The Vatican is on another witch hunt. How much longer can women take this?

[pnwmom]

From my reading on this, because women religious aren't enthusiastically supporting the Vatican's positions against women's ordination and gays, and for Catholic-superiority, women religious are being investigated by the modern version of the Inquisition. Well, let them go at it. These women will go down fighting; but if they do, they will pull half the Church down with them.

http://ncronline.org/news/women/vatican-investigates-us-women-religious-leadership

The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has initiated a doctrinal investigation of the largest U.S. women’s religious leadership organization, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.

SNIP
Officers at the Leadership Conference of Women Religious sent a letter to conference members April 2 telling them of the investigation. NCR obtained a copy of that letter.
The conference is an association of the leaders of congregations of Catholic women religious in the United States. It has more than 1,500 members, who represent about 95 percent of the 68,000 U.S. women religious.

Asked by NCR to respond to the Vatican initiative, the leadership conference issued a brief statement.
“The Leadership Conference of Women Religious received on March 10 a letter dated February 20, 2009 from Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). The letter announces CDF’s decision to conduct a doctrinal assessment of LCWR’s activities and initiatives.
“At this time, LCWR knows neither the process nor timeline for completion of this assessment. As more information is made available to LCWR, the conference will take the appropriate steps to prepare for its participation in the assessment. LCWR faces this process with confidence, believing that the conference has remained faithful to its mission of service to leaders of congregations of women religious as they seek to further the mission of Christ in today’s world.”
The Vatican assessment has become necessary, according to Levada, because at the 2001 meeting between the women’s leadership conference and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which took place in Rome, the women were invited “to report on the initiatives taken or planned” to promote the reception of three areas of Vatican doctrinal concern: the 1994 apostolic letter Ordinatio sacerdotalis, the 2000 declaration Dominus Jesus from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and “the problem of homosexuality.”

SNIP

Regarding the investigation of the women’s leadership conference, Levada informed conference leaders: “Given both the tenor and the doctrinal content of various addresses given at the annual assemblies of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in the intervening years, this Dicastery can only conclude that the problems which had motivated its request in 2001 continue to be present.”
As a result, Levada said, the Vatican had decided “a doctrinal assessment” of the “activities and initiatives of the LCWR would be helpful.”

SNIP

[hedgehog]

1. It all depends on whether or not someone realizes that it's the WOMEN

religious doing all the heavy lifting these days. We have an 80 something sister who handles all the religious ed for adults and children in the northern region of the diocese. She trains all the catechists and also offers adult education. All this while driving herself around in an old car. Funny thing: the bishop can't go anywhere without a chauffeur!

[pnwmom]

3. And it's the MOTHERS who are the biggest influence

on their children's vocations. Yet they think they can keep alienating the same women who are expected to encourage their sons to become priests.

And now they think they have the ultimate solution to reduced vocations: import conservative priests from Africa. (If those priests can't succeed in reducing polygamy in Africa, they can come here and try -- oh wait, there is no polygamy among Catholics in U.S. Perfect!)

:sarcasm:

[47of74]

2. In a perfect world Levada would be a parish priest in the middle of nowhere

Not the guy in charge of the Doctrine of the Faith while a far more worthy and able soul would be in that position. Guys like Levada, Burke, and Sobrinho - who never in a thousand years should've been promoted to any position of responsibility in the church - are the reason the church is beset with so many problems now.

[pnwmom]

4. Did Levada rise up on Ratzinger's coattails? Where did he come from? n/t