IRELAND
Irish Central
Tom Deignan @irishcentral October 01,2014
Perhaps the most damning sign that Pope Francis’ honeymoon is over was a recent essay published in Harper’s magazine entitled “Francis and the Nuns.”
The essay was written by Mary Gordon, a novelist and longtime observer of Irish Catholics in America.
“At least since the priesthood was first shaken by the sexual-abuse scandal two decades ago, and perhaps even before then, America’s nuns have been the de facto leaders of the country’s liberal Catholics, especially those more interested in social justice than in holding the Vatican’s line on sexual politics,” Gordon wrote.
“Like Francis himself, these women have been reprimanded for failing to give sufficient attention to abortion, contraception, and gay marriage. Their choice to focus instead on the needs of the poor has been met with heavy-handed behavior both from Rome and from U.S. bishops.
“If the new pope were serious about shifting the Church’s attention, one sign might be his treatment of these women… But a year and a half into his papacy, Pope Francis is looking an awful lot like his predecessors.”
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