UNITED STATES
Slidell Sentry
Another view By Cokie and Steven Roberts
Really? Women religious in America will now have a bishop grading their morals?
Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Given the sex-abuse scandals — in which many Roman Catholic bishops looked the other way at best and moved child molesters from parish to parish, perpetrating evil, at worst — you would think that a ruler rap on the hierarchical knuckles would be in order. “Sister” should have stepped in years ago. Instead, the Vatican has assigned a bishop to crack down on the nuns.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, aka the Inquisition, has appointed Seattle Archbishop Peter Sartain to review and revamp the plans, programs and pronouncements of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an organization of the superiors of religious orders that represents about 57,000 U.S. nuns. What sins have these religious women committed that brought on the wrath of Rome?
Here’s one, according to the Vatican document: “While there’s 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.” Oh, no — while these women are ministering to some poor pregnant girl and giving her the wherewithal to get health care and food for her baby, they are not loudly attacking abortion?
Another transgression: “The Church’s Biblical views of family life and human sexuality are not part of the LCWR agenda in a way that promotes Church teaching.” Translation: The nuns aren’t condemning gay marriage as they make their rounds to hospitals and social-service agencies where gay clients and their children await their care.
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