8/2/2013 - To support LCWR: prayer at Vatican Embassy, and letter to Pope Francis suggesting an active relationship with LCWR
We asked ourselves: what can we do this summer to support LCWR? Our answer: pray for this important Assembly when LCWR members come together in Orlando August 13-17; and write to encourage Pope Francis to recognize LCWR for the ally it can be in his efforts to renew the church in the United States. Because of his past kindness, we hoped that the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, would join us in prayer and convey our letter. And so, on August 2, we had an experience of prayerful hope and harmony at the Vatican Embassy. And our letter is on its way to the Vatican. And the prayer service is available for your use, now or later.
Archbishop Viganò once again welcomed us most graciously to the Vatican Embassy. He had reviewed and accepted the prayer service that we had written. Together, he and we and members of the Nunciature staff came together in song, prayer, and reflection.
The prayers of the faithful are almost entirely created of quotes from LCWR speakers over the past few years, and our reflection centers on quotes from Pope Francis and Sister Pat Farrell. We deeply appreciated the prayerful reflection that the Nuncio offered during the service.
Our full prayer service, plus the reflection we gave, and also the participant handout, are available for your revision and use. Maybe your bishop or pastor would be willing to participate with you in similar prayer for LCWR. With a few tweaks of tenses and prayers of the faithful, the service could be easily modified for use during the Assembly or any time at all.
Archbishop Viganò also accepted our letter to Pope Francis, to be conveyed through Cardinal João Braz de Aviz of the Vatican Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL, also known as the Congregation for Religious). Our letter to Pope Francis greets him warmly and encourages him to create an active relationship with LCWR, which is a natural ally in his efforts to renew the church, given the deep spirituality of LCWR and its sisters, their theological understanding, and their decades of expertise in renewal of their own diverse congregations. We also ask him to include women on the various groups he is appointing to advise him on church renewal and reform.
Our cover letter to Cardinal Braz de Aviz asks him to give our letter to Pope Francis. We note our fear that Pope Francis and some others in Rome mistrust the faithfulness of LCWR, and we address specific concerns. And we thank him for the warmth, honesty, and openness that he brings to his work in the Vatican and for religious congregations.
Thanks to the extraordinary kindness and talented work of two friends of Solidarity with Sisters, the letter to Pope Francis was provided to him in both his native Spanish and in English, and the letter to Cardinal Braz de Aviz in his native Portuguese and in English.
Archbishop Viganò once again welcomed us most graciously to the Vatican Embassy. He had reviewed and accepted the prayer service that we had written. Together, he and we and members of the Nunciature staff came together in song, prayer, and reflection.
The prayers of the faithful are almost entirely created of quotes from LCWR speakers over the past few years, and our reflection centers on quotes from Pope Francis and Sister Pat Farrell. We deeply appreciated the prayerful reflection that the Nuncio offered during the service.
Our full prayer service, plus the reflection we gave, and also the participant handout, are available for your revision and use. Maybe your bishop or pastor would be willing to participate with you in similar prayer for LCWR. With a few tweaks of tenses and prayers of the faithful, the service could be easily modified for use during the Assembly or any time at all.
Archbishop Viganò also accepted our letter to Pope Francis, to be conveyed through Cardinal João Braz de Aviz of the Vatican Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL, also known as the Congregation for Religious). Our letter to Pope Francis greets him warmly and encourages him to create an active relationship with LCWR, which is a natural ally in his efforts to renew the church, given the deep spirituality of LCWR and its sisters, their theological understanding, and their decades of expertise in renewal of their own diverse congregations. We also ask him to include women on the various groups he is appointing to advise him on church renewal and reform.
Our cover letter to Cardinal Braz de Aviz asks him to give our letter to Pope Francis. We note our fear that Pope Francis and some others in Rome mistrust the faithfulness of LCWR, and we address specific concerns. And we thank him for the warmth, honesty, and openness that he brings to his work in the Vatican and for religious congregations.
Thanks to the extraordinary kindness and talented work of two friends of Solidarity with Sisters, the letter to Pope Francis was provided to him in both his native Spanish and in English, and the letter to Cardinal Braz de Aviz in his native Portuguese and in English.