When the leadership of the LCWR publicly rejects Catholic teaching on
the all-male priesthood, as it did in 1977, or publishes a handbook
encouraging sisters to consider scrapping celebration of the Mass
because some find the presence of a male priest "objectionable," or
hosts a keynote speaker at its 2007 national assembly who calls Catholic
sisters to move "beyond the church, even beyond Jesus" — well, it's not
hard to see why non-Catholics and even many Catholics might be confused
about what the church teaches and how much it matters. Nor is it
surprising that the Vatican would try to rein in a group that enjoys all
the perks of calling itself Catholic without abiding by the restraints
that come with that institutional identity — namely, the responsibility
to publicly defend Catholic teachings even when they clash with the
cultural zeitgeist.
The real problem with groups like the LCWR is not their
rebellion against church authority but their conformity to the spirit of
the age. In attempting to become "relevant" to the world, they have
rejected the most characteristic markers of Catholic religious life —
from communal living to shared prayer regimens and fidelity to church
teaching. Yet a 2009 survey by Georgetown University's Center for
Applied Research in the Apostolate found that those are the very markers
that attract today's young adults to religious life.
The Vatican is not waging a war on nuns. It is calling
the LCWR and its graying membership to rediscover the riches of
tradition, to renew their commitment to a faith ever ancient and ever
new. It's a challenging and humbling call, but it's not an act of
aggression. It's an invitation to renewal, one that is long overdue.
5/11/2012
In praise of Colleen 'common sense' Campbell
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