Free Speech, Justice, Religion, Things That Tick Me Off

American Nuns Reprimanded For “Radical Feminism” By Vatican

By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Well, Sally Field must be aghast. How could even her bird’s-eye view have predicted the over the top report from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith? Once the province of current Pope Benedict, the watchdog of orthodoxy that took such a hands-off approach to the child sexual molestation within the priesthood, has issued a stinging reprimand to all American nuns for “certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith.”

Headed by American Cardinal William Levada, the crowd that  gave us the Inquisition and who tried Galileo,  has ordered a crackdown on all U.S. nuns.  Overseen by three middle-aged white men American bishops, the Vatican wants the good sisters to toe the Vatican’s increasingly fundamentalist line. And what was the doctrinal crime that got the nuns in trouble? Why, their apparent heretical support for such outlandish positions  as supporting universal health care under Obama’s plan, sensitivity to marriage rights for gays, and –God forbid it — advocating females for admission to the priesthood. They are even under scrutiny for praying for Girl Scouts.

As with other tone-deaf proclamations by the RCC, this one has produced an outpouring of support for a group of dedicated women whose average age is 69. There are about 75,000 nuns in the US — down from their heyday in 1965 when the ranks numbered about 180,000. Still this feisty few aren’t taking the recrimination sitting down.

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which serves as the umbrella group for most orders of nuns, has responded with a duly obsequious statement but armed with enough teeth in it to get attention from the beanie wearing gang in Rome. “Board members concluded that the assessment was based on unsubstantiated accusations and the result of a flawed process that lacked transparency,” the group said after a three-day meeting. “Moreover, the sanctions imposed were disproportionate to the concerns raised and could compromise their ability to fulfill their mission.”

The nuns, themselves, armed with considerable support from the laity have taken to the streets. Nationwide vigils and rallies have occurred. Protestors showed up at the Vatican’s embassy in Washington D.C. (Query: Why does the Vatican need an embassy?) to register their dismay at the slightly misogynistic message implicit in the church’s smack-down. More than 50,000 people have signed an online petition asking the Vatican to withdraw its order.
Besides that external support, many nuns are furious at their depiction as a group of radicals.  “Our sisters have fed the hungry, healed the sick and stood with the marginalized, so they’re wondering, how can these men in the Vatican criticize us?” said Donna Quinn, a nun from Chicago who helps run the liberal National Coalition of American Nuns. Submitting to the Vatican’s demands would be akin to “allowing an oppressive regime to come in with a hostile takeover,” Quinn said.
Let me state my disclaimer that I am an unabashed supporter of these fine, dedicated women. Growing up in the 60s, these dedicated women (yep, I meant it twice) were my school teachers and nurses. More than once I saw them marginalized and dismissed by parish priests who occupied an almost God-like stature in those institutions. They accepted their fate with humility and grace earning my respect. I find this church-borne slur against their character unacceptable and fraught with ingratitude. Imagine dedicating your life to improving the lives of others only to be reprimanded by your superiors for advocating a place at the all-male table?
The Vatican has been officially hush-hush in response to the burgeoning crisis in the States. Through  their  presumed intermediaries they are getting their licks in however. Older Americans, especially, may think of nuns as pious schoolteachers, but “times have changed and so have the sisters,” intoned Russell Shaw, a former spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops who supports the Vatican’s move. Archbishop Peter Sartain of Seattle, who was appointed by the Vatican to supervise reform of the nuns’ group took pains to praise American nuns as a “great gift.”  He added that he hoped to work with them “in a way that shows our continued love and support for their extraordinary contribution.”
Sounds like the wolf praising the chickens before entering the hen-house to me.
~Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

80 thoughts on “American Nuns Reprimanded For “Radical Feminism” By Vatican”

  2. Mark,
    Are you the Mark I differed on as to religions place visavis mankind. In which case let me add that it was a fine ointment for the worried flock.

    Here you are at the forefront on religious questions again. Supporting nuns. A worthy cause.
    Funny how it reminded me of the married women who also face such moral dilemmas as to time and resources
    available to them. In the interest of moderation will not say more as to priests and church structure.

    If Mary Magdalena had only had better support, would we have had a better church today? I believe so.

    As for Sweden, we have women priests, soon 50 per cent.
    And some bishops too. Waiting for our first archbishop.

  3. That’s funny. I haven’t heard someone use the term “great gift” when they meant “huge pain in our 14th Century male chauvinist asses” before. The endless variety of euphemistic language never ceases to entertain.

  4. Great article Mark. I had the good Benedictine Nuns in grade school and with class sizes from 45-55 we actually learned a few things. One of the things I learned was that the Nuns were the liberals of the RCC and were housed in facilities much less opulent than the parish priests, to say the least. The Pope and the Church is going to learn a hard lesson, eventually. That the people will not be pulled to the far right along with the Pope and his far right henchmen Cardinals.

