News Archive - 2015


Blog post: A personal "non-method" of contemplation

Reflections on the LCWR-SHARE pilgrimage to El Salvador (Nov.-Dec. 2015) to honor the four churchwomen murdered there in 1980 --  by Carol K. Colburn and by Rhonda Miska. Also - recent deportation from Florida to El Salvador of former Salvadoran defense minister who "played a key role in the murders of Archbishop Oscar Romero, four U.S. churchwomen and 1,000 defenseless peasants of the village of El Mozote."
Mary E. Hunt declares "a state of theological emergency: Trump's ignorance must not be ours." Act now to learn and educate about Islam and our Islamic neighbors -- even as a new poll says that Donald Trump's popularity has increased since he proposed barring Muslims from entering the USA.

Many, many new and timely prayers for justice, peace, and healing at our Prayers in Challenging Times. More added often. Send us yours to add.

LCWR's Transformational Leadership book is "an absolute gem of a book"  - "We are not offered theories and exhortations, but concrete examples (parables) of how [transformational leadership] looks in practice and of the many learnings gained by the experiences," says Marist Fr. Ted Keating in his review in InFormation, the bulletin of the Religious Formation Conference. RFC has been fostering education and formation for women and men religious for 60 years. Rhonda Miska, in her review in Global Sisters report, notes how specific interviews in the book "pose rich, thought-provoking questions and point to...habits, skills and attitudes characteristic of this leadership, which flows out of a way of life grounded in community, contemplation and attentiveness to 'the signs of the times.'"

Sr. Nancy Sylvester asks us to re-imagine Christmas and Incarnation - to stretch beyond the polemics of "differences" and know Incarnation within and among us.

These Chicago sisters who are preparing to welcome Syrian refugee family into their home. LCWR's new resolution urges us all to welcome Syrian refugees, and concisely and clearly says why.

The number of women in leadership positions at the Vatican is increasing.

It's official: the difference between a sister and a nun, from A Nun's Life blog. Also at LCWR and Sisters-Background.
LCWR and SHARE in pilgrimage to El Salvador to remember the martyrdom 35 years ago of US Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel, lay missionary Jean Donovan and Maryknoll Sisters Maura Clarke and Ita Ford. 80 delegates, half lay, half women religious. Nov. 28-Dec. 5, 2015. It was part pilgrimage to sites of martyrdom (US Churchwomen, Archbishop Romero, Jesuits and co-workers) and part learning about the current situation in the country, the roots of migration, and how women's and social movement groups are building justice-base alternatives to poverty – with fantastic people as companions.

Use LCWR resources and join their work to end detention of immigrant families. Brief info and actions to take on Immigration Enforcement and Family Detention – Infographic on the Obstacles for Families Seeking Asylum and Due Process in the US – “End Family Detention” poster for Twitter or Facebook

10/19/15 - “Hidden in Plain Sight: Human Trafficking in the US - Sisters' networks and ministries break the cycle one life at a time." - from Global Sisters Report’s Dawn-Cherie Araujo. Well written combination of info and stories. Important article.

10/15/15 - Happy 225th anniversary to Baltimore Carmelites, arrived in USA 10/15/1790. Mary McGuinness' brief early history of US contemplative nuns has some fascinating surprises.

Immaculate Heart of Mary Sister Nancy Sylvester on "Noisy Contemplation" as she reflects on recent events.

10/12/15 – Is this news to everybody, or just to me? The Synod is not a meeting of the bishops about a particular topic. The Synod of Bishops is a permanent structure within the church to advise the pope and, if granted this authority by the pope, it can not only advise but make decisions. The pope calls the synod into session whenever he wishes for ordinary, extraordinary, or special assemblies. Thank you, NCR and Robert Michens.

10/1/15 (catching up) – Feminist theologian Mary E. Hunt on “Catholic news we missed while stalking the pope,” including the Philadelphia meeting of 500 people from 20 countries for the 40th anniversary of the Women’s Ordination Conference. Presenters included Dr. Hunt, Sister Theresa Kane, Sister Maureen Fiedler, and Shaneen Dee Williams (upcoming book: Subversive Habits: Black Nuns and the Long Struggle to Desegregate Catholic America).

10/8/15 - 6 things that would be different if LCWR had planned the Synod, in Betty's blog

10/7/15 - Church-history expert Phyllis Zagano applies current and historical insight to Archbishop Durocher’s call for ordination of women deacons.

10/7/15 - Theologian Mary E. Hunt sees "Synod system stacked against women," with bonus brief canon law lesson on why delegates from male religious orders vote and the synod and those from female orders can't.

