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April 19th, 2012
03:05 PM ET
Vatican blasts American nuns, calls for reformsBy Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor (CNN) - The Vatican is turning up the heat on a group of nuns it says are operating outside of the Roman Catholic Church's doctrines. The Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, the church’s doctrinal watchdog, on Wednesday announced the conclusion of a years-long “doctrinal assessment” investigation of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which represents 80% of the Catholic nuns in the United States. The “assessment reveals serious doctrinal problems,” said the report, which called for major reforms. The Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith appointed Archbishop Peter Sartain of Seattle to institute those reforms. The report singled out a Washington, DC social justice group called Network, which is run by nuns and the Resource Center for Religious Institutes, which assists members with financial and legal resources. CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories The Vatican report, made public by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the doctrinal assessment began in part because of the group’s dissent on the Holy See’s teaching on the ordination of women and human sexuality. The Catholic Church ordains only men to be priests and says sex is to be reserved for between a man and woman who are married in the eyes of the church. The assessment said that a Leadership Conference of Women Religious conference yielded “manifest problematic statements and serious theological, even doctrinal errors,” that went unchallenged. It also said the event promoted “radical feminism”and decried the “prevalence of certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith in some programs and presentations sponsored by the LCWR...” While the assessment praised the social justice work of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, Network and the Resources Center for Religious Life, it said the groups were “silent on the right to life from conception to natural death” and on the Church’s view on “family life and human sexuality.” The report also took note of public statements from the nuns that opposed the Catholic Bishops. The Leadership Conference of Women Religious and Network vocally disagreed with the Bishops' conference's position on the Affordable Care Act, which they supported and the Bishops did not. The Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith called the current doctrinal and pastoral positions of the groups “grave and a matter of serious concern,” because of the global influence of the groups. Pope Benedict XVI approved the request from the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith to intervene and the implementation of their recommended changes, the doctrinal office said in its assessment. Some of the changes to come include a revision of the LCWR statutes, a review of programs including their annual general assembly, and a review of their ties with Network and Resource Center for Religious Institutes. Cardinal William Levada, a former Archbishop in the United States and now the Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, said in a statement that the the Vatican process is aimed at “fostering a patient and collaborative renewal of this conference of major superiors in order to provide a stronger doctrinal foundation for its many laudable initiatives and activities.” The sisters, for their part, expressed surprised at the findings. “Because the leadership of LCWR has the custom of meeting annually with the staff of CDF in Rome and because the conference follows canonically-approved statutes, we were taken by surprise," the Leadership Conference of Women Religious said in a statement. "This is a moment of great import for religious life and the wider church," the statement continued. "We ask your prayers as we meet with the LCWR National Board within the coming month to review the mandate and prepare a response.” soundoff (1,705 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Please be sure to read about how the Peoria bishop compared Obama's actions to Stalin and Hitler. He should be ashamed of himself.
yes ,comrade obama should be ashamed of himself
I have adopted 3. Im not hear to toot my own horn. I just dont understand why people think killing children solves anything. Not a viable solution in a human society. IMO.
A fetus is NOT a baby. Claiming otherwise is hate speech, nothing more.
Tell me the difference between a fetus and a baby. Be careful, I will know if you just googled it!
Carrotman, a Fetus is a human being. The word baby is relative, A kitten is a baby cat.
I am glad to hear also the way you are saing is very respectful. Many who try to give there opinion about being pro-life are actually being bullies and have never help a child in need ever. I myself am torn a bit. I have seen parents who have neglected, abused and hated there children. I ask myself why did you even have them if you did not want them. Even to the point of terminating a pregnancy at the early part. I would love to see the world be perfect and parents alwasy love and take care of there kids but it does not always happen. To many shades of gray. Again I have not seen a harsh word posted by you, just you expressing your opinin as everyone has the right to do. I hope others see this.
Yes Debbie, much better to ban contraception and force women to have pregnancies so that we can over populate the earth, destroy its resources, and then those unwanted children can have a miserable existence as they starve to death. You should be a policy maker. Very responsible of you.
