UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter
EDITORIAL
Now that the quaintly named apostolic visitation of U.S. women religious is over and the current leadership of the Vatican agency that oversees religious orders has decided that the women are worthy of praise, admiration and gratitude, it is quite appropriate to ask: “What was that all about?”
The investigation can now be seen for the sham it was, and we as a church should be ashamed of the abuse these faithful women suffered because of it. They deserve an apology.
In the final analysis, it is apparent that the investigation of U.S. women religious by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life was far more about what’s wrong with the male clerical culture than anything worrisome about the sisters. The wrong group in the church was placed under scrutiny. Actually, that fact was apparent from the start.
The genesis of the investigation can be traced to worn-out memes from a relatively tiny corner of the church, where ultraconservatives are convinced that the decline in numbers of sisters and priests is, first, disastrous for religious life in general, and two, caused by the orders abandoning old modes of dress and practice, and if only those practices and garb were restored, the numbers would soar again.
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