U.S. nun group rejects Vatican condemnation

[kpete]

The leader of a group of US Catholic nuns on Saturday rejected condemnation from a Vatican report that said it defied Church doctrine.

....................

“We haven’t violated any teaching,” Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of Network, a Catholic social justice lobby, told AFP, insisting the group would not stop “caring for the least among us on the margins of society.”

............

“We will keep doing our mission,” she insisted in a phone interview Saturday, saying the group was founded to “lobby, organize and educate” in the name of social and economic justice.

LCWR has come under criticism from the Catholic hierarchy for endorsing Obama’s US healthcare reform, including its provisions on abortion and contraception, in the run-up to the US election in November.

“There seems to the major disconnect, where (the Vatican) seem to think that faith can only lead to one political approach,” Campbell said. The Network group, she said, “speaks for our members, not for a church. Helping others is at the heart of our faith.”

MORE:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/04/21/u-s-nun-group-rejects-vatican-condemnation/

[Angry Dragon]

1. Those men in dresses should practice what Jesus preaches

[orpupilofnature57]

3. +1

[polichick]

4. They're only about power - Jesus doesn't even enter into it...

Too bad the nuns think they need the church in order to carry out their good works.

[freshwest]

8. They grew up in it, worked in all their lives. Like career military families.

[polichick]

24. Yep - brainwashed enablers. Very sad.

[freshwest]

26. I've given up arging with those whose living is made this way. They're not leaving it.

They are a part of our society, of every society. I have to look at them as human beings first, individuals, who have grown up in a system that they will always defend. Een if I see it as harmful. Disrespecting them only leads to their being offended and circling the wagons, getting cultish. They wield more power than other individuals by being part of a large extended group. Those who aren't in the group may feel aggravated, but they aren't going away. So we might as well not insult them, we may find that we need them some as individuals to help other groups.

[polichick]

27. I don't have any patience for them anymore - they enable corruption...

...that hurts the whole country - or, in the case of the Catholic church, the whole world.

[freshwest]

28. How do you treat them to their faces? This is an internet board. IRL, I avoid them, but it's

A part of many communities and when a coalition is being formed to protect the vulernable or poor or protect the programs that help them, it is unwise to expose these individuals to what I truly feel. In most of this work, we are dealing with strangers.

And it's amazing to find how many people, for example, have family members who are in the service or have served. Although I want that to go away, they are important to support things I need help getting done.

The nuns, really, I don't know any. But there a number of people that have helped those who need help based on their beliefs, which were formed in childhood and it is also unwise to vent against willing hearts and hands.
Here, we can rant. Not there.

[polichick]

30. I'm kind but honest...

Though I don't seek out military enthusiasts or enablers of what I consider a corrupt church, I'm honest if I find myself in a conversation with them (usually at a coffee shop or other public gathering place).

imo it's really important to speak out about today's Republican party - its anti-science insanity puts all our children at risk. Silence is enabling too.

[freshwest]

31. That I do, but only with those I know. It's hard to find common cause, so I keep to those.

It's not a matter of 'seeking out enablers' when so few people care enough to meet and work on local things that are literally, in the groups I've worked with, matters of life and death. People that are dependent and can't get out and advocate for themselves.

I'm not talking about casual conversations, but meetings where one is trying to find supporters on local matters that are much more important than my own beliefs, politically or religion or reality based, are going to be ferreted out. I can't afford to let my ego get in the way, I have to be open and listen to what drives them to care enough to show up and find a common cord.

I often find religious people, not of the right wing variety, still support having a social safety net. These folks will vote, call, contact their friends, talk to other church members, canvass the streets, out of what they see as a duty. Much as many in the military will do. Their idea of community may be different than mine, but in the end, for me in every circumstance, is only real goal is getting the job done.

I can't disrespect anyone who is heartfelt in their desire to help, and doesn't denigrate the poor or vulnerable in my hearing. Philosophically, if they're willing to support the social safety net, for whatever reason, they are my trusted ally.

There are voices in both religious and anti-religion circles now that don't regard the folks I care about as worth a dime or a minute of their time. So one works with what they have. It's always complicated, but at times it's very rewarding and I learn a lot.

[polichick]

32. I agree that there are some heartfelt souls who are part of religious orgs...

...and doing great work - often work that many won't do. Bless them!

[obxhead]

17. Power and money.

The Vatican is on the money laundering FBI list.

[polichick]

25. Didn't know about the money laudering list, but I'm not surprised...

If they can keep American bishops from standing trial and going to jail, the U.S. isn't likely to do anything about the money laundering either.

[SharonAnn]

16. They are "Bachelors in Dresses"

[monmouth]

2. The Vatican is messing with the wrong people here. Nuns are unstoppable when it comes to their

missions, and they have the backing of the people who contribute and need their services. Rome is trying to divert attention away from their own behaviors and ignorance. It. Won't. Work.

