Lay people and sisters react to end of Vatican mandate
On Thursday, we learned that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was ending their "investigation" of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. Reactions and analysis have been mixed; there are hopeful signs but also fears that CDF meddling isn't over yet.
"We are pleased at the completion of the Mandate, which involved long and challenging exchanges of our understandings of and perspectives on critical matters of Religious Life and its practice," said current LCWR president Sr. Sharon Holland. "Through these exchanges, conducted always in a spirit of prayer and mutual respect, we were brought to deeper understandings of one another’s experiences, roles, responsibilities, and hopes for the Church and the people it serves. We learned that what we hold in common is much greater than any of our differences."
In CTA's response, Jim said, "The bold and faithful witness of women religious, their leadership, gifts and charisms are pivotal for the life of our Church. We give thanks that this painful experience appears to have finally come to an end. We continue to stand with the sisters and hope today’s action opens the door for a more equal relationship between women leaders and Vatican officials."
The NunJustice Coalition, of which we are a part, plans to remain vigilant for Vatican overreach. " We are gratified that the immense worth of the work of women religious is being recognized. However, we also remain watchful since some still-to-be-implemented aspects of the joint statement could be interpreted as restricting the conscience rights of sisters." they said in a press statement. LCWR and CDF officials presented a summary of implementation of the mandate and several LCWR leaders also met with Pope Francis for nearly an hour. While some have noted that such an event, or meeting, wouldn't have happened under other popes, others have not been so quick to praise the Vatican. "The recent press conference was an occasion, live-streamed around the world, to showcase an alleged newfound rapport between the Vatican and the U.S. nuns. It succeeded as theater, but as a model for future Catholicism it left me with more questions than answers, more pain than promise. " said Mary Hunt in a piece published at Religion Dispatches.
At the Global Sisters Report, Tom Fox called the outcome "good news" but noted, "for the moment it looks like the agreement has enough air and wiggle room for both the CDF and LCWR to claim to hold to their integrity. Yet obvious questions remain. It’s particularly troubling that the CDF has asked the LCWR leadership and its own officials to not publicly discuss the agreement for a period of one month. Why the blackout?"