Visitation Sisters in Minneapolis open their doors to welcome neighbors into their contemplative way of life, offer neighbor children playtime, prayer, and hospitality, and more. Part of Global Sisters Report’s 6-part series on contemplative religious life.

Want an evening of spiritual refreshment with people nationwide? By phone or in person, be part of the monthly hour of communal contemplation on Monday 10/12 7:30pm, with the Women’s Alliance for Theology and Ethics (Silver Spring, MD). For me, it was like that drink of fresh spring water that Sister Janet Mock described at the LCWR Assembly in August.

44 women from around the world speak to the Synod on Family in a new book, Catholic Women Speak: Bringing Our Voices to the Table. Many perspectives, e.g., Italian historian Lucetta Scaraffia (an appointed non-voting auditor at the Synod) says the absence of women in Church decision-making is like “breathing with only one lung.” From the foreward: “"Pope Francis has repeatedly said that he wants a "messy" Church, a Church that is not afraid to take risks in order to live the joyous adventure of faith. This book expresses the messy realities of women's lives, realities that challenge the Church's current practice in many ways, realities that the Church must acknowledge in order to communicate the Gospel to future generations." USA authors include St. Joseph Sisters Elizabeth Johnson and Christine Schenk, Lisa Sowle Cahill, Mercy Sr. Margaret Farley, Rhonda Miska. Order through publisher Paulist Press, Amazon, etc. NCR reviews book as “compelling, expansive, diverse.”

Theologian Mary E. Hunt, in Baltimore Sun Op-Ed on Pope Francis’ USA visit: “There is a disconnect between the pope's rhetoric about equality and the institutional Roman Catholic Church's practice with regard to women…. It was hard to miss that Pope Francis' organization is virtually all male-led…. To be a decision-maker in Catholicism requires ordination.” She also calls for strong Papal action on sex abuse, with compassion for victims, strict accountability for complicit bishops, and for an end to the “gay charade” in the Church.

Reflecting on Pope Francis’ visit, St. Joseph Sister Christine Schenk asks: “Why wasn’t a woman invited to preside at a papal prayer service? ...Our common prayer needs to mirror the whole church, not just those gifted with a Y chromosome.”

Powerful Carmelite and Ignatian insight into “Christ Consciousness: Part 1” video (57:22) with Carmelite Sister Constance Fitzgerald and Jesuit Father Brian McDermott, part of Baltimore Carmel’s day of recollection for its 225th anniversary.

Pope Francis' visit to the USA:

- Praise and "love" for women religious - America, NCR Global Sisters Report: “What would the church be without you?” he asked. “Women of strength, fighters, with that spirit of courage, which puts you in the front lines in the proclamation of the Gospel — you, religious women, sisters and mothers of this people, I wish to say ‘thank you.’”

- Joan Chittister's letter to Pope Francis affirms him, asks his attention on women. Please read the whole letter, superb. "You have become for us a powerful reminder of the Jesus who walked among the crowds listening to them, loving them—healing them... You refuse to allow us to forget the inhumanity of the barrios everywhere, the homeless on bank steps, the overworked, the underpaid, the enslaved, the migrant, the vulnerable and those invisible to the mighty of this era...  But there is a second issue lurking under the first that you yourself may need to give new and serious attention to as well. The truth is that women are the poorest of the poor.... It is impossible, Holy Father, to be serious about doing anything for the poor and at the same time do little or nothing for women. I implore you to do for the women of the world and the church what Jesus did for Mary who bore him, for the women of Jerusalem.... and for the deaconesses and leaders of the house churches of the early church. Until then, Holy Father, nothing can really change for their hungry children and their inhuman living conditions.We're glad you are here to speak to these things. We trust you to change them, starting with the Church itself."

- Where were the women? - Thomas Fox in NCR on Pope Francis' arrival at DC airport: "Thirty feet, at least, of clerics, bishops all, dressed in robes, sashes blowing in the wind. Where were the women? The laypeople? Where were the Catholic sisters? As symbols speak, they said U.S. society had changed, but our church had not."

- A Church that dreams of rights for women can be great, too. - Jamie Manson in NCR: "How could Francis not hear the irony of his own statement? He leads a church of one billion people — an institution that refuses to allow its members to discuss, let alone dream of, the idea that God calls women to full authority and decision-making power in the church."