[polichick]

5. It's amazing to me that the nuns continue to support a corrupt organization that...

...considers them second class citizens. Maybe one day they'll realize that the church doesn't deserve them.

[DeSwiss]

19. Oh, I don't know....

...they've messed with nuns before:

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- In Southern California, where the Roman Catholic Church has agreed to pay victims of pedophile priests $660 million, the archdiocese is ordering nuns out of convents so the buildings can be sold to fund the out-of-court settlement.

MORE

- K&R

[polichick]

23. I thought of this same case - really, what does it take for some women...

...to wake up and honor themselves?

Women keep the corrupt Catholic church in business - without their enabling, the place would crumble.

[IndyJones]

6. I am very glad to be reading this. I love her reply. Good for them!

[freshwest]

7. Good for them for staying closer to the heart. But what next? Losing their positions?

[Towlie]

9. A strange situation - The basis of the Catholic religion is the infallibility of the Pope...

and presumably the Pope is solely responsible for the Vatican's position on this matter. I applaud the position these nuns are taking but I don't see how they can maintain it and still remain Catholics. It's like Martin Luther all over again.

[iemitsu]

15. the pope is only infallible in matters of doctrine.

this is not that.

[Fearless]

10. Good for them!

[kwassa]

11. The Vatican is stepping into major shit now.

This is part of the whole Catholic bishop initiative against Obama, with the phony and aggressive "religious freedom" campaign, which is really an extreme conservative political ploy. The Vatican UN observer is echoing the party line, which shows the collusion.

The "radical feminist" language in the accusations shows where the power structure stands.

[dballance]

12. Leave it to Women to have the "balls" to stand up to the Vatican

Why am I not surprised it is a group of women who are telling the Vatican it's full of shit.

It's such a shame that all those men kept quiet while their peers abused children and they helped hide it.

God forbid the nuns might actually teach kids about contraception.

[SDjack]

13. These nuns are courageous. Now, it's time for the RCC general membership to

withhold contributions. The whole RCC system is built on money flow. Stop it, and the system will flip to restore the flow.

[TomClash]

14. Sister Simone is one of the Sheep and her Bosses are Goats

Matthew 25:31-46
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
The Sheep and the Goats

 31 "The Son of Man will come in all his glory. All the angels will come with him. Then he will sit on his throne in the glory of heaven. 32 All the nations will be gathered in front of him. He will separate the people into two groups. He will be like a shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep to his right and the goats to his left.
 34 "Then the King will speak to those on his right. He will say, 'My Father has blessed you. Come and take what is yours. It is the kingdom prepared for you since the world was created. 35 I was hungry. And you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty. And you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger. And you invited me in. 36 I needed clothes. And you gave them to me. I was sick. And you took care of me. I was in prison. And you came to visit me.'

 37 "Then the people who have done what is right will answer him. 'Lord,' they will ask, 'when did we see you hungry and feed you? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you as a stranger and invite you in? When did we see you needing clothes and give them to you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

 40 "The King will reply, 'What I'm about to tell you is true. Anything you did for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

 41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'You are cursed! Go away from me into the fire that burns forever. It has been prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 I was hungry. But you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty. But you gave me nothing to drink. 43 I was a stranger. But you did not invite me in. I needed clothes. But you did not give me any. I was sick and in prison. But you did not take care of me.'

 44 "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty and not help you? When did we see you as a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison and not help you?'

 45 "He will reply, 'What I'm about to tell you is true. Anything you didn't do for one of the least important of these, you didn't do for me.'

 46 "Then they will go away to be punished forever. But those who have done what is right will receive eternal life."

[midnight]

18. Sisters have to stick together....

[saveferris]

20. Indeed. The Bishops have screwed with the wrong people.

The Church is in Civil War.

I call for open rebellion. Stand for Social Justice and Human Rights. Stand with the nuns.

After all, this can't end well for the all-male patriarchy. I remember the Soviet Union.

[markpkessinger]

21. Standing up to Benedict the Bully! n/t

[ck4829]

22. K&R

[ananda]

29. I remember when I learned that Pope Rat was..

.. the enforcer for JPII's conservative bullshit, forcing out good nuns and priests
in favor of peace and workers' rights.

Oh yeah.. that was when JPII was put up for sainthood. Gagggg.

[glinda]

33. I read that Rat was the instigator and enforcer when PJPII was ill and

that many around PJPII were shocked at Rat's behavior behind the scenes. Many did not expect him to be "Poped" and were shocked.

[IndyJones]

34. Campbell said it was “painfully obvious” the Vatican leadership was “not used to having educated

women form thoughtful opinions and engage in dialogue.”

Which really is at the heart of why they were not even consulted during the "investigation". The women folk are not supposed to think for themselves.

So I'm curious what they say to the Archbishop when he comes and attempts to "oversee" the organization? Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya?

[Canuckistanian]

35. They should start their own order, separate from the Vatican

It's becoming obvious that the all-male caste of closed-minded autocrats has had it's day.