Those who hoped that Pope Francis would re-examine Pope Benedict XVI’s unpopular plan to place the main organization of American nuns under the control of three bishops have been disappointed. Joshua McElwee of the National Catholic Reporter has the story:
Pope Francis has reaffirmed Pope Benedict XVI’s rebuke of the main leadership group of U.S. Catholic sisters and approved a plan to place the group under the control of three U.S. bishops, according to the Vatican.
Reaffirmation of the move came in a meeting Monday between the leaders of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) and Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller, the head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, according to a statement from the Vatican.
During the meeting, the Vatican said, Müller told the LCWR leaders that he had “recently discussed” the issue with Pope Francis, “who reaffirmed the findings of the Assessment and the program of reform.”
The meeting was the first between LCWR, which represents about 80 percent of the United States’ approximately 57,000 sisters, and Müller, who became head of the doctrinal congregation in July.
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Let’s get real about something. The increased oversight for the LCWR wasn’t just about gays and contraception, there were other issues–for instance guest speakers of dubious spiritual credibility–that got the nuns in hot water with the Church. It may not be the sexy issues that convince Pope Francis to continue a tighter oversight here. The bishops may have come for the sexy stuff, but may now be staying for the straying in manners of doctrine and liturgy. We just don’t know for sure until this is clarified.
Isn’t it POSSIBLE that this is Benedict’s old guard playing a “Francis said” routine?
LCWR should appeal to Francis DIRECTLY: accept no middle-(of course they are)men!
JC Fisher
same play indeed, same old sexist patriarchal play.
Francis is the bishop of Rome, to expect him to change dogma, doctrine etc is not well grounded. Practice he can play with but the dogma of the Catholic Church well…lets just say I’m glad and proud to be an Episcopalian.
The actors change, the play’s the same.
Morris Post