- Pope Francis' Speeches in USA
        -- At White House welcoming ceremonies. Full text.
        -- At prayer service at St. Matthew's Cathedral, Washington, DC, Pope Francis urges bishops to be shepherds in unity and dialogue. Full text.
        -- To Congress, US Capitol, Washington, DC, Pope Francis "touched on many themes including the need for politics to serve the common good, the importance of cooperation and solidarity, the dangers of fundamentalism, the refugee crisis, abolition of the death penalty, the need for courageous acts to avert environmental deterioration, the evils of the arms trade and threats to the family from within and without. During his speech he also mentioned four great Americans from the past, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton, saying that each of them helped build a better future for the people of the U.S." Full text.
        -- With homeless people at St. Patrick's Church in Washington, DC. Full text.
        -- At Mass at Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC, canonizing Fr. Junipero Serra. Full text of homily.
        -- At unscheduled visit to the Little Sisters of the Poor, Washington, DC. Report.
        -- At Vespers at St. Patrick's Basilica, NYC, with priests and religious. Full text.
        -- At Ground Zero in NYC, Pope Francis asks families to be instruments of peace.   Full text.
        -- To UN staff, Pope Francis asks them to care for one another. Full text.
        -- At the United Nations General assembly in NYC, Pope Francis calls for concerted action in service.  Full text.

CUA professor Linda Donaldson: four ways to apply LCWR's spiritual leadership in professional life, for the North American Association of Christians in Social Work

CNN interviews Sister Donna Markham, head of Catholic Charities USA, on women in the US church today
9/18/15 - Bishop Francis Quinn, retired bishop of Sacramento, CA, voices support for ordination of women. "Might we hope someday that the Holy Spirit will inspire the church to interpret the Bible differently? The Holy Spirit has inspired the church to change some very significant things in history. “I don’t want to bypass what the popes are saying at this point, but I think it’s going in that direction,” he said. “It’s not here, but it’s going in that direction.” All his words are powerful and pastoral re the Synod on Family in October in Rome.

9/18/15 - Theologian Mary E. Hunt celebrates "10 reasons to celebrate 40 years of women's ordination" at Women's Ordination Worldwide conference in Philadelphia.
9/15/15 - Abbie Reese on her 10-year oral-history collaboration with cloistered Colettine nuns at the Corpus Christi Monastery in Rockford, Illinois, leading to her 2014 book, Dedicated to God: An Oral History of Cloistered Nuns

9/6/15 - Just found this valuable 5/15/15 post-mandate interview with LCWR then-president Sister Marcia Allen. Quoting the article: “This was the first time in the history of the Church that people being investigated were asked to draft a report on their own investigation. It was the first time that the (Vatican) investigators worked with the people being investigated to arrive at a mutual agreement.... We were amazed that Cardinal Müller accepted it.” But, she added, in their meetings in Rome, “He couldn’t have been more gracious and complimentary.” Sister Marcia also said it’s important to note that the final report “is just that: A report, not a mandate. It’s not what we must do; it’s what we are doing.”

9/5/15 - "What is the future of religious life?" says the intro in America magazine. Marist Brother Sean Sammon addresses "Religious life reimagined: Looking for opportunity in a misunderstood vocation crisis." Women religious have been working in context of the realities and directions that he addresses and advocates. See LCWR's 2014 and 2015 books on Spiritual Leadership for Challenging Times (presidential addresses over 5 decades) and Transformational Leadership (interviews focused on community, transitions, and leadership). 

9/4/15 - Pope Francis thanked all US sisters in this brief clip from 9/4/15 ABC's Good Morning America. He speaks directly to the director of Catholic Charities for the Rio Grande Valley, Sister Norma Pimentel. The full 3-city "virtual audience" with Pope Francis was broadcast in the special "2020" show on ABC 9/4/15.

9/3/15 - Important, timely modeling of healing across divisions, including race. Recognizing their shared co-founder, four congregations (Immaculate Heart of Mary sisters of Monroe, HI; Scranton, PA; and Immaculata, PA; and Oblate Sisters of Providence of Baltimore) began a healing process 20 years ago. It's still  underway.  IHM Sister Nancy Sylvester reflects on the wide range of "authentic" choice. Reporter Dawn Cherie Araujo looks at the challenges of the historical racial gap between IHMs and Oblates. Dawn Araujo: "The process of healing...could only be done by facing our past, by admitting the hurts and wrongs and then trying to work toward healing." Sr. Nancy: When is it "authentic" to "remain faithful to the original vision? ...face dissolution? ...accept unjust demands? ...go somewhere new and begin again? ...live in exile in hopes of restoring a vision? ...make changes that touch one's deepest self? ...respond to the Spirit with zest and move into the unknown?"