Well, I guess since the only policy that makes sense to you is murdering the child we will vote for you instead of trying to come up with real solutions.
@jayleigh:”Carrotman, a Fetus is a human being. The word baby is relative, A kitten is a baby cat”
Yes because the kitten has already been born. An egg is not a baby chicken
I am a man, and I do not know if a fetus is a baby or not. But I do know I have no right to tell a woman what she can or cannot do with her body.
Well , a fetus IS a human. A fetus IS a life. Therefore a fetus IS a human life. The question is: Can I kill another human life form because I want to? Some women say the fetus is their body to do with as they please. Of course it is. BUT, can the fetus survive outside of the womb in a hostile environment provided it is given some nutriition and protection? Well.... can a human survive off of Earth in a hostile environment provided it is given some nutrition and protection? So, if I can kill one form, can I kill another.... because it affects me ?
We all know the GOP bishops were just pulling a GOP Dirty Trick® by whining about the federal regulation on contraception coverage. The good Catholic sisters that actually OWN and OPERATE Catholic hospitals long since announced they are AOK with the revised regulation. Now the bishops are attacking the Sisters and trying to force the Sisters to help the GOP bishops with their GOP Dirty Tricks®, but the simple fact is the good Sisters still OWN the hospitals and the bishops can't force them to do anything. GOOD for the Sisters!
Well, well, well, CarrotCakeMan! I too believe women should be permitted to make their "choice" about killing their babies. I think they should be able to "terminate pregnancy" all the way up until their baby takes their first breath. .... THEIR CHOICE. That's something your "God" gave humankind... choice. Something that others do not have. Some don't have a "choice" and just simply are reactors to their environment. So sad for them, however, they know no better... so that's ok. A friend of mine, residing in a warm place, loves the choices humans are making these days! Yes, suit your "self"!
The Vatican sure does pine for the Middle Ages.
Sorry, you're not going to get them back.
Floyd, I hope you will look up that the Peoria bishop compared Obama's actions to Stalin and Hitler.
I don't think they really "pine" for the Middle Ages. I think that the global picture, that guides them, is more across time than some might normally think in. A proven method to survive a mellinia is not easily led asunder. It is ashamed that we limit ourselves to thinking that his church stems from the "middle ages" as you put it. I think it stems from before that time! signed Atheist
Most people don't even think about their faith beyond whatever whim comes to them in the day.
The Catholic united religion was started at the death of Christ by St Peter and the rest of the apostles 2000 years ago. In the 5th century the church split into East and West and followed the Bishops of Constantinople and Rome (the Pope). Then 1000 years later Martin Luther had his reasons and broke from the church that started the chaos of all the Christian Denominations of our time. So the question people should ask themselves if whether the 1500 year old traditions of Catholic teachings up to that time were all Bull and not passed down from Jesus Christ himself?
My guess is that because you like gay people and screwing, it really doesn't matter what Jesus thought about it. So you should just throw the whole thing to the curb. Your friendly Agnostic signing off!
Jesus never mentioned gays and lesbians.
Peter's confession was the only thing that Jesus was lifting up when He spoke to Peter. Peter was married. Kind of puts a kink in being a Pope. Also, Mary quoted in the bible that Jesus was her Savior. Only sinful people need a Savior. She was not perfect. Jesus had half brothers as well. She was not a perpetual virgin. You cannot and should not pray to her. That is putting an idol above God. The Cathechism is an add on to the bible given by Catholics. God says not to add or take away from His word. People need to read their bibles instead of following doctrines that aren't even in the bible! Peter was not a pope! He was crucified on a cross upside down remember? Then who decided that "his keys to the kingdom" started the Palpacy? MAN DID! Wake up! We could be living in the end of days. Just Jesus. No denominations!
If you don't want to follow the rules that say you must stop for every stop sign, you run the risk of getting T-boned and therefore... not classed a "Safe Driver". If you dont want to follow the rules of the Catholic Church, you run the risk of not being Catholic and should be probably excommunicated. If you chop off the heads of the ancient vikings who don't want to be Catholic, you become St Olaf! This religion stuff is easy for me. Nous sommes tous les rois! Nous sommes tous les dieus!
