behind closed doors at the Vatican on Tuesday, the meeting will eventually help the world's estimated 1.2 billion Catholics understand whether the Vatican and the American nuns can reach a compromise – or, as seems more likely, remain poles apart.  

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