New book on Daughters of Charity as nurses during the Civil War, including sisters' diaries and memoirs, by Daughter of Charity Sister Betty Ann McNeil. Sisters have been changing the world for a LONG time.
8/26/15 - Carol Stanton says "A case-study review of the LCWR-CDF process could benefit whole church"
8/26/15 - 4th Nuns on the Bus tour 9/10-22/15 will aim to create conversations in places with strong political divides: Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, ending in DC as Pope Francis arrives. Sister Simone Campbell and others will listen to Americans on the economic margins and collect video clips of their stories that she will try to get to Congress, and also to the pope ahead of his visit so Francis will be able to hear from “folks that he wouldn’t otherwise be able to see, or hear from.”
8/24/15 - Sister Anne Lythgoe responds with strong, vivid comments to 8/22/15 NCR editorial: LCWR and the Vatican: Relations were fixed, not transformed. Sr. Anne notes that "Two thousand years of clerical corruption is not changed by one instance of resistance.... We were able to move the chasm of culture a small step."

8/20/15 - Excellent summary and analysis of Pope Francis as prophet who gets things done, by Sr. Christine Schenk
8/18/15 - Did LCWR sell out to Vatican? LCWR Assembly participant Sr. Maureen Fiedler says no - LCWR status and authority is same as before the mandate. Ken Briggs seems to take opposing view, but he wasn't there.2015 LCWR ASSEMBLY  HAPPENINGS - key linksBrief video of LCWR Assembly


Assembly theme - description - and links to all speeches on LCWR website.

 LCWR's press statement about what happened at the Assembly: "LCWR Assembly examines key challenges and opportunities"

LCWR photos from the Assembly

Under the headings below are the LCWR full texts plus links to news coverage and tweets for each item.

Re news coverage: National Catholic Reporter's Global Sisters Report seems to have been the only news source at the Assembly! Thanks to its editors and to Dawn Cherie Araujo and Dan Stockman for fine reporting. GSR has created one spot with links to most, but not all, of its Assembly reports and stories, and a separate webpage with links to day-by-day tweets from the Assembly, mostly by Dawn Cherie Araujo. For some reason, Dan Stockman's tweets (which are also excellent, and of course somewhat different) are mostly not  in this summary. (You can read the tweets without joining Twitter.) Tweets give great feel for the Assembly, and sometimes additional details.

Assembly addresses & actions - full text posted  by LCWR - articles/reports - and Tweets

Opening session: Houston-Galveston Cardinal Daniel DiNardo praised the 1000 Texas women religious, mentioning their work in immigration, human trafficking, education. The diocese recently opened 4 new grade schools and one h.s.

Opening session: Fr. Hank Lemoncelli, from the Vatican, got applause for "I've been to three LCWR assemblies, and each time it gets easier. This time I feel at home." He read a letter from his boss, Cardinal Braz de Aviz of the Congregation for Religious, that thanked the sisters for their cooperation over the last few years (which included the LCWR doctrinal assessment and US apostolic visitation, mostly of LCWR congregations).

Opening Session: Sr. Janet Mock's opening reflection FULL TEXT
          - NCR Global Sisters Report article "'Meeting the Thirsts of the World' opens with relaxed tone"
          - Tweets (brief real-time reports and comments sent via Twitter) for Day One

Sr. Sharon Holland's presidential address: Attitudes of Heart and Mind FULL TEXT
          - NCR Global Sisters Report article "A new era of communion with Vatican closes 'cultural chasm'"
          - Tweets for Day Two

Sr. Janet Mock's keynote address: Surprised by Joy: Springs of the Great Deep Illuminating Religious Life FULL TEXT  
           - NCR Global Sisters Report article "Changing reality of religious life takes stage at LCWR conference"
           - Tweets for Day Two

Contemplation, Dialogue, and Discernment (PowerPoint presentation)

Fr. Steve Bevans' keynote address: The Spirit Moving Over the Great Deep: The World's Thirsts, Our Response FULL TEXT
           - NCR Global Sisters Report article "Quench the thirsts of the world by focusing on the Holy Spirit"
           - Tweets for Day Three

LCWR Elections
           - New LCWR President Elect is Mary Pellegrino, a Sister of St. Joseph from Baden, PA -- same congregation as Sr. Janet Mock, former LCWR executive director.
                        - NCR Global Sisters Report article "Sr. Mary Pelligrino becomes LCWR's new president-elect"
           - Sr. Carol Zinn (2014-15 Past President) leaves the LCWR collaborative presidency.
           - Sr. Sharon Holland (2014-15 President) became Past President.
           - Sr. Marcia Allen (2014-15 President Elect) became President.
           - Sr. Mary Beth Gianoli was elected Secretary for a second term.