  5. OS, The 1968 protests changed him and turned him sharply rightward.

  6. OS, When he was elected pope, I was very curious about his backround so I did a little research and found information that was compatible with the wiki article.

  7. SwM,
    That Wikipedia article is interesting. I am sure it has not been vetted, edited and spun by Vatican spinmeisters. Not!

  8. Ya gotta love these old men Vatican crows so predictably out of touch with anything beyond the 15th century. American nuns will do as so many other Americans have done when confronted with one of these robe-flapping throwbacks … life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

  9. “Joseph Alois Ratzinger was born on 16 April, Holy Saturday, 1927 at 11 Schulstrasse, his parents’ home in Marktl am Inn, Bavaria and baptised on the same day. He was the third and youngest child of Joseph Ratzinger, Sr., a police officer, and his wife, Maria (née Peintner), whose family were from South Tyrol. His father served in both the Bavarian State Police (Landespolizei) and the German national Regular Police (Ordnungspolizei) before retiring in 1937 to the town of Traunstein. The Sunday Times described the older Ratzinger as “an anti-Nazi whose attempts to rein in Hitler’s Brown Shirts forced the family to move several times.” [1] According to the International Herald Tribune, these relocations were directly related to Joseph Ratzinger, Sr.’s continued resistance to Nazism, which resulted in demotions and transfers.[2] The pope’s brother Georg said: “Our father was a bitter enemy of Nazism because he believed it was in conflict with our faith”. [3] The family had a sadder encounter with the Nazi regime, because of its euthanasia program for the handicapped. John Allen, a Ratzinger biographer, reports a revelation made by Cardinal Ratzinger at a conference in the Vatican on 28 November 1996: “Ratzinger had a cousin with Down’s Syndrome who in 1941 was 14 years old. This cousin was just a few months younger than Ratzinger and was taken away by the Nazi authorities for “therapy” Not long afterwards, the family received word that he was dead, presumably one of the ‘undesirables’ eliminated during that time.” [4] wikipedia

  10. Yesterday, I was watching a documentary about WW-II on the Military Channel. There was a long segment about the Hitler Youth. Much of the footage was from German propaganda and captured film. Many shots of young men engaging in all kinds of military and paramilitary activities as well as sports. As I watched, I wondered if the future Pope was one of those kids shown in the documentary. The boys were clearly being indoctrinated heavily and it showed them swearing lifetime allegiance to Hitler and the Nazi party. Watching them give the Nazi salute in unison was chilling. That is where this Pope came from.

    As far as I am concerned, he has as about as much political and moral credibility as Karl Rove.

  11. I know a nun who runs a community that is supportive to mothers, pregnant women, battered wives seeking emotional and religious shelter from the “aftermaths” of their abuse, etc. etc. Even patriarchal churches with enormous coercive power can’t keep the independent intelligence and feminine energy of some good women down.

  12. I was educated by nuns for twelve years. Some were fiercely independent Irish women. My youngest sister is still in contact with some of them.

  13. The ex-Hitler Youth member who has become Pope is doing the RCC much more harm than good. Just as he in his prior role worked to cover up the pedophilia of some priests, he is trying to rein in the truly moral stances taken by women of deep faith and commitment. While Popes past, like John Roncalli, work to bring the Church into a solid moral place in the world, this Pope is trying to return his Church to the days of its’ medieval sovereignty. It is why there is a downward trend in attendance/membership and why most American Catholics use birth control.

  14. mespo,

    “Older Americans, especially, may think of nuns as pious schoolteachers, but “times have changed and so have the sisters,” intoned Russell Shaw…”

    Good! It’s about time! I’m glad the nuns are speaking out. I also attended parochial schools. I, too, saw nuns act like priests were demigods. The RCC is a sexist religion–like so many other religions. Women are regarded as second class citizens by the church.

    The RCC Definition of Radical Feminist: An intelligent religious woman with a mind of her own who disagrees with the church hierarchy/policies and dares to speak out.

  17. Oops! Sorry, Professor! Mark, put your hands out for a hard whack with Sister Immolata Excruciata’s ruler!!

  18. And these are the men who now are able to manipulate government and social policy while at the same time ignoring our laws and taking millions if not billions of tax payers dollars.
    To them heresy is nothing more than disagreeing with them particularly if it involves the poor and women. Nuns have been the workers in Christ’s vineyard ministering to the young, the old, the poor and those without a voice. They have emulated Christ in ways that the Bishops never ever think of but they are the problem in the Church.
    The Bishops would do well to remember: whatever you do to the least of these you do to me. Jesus Christ, it seems be a heretic in his own Church.
    The Sisters deserve praise and support; the Bishops well that is for someone else to decide.

  19. @Turley: “…the Vatican wants the good sisters to tow the Vatican’s increasingly fundamentalist line.”

    …or to toe the line, but either way, it’s a heavy lift! ;-}

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