The much anticipated final report of a Vatican-ordered investigation of U.S. nuns was released today without controversy. The report ends a process launched six years ago under Pope Benedict XVI through the leadership of Cardinal Franc Rodé, the former head of the Vatican office of religious life, who raised concerns of “secular mentality" and a "feminist spirit" among U.S. women religious communities.
The report marks a more conciliatory approach under Pope Francis who celebrated Mass today with some of the women and men religious involved in the probe. The report affirms women religious in the U.S. for adhering to "Pope Francis’ insistence that ‘none of us can think we are exempt from concern for the poor and for social justice.’”
The report also expresses praise and "the profound gratitude of the Apostolic See and the Church in the United States for the dedicated and selfless service of women religious in all the essential areas of the life of the Church and society."
However, the new report has no effect on the ongoing doctrinal assessment of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), a membership organization with about 1400 leaders of women’s orders in the U.S., which remains under scrutiny for its Catholic teaching on abortion, homosexuality, and women’s ordination.
Read the full report here.
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