LCWR Resolution to address systemic causes of injustice (full text not yet available)
          - Video shown at Assembly: "Mothers and Children in Detention" (10:33)
          - NCR Global Sisters Report article "In latest justice resolution, U.S. sisters recommit to ending family detention"
          - Tweets for Day Four

A Conversation with Sr. Janet Mock and Fr. Steve Bevans, moderated by LCWR communications director Sr. Annmarie Sanders - important questions asked and answered
          - NCR Global Sisters Report article "LCWR reviews its own steadiness, finds ability to build relationships where
            trust could grow"
          - Tweets for Day Four

Sr. Janet Mock received LCWR Outstanding Leadership Award - FULL TEXT of her acceptance speech
          - Video about Sr. Janet (not yet available from LCWR)
          - NCR Global Sisters Report article "Sr. Janet Mock: 'Everything I learned about leadership, I learned from you'."

Video of 900 sisters singing their thanks to Assembly hotel and banquet staff, thanks to Dan Stockman of Global Sisters Report

General reports on the Assembly:

- Reporter's Notebook from LCWR Assembly: Best-laid plans, LGBT outreach, new officers - Dan Stockman

Thoughtful, perceptive commentary on LCWR and women religious published during the Assembly:

- 8/14/15 - Professor Carol K. Coburn: "Uneasy alliance: A look back at American sisters and clerical authority" - superb review of historical tensions and the various strategies that women religious have used since the 1800s

- 8/14/15 - Sister Tracy Kemme: "Beyond Middle Space" - important perspectives from young women religious claiming their part in the future of religious life

- 8/12/15 - Sr. Kathleen Duffy: "Apostolic Visitation: Sisters learn from the starlings" - like a primer on community - how to have both  unity and exquisite sensitivity to change.

- 8/10/15 - Richard Guillardetz: "Pope Francis acknowledges women religious as allies, not adversaries" - excellent insight and history re different kinds of authority in the church.

A few summaries of Assembly speeches above (before I ran out of time)

Sr. Sharon Holland, outgoing LCWR president, spoke about the experience of working with the bishops and the Vatican to resolve the LCWR doctrinal assessment. NCR's Global Sisters Reporter Dan Stockman writes that "A new communion era with Vatican closes 'cultural chasm.'" Excellent tweets from GSR's Dawn Cherie Araujo, including:

Sr. Sharon Holland, LCWR president 2014-15: The apostolic visitation and doctrinal assessment stemmed from a "cultural chasm" in ecclesial communion. A lay woman told John Paul II in '87 that when women ask questions, they are not rebelling. The woman realized that normal behavior for American woman can be perceived as disrespectful in other cultures.

The CDF assessment considered LCWR's sense of church "diminishing." Many of us found that offensive. The problem was that certain impressions of LCWR had been hardened into fact without exploration of truth. But we have to realize that we are prone to do the same thing.

Holland is now specifically addressing the mandate. It was difficult, but "staying at the table" was a positive experience. Holland thanks the LCWR membership for their collaboration, allowing for confidentially during the process. The membership allowed for a "safe place" for dialogue.

Holland: the photo with Francis and the *joint* report with the CDF show the changing relationship with the Vatican. The mandate final report was truly a joint report, and LCWR was the primary author. The cultural chasm is closing, as the method and content of the report illustrate.

Holland: I was taken aback when someone asked what LCWR was going to do now that the mandate was over. (The sisters laughed.) LCWR will continue to address social justice and provide services for communities in transition. The LCWR Call [on LCWR website] outlines the future of the conference. LCWR's attitude going forward can be found in Pope Francis' "Evangelii gaudium." That attitude is joy, mercy, care and praise. Holland concludes with two imperatives for LCWR membership: Avanti! Laudato Si! [Forward! Praise be to You!]


Sister Janet Mock, former LCWR executive director, gave a keynote on the theme of this year's Assembly: Springs from the Great Deep Illuminating Religious Life. The "Great Deep" refers to the vast ocean of water early Israelites believed was under the Earth. LCWR is using the term to refer to the vast reservoir of wisdom available through the contemplative life.

Mock says that during the CDF Mandate, there were "moments when we were rendered silent." "There simply were no authentic words to speak, and we feared for our life as an organization..." "More, we feared for the life of the Church."

Mock: You are the women for these times. An imperative for you as leaders is to name what God is asking of you today. Religious life will be very different than it was in the past.

My takeaway from the last three years is a greater desire to dive into the activity to God but to know when to step down. We must let go of the days when we do everything we want by ourselves. There's no room for superstars.

