(MintPress)– The stereotypical view of a Catholic nun is one in which a straight-laced habit wearing disciplinarian imparts strict codes for moral conduct onto an unruly bunch of parochial school attendees.
However, the Church is now saying that some of its nuns are in need of reform.
But some women say the effort is an attempt to brainwash nuns into thinking they are lesser than men. “What women truly believes she is not equal to a man?” asks Sister Beth Rindler of Detroit, a member of the National Coalition of American Nuns.
Radical American Nuns
After a thorough investigation by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, American nuns are being called too “radical” by the Vatican.
The new report from the Vatican has taken American nuns to task for promoting “radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith” amongst other “scandalous” ideas. They are also charged with staying silent on controversial topics such as abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality and the ordination of women.
Archbishop Peter Sartain of Seattle has been charged with overseeing a reform of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR). The Conference, founded in 1956 and based in Maryland, represents about 80 percent of the 57,000 Catholic nuns across the United States.
The group offers a wide range of services, ranging from leadership training for women’s religious orders to advocacy on social justice issues.
Pluralism or a rejection of faith?
The report, a summary of findings to be included in a yet-unpublished work submitted to Cardinal William Levada, head of the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, for a final approval by Pope Benedict XVI, specifically cited a speech given by Dr. Laurie Brink, who is an Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and a Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa.
The report from the Vatican said that Brink’s 2007 keynote address to the LCWR assembly in Wisconsin was “a cry for help” from the sisters, despite the fact that in the speech, Brink articulates a disclaimer stating, “the opinions offered in this presentation do not necessarily reflect the opinions of LCWR, the Roman Catholic Church, the Dominicans of Sinsinawa or the Dominicans of the U.S. for that matter. Nor do they necessarily reflect the opinions of other women religious who are relatively new to community. . . From my particular lens, I offer you my critical reflection on my experience of Religious Life and its possible future, in conversation with our tradition.”
In the speech, Brink takes up the issue of how congregations of religious Catholic women might confront their futures, especially given some of the biggest problems facing the Catholic church in America: the realities of a shrinking memberships and aging members.
In the speech, Brink also says Catholics in the modern world can “move beyond Jesus” and acknowledge shared values between Christianity and other religious traditions.
She says that the “same values are not solely the property of Christianity. Buddhism, Native American spirituality, Judaism, Islam and others hold similar tenets for right behavior within the community, right relationship with the earth and right relationship with the Divine. With these insights come a shattering or freeing realization—depending on where you stand. Jesus is not the only son of God. Salvation is not limited to Christians. Wisdom is found in the traditions of the Church as well as beyond it.”
But the Vatican report charges that ”such a rejection of faith is also a serious source of scandal and is incompatible with religious life.”
Hot topics
The LCWR has also recently come out offering support of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which many American bishops have opposed due to its stance on providing contraception and sexual health services to women.
Many of the bishops have criticized the LCWR for their support of the measure. And Mother Mary Clare Millea, who was charged with assembling the report wrote, “The current doctrinal and pastoral situation of LCWR is grave and a matter of serious concern.”
Also, the report said the group falls short in offering guidance on homosexuality and same-sex marriage. “Further, issues of crucial importance in the life of the church and society, such as the church’s biblical view of family life and human sexuality, are not part of the LCWR agenda in a way that promotes church teaching.”
Abortion and euthanasia
Also singled out in the church’s report was Network, a Washington-based lobbying group founded in 1971 by nuns. The organization focuses on poverty, immigration and healthcare issues, was chastised for being too ”silent on the right to life”.
Network was not consulted during the church’s inquiry, which began in 2009 as part of an overall study examining the reasons behind an ever-shrinking number of American nuns.
The number of Catholic women choosing religious life in the United States has fallen annually since 1965, down from 180,000 to less than than 60,000 today.
”I think we scare them,” Network’s executive director, Sister Simone Campbell, said of the male hierarchy within the Church.
LWCR was also found guilty of not doing enough to promote the church’s teaching on these topics. Millea wrote, “While there has been a great deal of work on the part of LCWR promoting issues of social justice in harmony with the church’s social doctrine, it is silent on the right to life from conception to natural death, a question that is part of the lively public debate about abortion and euthanasia in the United States.”
Sisters speak out
”I made my vows over 40 years ago to serve the people of God and that service is unseen in this document,” Carol Keehan, Head of the Catholic Health Association, which has also been criticized for supporting the Obama administration’s attempt at a compromise on birth-control regulations.
”It’s painfully obvious that the leadership of the church is not used to having educated women form thoughtful opinions and engage in dialogue.”
Rindler, also a member of the LCWR, agrees. She told the Daily Beast she was shocked by the report, which she describes as a gender issue between the Vatican men and the American nuns. “The church in Rome believes in the patrimony of God. But we believe that God created men and women equally. That’s where we clash.”
The Vatican says the LCWR has five years to make improvements or face severe consequences. They’ve posted a statement on their web page saying “The presidency of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious was stunned by the conclusions of the doctrinal assessment of LCWR by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.” They plan to meet next month to discuss the matter.