VATICAN CITY
The New York Times
THE ASSOCIATED PRESSAPRIL 16, 2015
The Vatican unexpectedly ended its takeover of the main umbrella group of American nuns on Thursday, signaling a shift in tone and treatment under Pope Francis.
The Vatican said it had accepted a final report on its overhaul of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and declared that the “implementation of the mandate has been accomplished.”
When the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith took over the religious group in 2012, it accused the group of taking positions that undermined Catholic teaching on the priesthood and homosexuality while promoting “certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith.”
It envisioned a five-year overhaul to fix what it called a “grave” doctrinal crisis, fueled by concerns among American conservatives that the group had strayed from church teaching by not focusing enough on issues like abortion and euthanasia. The Vatican appointed a bishop to oversee rewriting the statutes of the religious group, which represents 80 percent of the 57,000 Roman Catholic nuns in the United States, reviewing all its plans and programs — including approving speakers — and ensuring the organization properly followed Catholic prayer and ritual.
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