There are 1,200 women in initial formation; half in CMSWR congregations and half in LCWR congregations. If even half make final vows, that's twice the number of sisters who came to the U.S. in the 1800s.

Mock: If these women are not intellectually and spiritually prepared, they will not be sitting at these tables as leaders. Mock asks what if congregations work together to address the needs of a new generation of women religious. ""We must find a way to do together what many communities cannot do alone in order to secure religious life in the future." Mock speaking of investment Sr. Margaret Brennan made in IHM Monroe sisters, who went on to become scholars and leaders. "Who will be prepared to teach us in ten years? Few communities today have the resources to educate their members to this degree." But together, Mock says, we can create a national endowment to educate sisters, or other creative ideas.

"Across this country, Motherhouses are already centers for apostolic life and renewal. People come to be nourished spiritually." "Isn't that precisely what we experienced after the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued the mandate to LCWR?" "Were not people saying to us, 'We want to go with you since we have learned that God is with you'?" Mock says @LCWR_US received 100,000 letters of support from people thanking sisters and standing with them during CDF Mandate.

Mock compares religious life today to risen body of Christ. It looks different but is recognized by the way it moves. Mock: We are smaller but wiser and more mature."The activity of God is with the risen body - being a presence, living with moral authority and always, always with and for the poor." "The images of the mean nun with the ruler or the picture of the giddy naive sister are shattered and must never be reassembled."

Applause as Mock says we cannot rest until all trace of misogyny is erased from our institutions. Mock: Misogyny is a sin against the full revelation of God.

We are a small instrument in the orchestra of the cosmos, but "Let us never stop playing our part." "May we religious be what Caryll Houselander called Mary so long ago — a steady, faithful reed of God."

8/11/15 - "Younger sisters are preparing to be the change in religious life." Last week, 60 women religious under age 50 met in the annual "Giving Voice" national gathering. They "explore[d] spiritual themes touching on what it means to be the other in community — either because of age or ethnicity, noting that the Baby Boomers currently in leadership often see the younger sisters and immigrant sisters as being on the margins of religious life.
        "But being on the margin is a hermeneutical privilege, Park said. 'We have a keen perspective, and from the margins of religious life, you can provide new perspectives.'
         ..."'How can I put together our legacy with this moment? What is the way to work together? Because we have many generations.”

8/7/15 – LCWR Assembly Aug. 11-15 to include PUBLIC session where 800 sisters discuss past issues, what’s next, per Dan Stockman in NCR’s Global Sisters Report

8/6/15 - In NCR's Global Sisters Report, a member of Solidarity with Sisters responds to Sister Jeannine Gramick's belief that LCWR "chose secrecy and self-silencing" in its response to the mandate. Betty Thompson tells why she thinks  LCWR and Sister Jeannine each chose prophetically, in very different circumstances.
8/5/15 - Theologian Mary E. Hunt: "Pope Francis a feminist? Not!"

New LCWR book coming from Orbis on 9/1/15 - Transformational Leadership: Conversations with the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (also available on Amazon), edited by Annmarie Sanders, LCWR director of communications and a Sister of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Scranton, PA. These 18 interviews with prominent leadership gurus and inspiring leaders were originally published separately for LCWR women religious. If you've wondered how LCWR was able to move with unity, integrity and courage through the past very difficult years, here's a practical guidebook to apply in our own lives.It can serve as a practical guidebook to apply in our own lives the remarkable way of leadership that enabled LCWR to move with integrity and courage through the past very difficult years of the CDF mandate. "In this volume of interviews, eighteen theologians, psychologists, educators, and religious leaders from various fields and disciplines share their wisdom about a way of leadership able to meet the deep challenges of today’s world. Transformational Leadership offers the opportunity to learn from notables such as Walter Brueggemann, Judy Cannato, Joan Chittister, OSB, Constance FitzGerald, OCD, Donald Goergen, OP, Marty Linsky, and Margaret Wheatley. Transformational Leadership, although originally addressed to American Catholic sisters, provides thoughtful and practical suggestions for living a Gospel-centered life and its unique collection of personalities and insight makes it of interest to all men and women seeking to live and lead with purpose and depth."

7/27/15 - Sister of Loretto Jeannine Gramick on LCWR-CDF resolution: "A case of secrecy and self-silencing"

Margaret McCarthy and Mary Ann Zollman on "Power of Sisterhood: Women Religious Tell the Story of the Apostolic Visitation" audio (54:03) and also text. McCarthy and Zollman, who is a Sister of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary,  co-edited the 2014 book of the same title, reported by NCR Global Sisters Report and reviewed there by Jan Cebula and also by the Loretto Community. The June 10, 2015 talk was sponsored by the Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual as part of its WATERtalks series on Feminist Conversations in Religion.

