UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter
Jason Berry | Jul. 31, 2013
The Benedictine priest who long headed one of the organizations that brought the ire of the Vatican down on U.S. women religious last year is stepping down at the end of this year.
Benedictine Fr. Dan Ward will leave as executive director of the Resource Center for Religious Institutes effective Dec. 31, according to a notice on the center’s website dated May 28 and signed by St. Agnes Sr. Hertha Longo, chair of the center’s board of directors.
“Fr. Dan believes that now is the time to pass on the leadership … to slow down and take a sabbatical,” the announcement says.
For 14 years, Ward has quietly dispensed advice to religious orders on their canonical and financial rights through the resource center and its precursor organizations. Armed with civil and canon law degrees, he earned a reputation as a complex character and a behind-the-scenes player.
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