Hey "madonfan"! The Catholic prayer called the Hail Mary goes like this "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us, sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen." It seems, clearly, that the only things done are: calling to Mary (Hail Mary), announcing that she is with the Lord (the Lord is with thee), acknowledging that she is blessed as a woman and that her product from her womb is blessed (Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus).. and that he is Jesus. Then here is the biggest part: we ask in the prayer for HER to pray for us since we are sinners, and to ask her to pray for us upon the hour of our death. Hmmmmmm..... doesn't look like we are expressing any allegience to her whatsoever as in: "I pledge allegence to the Flag of the United States of America....", or "...Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven, give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our tresspasses...." as is in the "Pledge of Allegence" or the "Our Father" prayer. Seems your analysis of what Roman Catholics worship or rather, who they worship is a bit skewed. Perhaps, if you don't like the processes of Catholicism, then don't partake of it and leave them alone! Signed.... an atheist heathen .............!
The Holy Bible never called anyone to be nuns. Never called anyone to be priests after the death of Jesus. Jesus's death annulled the priesthood. The veil was torn with Jesus's death. No longer a need for another mediator "priests". Why can't people get this concept and stop enticing people in false bondage to a religion that isn't biblical? Same Jesus, unnecessary rituals and pain with Catholicism. It's no wonder people don't want to be Christian. They think Catholics are the poster children. They aren't!
The only name we ever adopted and his biblical is Christians. There are not need for denominations. Just Jesus!
Have you ever read the Quran, the book of Mormon, Buhda's teachings for comparison? Seems billions of people were indoctrinated into those religions as you were Christianity and would argue your understanding of the afterlife is flawed. Maybe those Catholics are following Jesus' teachings and you are just confused. It is much older than any Christian religious tradition you follow.
jayleigh.....if you look at the Bible. THE BIBLE. It never said to start any "religion" on your own. Just take the bible, read what it says, and apply it. It says nothing of Catholicism in the bible. I am not flawed in what I am saying. God says there is only way to Him and that is through Jesus Christ. Christ established "THE CHURCH" not denominations of it. Look at the astounding evidence. The Dead Sea Scrolls found in the 1950's is pretty much dead on to the KJV and NKJV we read today. The Geneva Bible which came over on the Mayflower, coincides with what the NKJV and KJV say as well. My point is, you can choose to partake in Catholicism if you want to, but it's not necessary. The rules aren't necessary. No where in scripture does it tell you to confess to a priest, only to God, and doesn't mention purgatory , which gives Catholics this false hope that they have some extra time to get right with God which they don't. Catholics teach penance and not repentance. Penance is punishment for what you do. God said if you are in Christ Jesus there is no condemnation. Repentance is just turning away from behavior you have been "Convicted" of. That is repentance. Penance is punishment. Not very freeing at all.
Madonfan, do you know where the Bible came from as we have it today? The whole process from the beginning? How the books were chosen? Just curious.
Ummm, just one question here: In what religious temple did Jesus teach? (By the way, it was the only religion he had.)
Part of my point is that people don't even know why they believe in one faith over another. Anglican/Episcipol Church is based on the fact that king Henry the VIII wanted to get a divorce, so he started his own church. That is sound deep logic to follow that religion today. So why do you believe what you do, is it because your parents taught you and it is all you know? If so, open your mind to other possibilities. It's a big world out there.
Catholics dont worship icons. They are like having pictures of your family in your home when they are away. Its a reminder. We worship only God. Dont you remember when God told Moses to make the bronze serpent? Or the Golden angels on the ark? How about those "graven images?" Statues arent bad. Worshipping them like the pagans did seems silly though. I agree.
a pagan praying to a statue is no different than a christian kneeling down to pray in front of a crucifix, or even more specifically a catholic kneeling infront of a statue of Mary to pray for help, absolutely no difference.
You dont see a difference in thinking the statue is a God as opposed to just thinking its a statue?