Sister of St. Joseph Chris Schenk on LCWR-CDF resolution: "For US sisters, ordinary Catholics made a way where there was no way"

5/27-29: EWTN interviews with LCWR past & current presidents, and with Bishop Paprocki. 
5/27 - Bishop Paprocki (starts 18:17).
5/28 - LCWR past and current presidents.
5/29 - more LCWR presidents and Bishop Paprocki.

Review in Theological Studies of LCWR 2014 book Spiritual Leadership for Challenging Times, reviewed by Mary Novak of Georgetown University - and of Solidarity with Sisters.
5/15/15 - LCWR speaks out after 30 day silence:

4/27 - Dr. Margaret Susan Thompson, historian of US women religious matters, reflects on the end of the mandate in The Tablet

4/24 - Theologian Mary E. Hunt on the Vatican-LCWR settlement, the Vatican-LCWR relationship, and systemic equality for women in the church. This is nuanced, solid, and important. Worth reading the whole thing.

4/23 - The bishops of India are working "to achieve gender equality" at every level of the Catholic church in India. By Christine Schenk in NCR.

4/23 - Ten great quotes from women religious, and a 1-minute video of women religious at work around the world, from NCR's Global Sisters Report on its first anniversary. (GSR welcomes your stories and story ideas.)

4/23 - The Guardian asks women religious to tell their stories.

4/22 - "Pope has done little to upend status quo on gender and sex, say advocates" including prominent Catholic feminist theologians and advocates for women's rights in the church. Those quoted include Mary E. Hunt, feminist theologian and co-director of the Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual; Jamie Manson, an editor at NCR; the Nun Justice Project, a coalition of women's-rights groups including the Women's Ordination Conference, Rosemary Radford Reuther, a prominent feminist theologian. Systemic issues haven't been addressed. The resolution of the mandate didn't include appropriate Vatican regret and apology for the unwarranted pain and resource-misdirection, leaves open the possibility of future investigations, and doesn't repudiate the Vatican's notion that feminism is a bad idea. The commenters also believe that the Joint Final Agreement's lack of precision about theological review of LCWR publications, and modifications in how LCWR Assembly speakers and award recipients are chosen, means that "the men are still in control." [I don't make the same assessment about publications, speakers, and award recipients; I think LCWR wiill establish its own revised processes. We'll know more in a month, when LCWR is free to speak about the Joint Final Agreement. The Vatican, the former bishop-delegates, and LCWR have set a 30-day no-comment period.]

4/21 - LCWR book Spiritual Leadership for Challenging Times is named finalist for 2015 Excellence in Publishing Awards of the Association of Catholic Publishers, in the category Resources for Ministry. The awards will be made at the Religious Booksellers Trade Exhibit in St. Charles, Illinois, on May 26-28, 2015.

4/20 - The CDF and the LCWR: Postgame Analysis by Mollie Wilson O'Reilly in Commonweal provides her own fine analysis as well as thoughtful commentary on negative and conservative reactions to the Joint Final Report. She concludes: "That the mandate has concluded in a way that allows all sides to walk away with no mortal wounds is something to be happy about. But if these gentle reforms, so hard to distinguish from “Keep up the good work,” are what the CDF sought all along, who can defend the hostility of their initial assault on the conference? If a conversation held in an atmosphere of mutual respect with the goal of greater understanding was the desired outcome, then simply initiating such a conversation would have been a good way for the CDF to start. That the whole episode did not end with another polarizing show of authority is a good thing for everyone. It would have been much better, though, if it hadn’t started out that way."
4/20 - The Spoiled Victory of the LCWR by Ken Briggs in NCRonline: "While it doesn't please me one bit to see this outcome as strengthening the status quo, I believe that's what it amounts to." [My view: Mr. Briggs' views are tempting because they're familiar. LCWR's way invites us to join them in transformation that's bigger than politics of confrontation that the Vatican started with. To the extent that we learn and use LCWR's way, we can keep those seeds growing.]
4/20 - LCWR leaders call Vatican meetings "rich," conversational - story by NCR's Joshua McElwee about LCWR's meetings last week in Rome - "very rich" conversations - "impressed at the universality of their concern" at the various Vatican congregations they met with - "unbelievable experience" of meeting with Pope Francis.

4/17 - Timeline: The long and contentious duel between Rome and American nuns, by David Gibson. Summarizes the story from April 2008 through April 2015.

