My observations about the LCWR assembly have to begin with my appreciation to the LCWR for allowing the press to cover their assembly. The sisters were very welcoming and gracious, and we members of the media were extended every courtesy. One sister even walked a good distance across the room at Mass to offer me the Sign of Peace, as I was the lone journalist sitting in the press area.

The sisters also seemed very dedicated to working together to formulate their response to the mandate from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to reform their organization. And many of them appear to be quite convinced that they have developed a new but valid form of religious life and have the...READ MORE

Day three of the LCWR assembly brought high expectations here, for most people thought we would hear how the membership had decided to respond to the "Doctrinal Assessment" issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

As I wrote yesterday, the LCWR leaders had been sending mixed messages about which way they were leaning all week. By this morning, however, we media folks had concluded that there probably would be no dramatic announcement at this afternoon’s press conference. We were right.

LCWR's president, Sister Pat Farrell, read a prepared statement to the press conference: “The members charged the LCWR officers with beginning a conversation with Archbishop J. Peter...READ MORE

On this second day of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious assembly here in St. Louis, the “elephant in the room” — the Vatican mandate for reform of the LCWR — was recognized just a bit more than yesterday.

The most dramatic incident occurred in a question-answer period after a panel discussion on the future of religious life. A sister asked the three panelists: “If you were in our shoes, what would you do?”

When panelist Tom Fox responded bluntly, “Just say, ‘No,’” audible groans could be heard from some of the 900 sisters. Fox, who is the publisher of National Catholic Reporter, seemed to be taken aback by this reaction, and he scrambled to recover.

“What I mean by that...READ MORE

A late Amtrak train kept me away from the opening of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious assembly Tuesday night, but I am told that Archbishop Robert Carlson of St. Louis gave a warm welcome to the 900 sisters who are at the event.

Archbishop Carlson said he realized the importance of the meeting for LCWR and prayed that the LCWR dialogue with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) would not be politicized, but rather “worked out within a community of faith.”

That question about how LCWR members will respond to the reform of their organization mandated by the CDF is on the minds of everybody here, but that burning issue is the “elephant in the room” that we all...READ MORE