Second commandment
You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth
"You dont see a difference in thinking the statue is a God as opposed to just thinking its a statue?"
i see no difference in a pagan seeing a statue as an embodiment of a deity, which is what they did, they did not see the statue itself as an actual god, than a person praying before an image of jesus on a cross, especially when you have those occasional stories of supposed weeping statues appearing as well.
Debbie – Excellent post. All your comments on here have been right on the nail! Thanks, my friend and God Bless you.
"It also said the event promoted “radical feminism”and decried the “prevalence of certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith in some programs and presentations sponsored by the LCWR...”
what did they do? claim that women are not property or some other 'radical feminist' ideal?
The Pope is telling it like it is. And you can't take it, can you?
Nuns CHOOSE to work as carers. They also take a vow of obedience to GOD. When Jesus washed the disciples' feet after the Last Supper, Peter at first refused to let Him. Jesus told him that unless he allowed to act as Peter's servant, he must leave Him.
Jesus then told the Apostles they must also be servants to each other. Peter became the first Pope. Today the Pope washes the feet of 12 people in church to fulfill that message.
Jesus was the Servant King – The Pope is the servant Prince of the Church.
1. The first non-Eorupean (i.e. non-White) pope will roll the catholic Church back 500 years due to their literal interpretation of the scriptures and the influence of the Catholic Missions.
2. Catholics will never be able to reach heaven due to their Worship of Idols and Icons.
My Catholic friends agree with the first but not with the second, but they respect my opion as I repect theirs.
I think the nuns are closer to the people actually suffering setbacks financially and physically and therefore the nuns are better equipped to know what really helps and what is just bluster. I don't think the bishops are in touch with the real world in the Vatican.
How right you are, Linda. This is just one of many steps the present Vatican is taling to "crack down" on any dissent within the church. It's what dictatorial regimes have always done. Let's support the Sisters in any way that we can.
In order to carry out their mission to care for others, nuns must also be living examples of Christ's life and word.
If they break from that , AND break their vow of obedience to God,[ that they voluntarily took when they professed] then they NEED to be brought back into line.
The Pope has a duty to remind them that they KEEP their vows, OBEY God's law and DO their duty faithfully. Period.
Benedict and Breivik – not a drink I want to take.
Its time for Catholic women to stand up against the the male dominated Catholic hierarchy and demand equal and fair treatment. Like Musllims, the Catholic Church is living in the 12th Century.
Oh stop the girly hissy fits, purleeeeze!
I'm a Catholic woman. I have been involved in the Church for years. I've headed meetings with priests and Catholic men and WOMEN and have decided matters of Education; Budget; Liturgical planning – AND I was a Eucharistic Minister for well over a decade – taking Holy Communion to the sick and assisting at MASS alongside the priest.
I argued my case [and when I was right – I won !] And I was ALWAYS, alongside the other women, treated with respect and dferred to when the priest needed advice.
So PLEASE don't tell ME i've been treated like a 2nd class citizen, becaused THAT, my friends is a lie.
Women who feel unequal have low self-esteem or lack of confidence. The opportunities are there. If you don't take them – you won't get them.
Life isn't EQUAL. I'd like to be President of the USA but you couldn't handle that or you'd have had a woman Prez before now, wouldn't you?????/
I'd LIKE to be Queen of Britain, but I'm happy to be a subject! Grow up.
I agree Joel. Life is hard. Sometimes we make mistakes. I have made more than most. But to take the child life because caring for it is too hard seems a little horrifying. Why not let someone adopt them? Every parent I know would give their life for their child. Not the other way around. I just think we are confused.
Have you adopted a child in need?
@Debbie,
The "why not have someone adopt the child" is radically over simplefied. I'm a guy, I will never know what it's like to carry a child, but I watched my wife do it, and from what I saw, it generally sucks. Made worse by the fact that we're both military, and spent several months apart during the pregnancy. We had family that could be with her and help when I wasn't there, so that's great; but not everyone has that support structure. Not everyone has a lifestyle, a support system, or the pysical and emotional maturity required to make it through the rather challenging 9 month process of even getting to the point that you hope to successfully have a baby to put up for adoption.