4/17 - Sylvia Poggioli audio on NPR reports on the sudden end of the Vatican mandate
4/17 - The truest reflection on LCWR anywhere:  Anne Regan in our blog
4/17 - Going Forward: LCWR and the Doctrinal Assessment Dan Stockman, Global Sisters Report

DC info: Sunday 4/24 2-5 pm at Trinity Univ., DC: film will honor 10-year anniversary of Sr. Dorothy Stang's murder in the Amazon rain forest

Thoughtful reflection on Papal silence and the role of women in the Church (and more) by Anne E. Patrick
4/16 - Strong support, good insights in New York Times, endorsing LCWR's way of conteomplative, communal reflection as powerful choice. Also - a related Betty's blog
4/16 - 4 reasons "Why the Vatican's crackdownon nuns ended happily" by John L. Allen at Crux: it was generated by US cardinals in Rome and quickly became a PR nightmare for the Vatican and bishops; Pope Francis emboldened moderates; LCWR chose to work within the system; and Archbishop Peter Sartain "has a pastoral streak a mile wide."

4/16 - Video of Pope Francis greeting LCWR officers today at their 50-minute private meeting in his library
4/16 - Nun Justice's statement praises "the dogged determination of LCWR sister-leaders to persevere in dialogue with those who unjustly maligned them."
4/16 - Rose Marie Berger's insights on the conclusion of the Vatican mandate, including the reminder that those in leadership these past 3 years "have suffered terribly."

4/16 - Solidarity with Sisters' statement on the conclusion of the Vatican mandate
4/16 - Jesuit Fr. James Martin's eloquent view of the end of the mandate, in America.

LCWR officers Sisters Joan Steadman, Janet Mock, Carol Zinn, and Marcia Allen with Pope Francis 4/16/15.

4/16 - Pope Francis meets with LCWR officers and expresses appreciation for sisters' lives and ministries.

4/16 - Vatican ends the 3-year oversight of LCWR. NCR story - LCWR statement - Vatican statement
USA DIOCESES WANT INPUT FOR SYNOD ON THE FAMILY. Is yours asking? If not, maybe reply elsewhere? Many have short deadlines, so act quickly.
2/14/15 - Pope Francis to new Cardinals: "Accept the marginalized!" Summary of what Crux lead reporter/editor John L. Allen calls "almost a vision statement for his papacy." Full text is not yet available on the Vatican site, but is reported by Rocco Palmo in his blog for Sunday, Feb. 14, 2015. E.g.: "In a word: charity cannot be neutral, antiseptic, indifferent, lukewarm or impartial! Charity is infectious, it excites, it risks and it engages! For true charity is always unmerited, unconditional and gratuitous! (cf. 1 Cor 13). Charity is creative in finding the right words to speak to all those considered incurable and hence untouchable. Finding the right words… Contact is the language of genuine communication, the same endearing language which brought healing to the leper. How many healings can we perform if only we learn this language of contact! The leper, once cured, became a messenger of God’s love. The Gospel tells us that "he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the word" (cf. Mk 1:45).     Dear new Cardinals, this is the "logic", the mind of Jesus, and this is the way of the Church. Not only to welcome and reinstate with evangelical courage all those who knock at our door, but to go out and seek, fearlessly and without prejudice, those who are distant, freely sharing what we ourselves freely received. "Whoever says: ‘I abide in [Christ]’, ought to walk just as he walked" (1 Jn 2:6). Total openness to serving others is our hallmark, it alone is our title of honour!"
PBS features 85-year-old Sister Megan Rice speaking out on US prison conditions. She's in prison for painting peace slogans on a Tennessee nuclear facility.

2/13/15 - Catholic Theological Union in Chicago opened the first center in USA dedicated to the study of religious life. Sacred Heart Sr. Maria Cimperman directs the new Center for the Study of Consecrated Life.

Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister on "how to do nonviolent resistance" - excellent, concise, clear, important.

2/7/15 - Pope Francis spoke at the Vatican Council on Culture's meetings on women. David Gibson reports that he said "the Catholic Church should help 'guarantee the freedom of choice' for women to take up leading posts in the church and in public life while also maintaining their 'irreplaceable role' as mothers at home... The world needs to think in terms of what he called 'reciprocity in equivalence and difference' — a non-ideological model, he called it, that recognizes the unique natures of women and men."

Mary E. Hunt: "Vatican council on women [Feb. 4-7, 2015] would be funny were it not so insulting."
Oprah will interview Sister Joan Chittister on Sunday, March 1 at 11 a.m. ET/PT on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. (Check your local listings for exact time in your area.)