Former Nuns Write Open Letter to the USCCB

By Alice Popovici
National Catholic Reporter
May 10, 2012

http://ncronline.org/blogs/sisters-under-scrutiny/former-nuns-write-open-letter-usccb

The following letter was sent to the National Catholic Reporter by a former Sister of Mercy, and it is signed by 14 other women who were once members of religious communities. In a cover letter to Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, Helen Urbain-Majzler writes: "We would be grateful if you shared the contents of our letter with other member bishops."

The "Open letter to the U.S. Catholic Bishops" letter reads:

The Vatican crackdown on the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) sends this message for religious women and average Catholics: there is no room for dissent; no opportunity for differing perspectives; no way to engage in dialogue about traditional, often narrowly-held, Catholic views. In a word, women religious leaders need to keep their ideas to themselves and simply follow the dictates and directions of Rome. Anything less than this position will be met with censure, public embarrassment, heavy-handedness, and even potential expulsion.

The LCWR leadership may have expressed surprise and confusion at the report from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) but, frankly, women like us were not surprised. All of us (now former members) have lived many years in religious communities and have witnessed cruel and punitive treatment of women religious who have taken courageous public stands to defend the poor, medically vulnerable, and the targeted victims of society, including homosexuals. As you know and may not fully appreciate, religious communities of women have been the central providers of charitable services, including hospitals, schools and parish ministries, and have been in the forefront of social justice causes including efforts at world peace and an end to oppression in all its many forms. For these selfless and tireless efforts, their faith and integrity is called into question.

The Vatican has failed to recognize the changes that have gone on in the church at large and American society in general for the past 40 to 50 years. Catholic institutions that were once a major force in American society in the 1950s have slowly given way to a more pluralistic and diverse cultural milieu. Catholics who once graciously and unquestioning submitted to Church authority, obedience and order have left the church in great numbers. In our lifetime, we have seen that the church no longer holds center stage; people in Western society question authority and realize that our broader understanding of the universe and its institutions are evolving to better respond to the world around us.

The following letter was sent to the National Catholic Reporter by a former Sister of Mercy, and it is signed by 14 other women who were once members of religious communities. In a cover letter to Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, Helen Urbain-Majzler writes: "We would be grateful if you shared the contents of our letter with other member bishops."

The "Open letter to the U.S. Catholic Bishops" letter reads:

The Vatican crackdown on the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) sends this message for religious women and average Catholics: there is no room for dissent; no opportunity for differing perspectives; no way to engage in dialogue about traditional, often narrowly-held, Catholic views. In a word, women religious leaders need to keep their ideas to themselves and simply follow the dictates and directions of Rome. Anything less than this position will be met with censure, public embarrassment, heavy-handedness, and even potential expulsion.

The LCWR leadership may have expressed surprise and confusion at the report from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) but, frankly, women like us were not surprised. All of us (now former members) have lived many years in religious communities and have witnessed cruel and punitive treatment of women religious who have taken courageous public stands to defend the poor, medically vulnerable, and the targeted victims of society, including homosexuals. As you know and may not fully appreciate, religious communities of women have been the central providers of charitable services, including hospitals, schools and parish ministries, and have been in the forefront of social justice causes including efforts at world peace and an end to oppression in all its many forms. For these selfless and tireless efforts, their faith and integrity is called into question.

The Vatican has failed to recognize the changes that have gone on in the church at large and American society in general for the past 40 to 50 years. Catholic institutions that were once a major force in American society in the 1950s have slowly given way to a more pluralistic and diverse cultural milieu. Catholics who once graciously and unquestioning submitted to Church authority, obedience and order have left the church in great numbers. In our lifetime, we have seen that the church no longer holds center stage; people in Western society question authority and realize that our broader understanding of the universe and its institutions are evolving to better respond to the world around us.