Of course, it is also not unheard of for women who do not really have the means to support a child, or who aren't in a situation that is good for a child, to mean to put the baby up for adoption, but after going through a pregnancy and running into the tidal wave of hormones and motherly instincts that come crashing down on them after birth, they are unable and unwilling to give up the baby, and they try to struggle through raising a child in a situation where a child shouldn't be raised.
More power to them, I hope the best for the both of them in that case, and after seeing how it affected my wife, I understand completely (I only have half as much of the connection she does, and if anyone tries to take my child it will be the last thing they do on this Earth). But what if that mother who now has a child in a dangerous situation had had the ability to safely prevent the issue from ever coming up, early in the process, before there was any life to give up; wouldn't that have been better for everyone, until she had a more stable life to bring a child into later?
Having been born to set of uncaring parents, I can assure you that abortion is not the worst thing a woman can do to her child
Does anyone really consider the group of male bishops to be something other than an outdated joke?
Right, but it's worse, the bishops are just GOP hacks, pulling GOP Dirty Tricks®.
Believe me, the bishops are every bit as relevant as their cloths are in fashion
I wonder if these nuns will be burned alive and branded heretics?
You're getting the Catholic Church mixed up with the vicious thugs of Founding Fathers in America.
Once again, out-of-touch bureaucrats in their stone churches, miles away from the front lines of poverty, presume to tell other people how to do their jobs and how to live their lives. If only real life were as simple as your books and doctrines said it should be.
It would be charitable to say they are out of touch. Unfortunately, I think they have merely kept their claws retracted but that now they are going for the kill. What they will also kill is any hope that the Catholic Church is relevant to Americans. They are going to kill the goose that laid all those golden eggs.
Even a child that is born cannot sustain its own life without its parents. The body will die once it doesnt get the food and water it needs from someone. It gets it from in the womb until the breast until the dinner table. I dont see the difference.
Thanks, Debbie, for being disengenuous and missing the point. A child does not need one specific person for its survival. A fetus does. Analogy fail. Try again.
Letter of Barnabas
Apocalypse of Peter
Athengoras of Athens
Tertullian
Minucius Felix
Hippolytus
Lactantius
Basil
Jerome
John Chrysostom
Listing worthless crap? That'll take years.
Can you come up with something more reliable? For instance:
He is also traditionally associated with the Epistle of Barnabas, although modern scholars think it more likely that that epistle was written in Alexandria in the 130s.
I am glad we are nto in China. They force you to have abortions there. If you accidentally get pregnant a second time they haul you in and ram a needle into your stomach. I guess we agree on that. Here's a thought. If you dont want a child, why engage in the act that produces children?
Because life is not that simple, Debbie, despite how often church people claim that it is.
Thank you, Debbie, for arguing for contraception.
Because I enjoy the closeness I have to my husband when engageing in "that act". I also enjoy the feeling of it. Apparently you do not. Or never have.
I think she's advocating for more blow & back door jobs. I with you sista, can I get your number?
Had you tried it, you would know the answer to that question.
how do you know this about china? Here is a thought... don't believe everything you read.
That is correct about China also. A family memeber of mine is Asian and they can have a second child. It just will not be recognized by their government. The population in China could be much larger than what it is due to the Chineese gov not recognizing anyting more than a first child. And of course I take even this info with a grain of salt as the Chineese gov is so secreative.
I wish simply leaving the Church and finding another that better reflects my views would work for me, but I believe "we are the Church" and must stand up to it. Grace brought me back to God's love twenty years ago. I think the Church needs me and my dissenting views as much as I need it. Go nuns!
Praying does nothing but fool you into thinking you did something real.
If you want change, you'll have to do something besides pray.
I enjoy your comment. I decided after the priest abuse scandal to remove myself from the Catholic faith. As one who was abused I could no longer stand by the Catholic faith cause they did not stand by the children who were hurt. But I do enjoy and appreciate your thoughts.
I'm not Catholic or Christian, and I appluad you and all like you for having the courage of your convictions. Not only does your church need you; the world needs you. Keep praying and continue standing up. Namaste!