Category: LCWR

Far should it be for me to comment on religious life as explained to NCR’s Global Sisters Reportby the sisters who lead the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) and the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), but that has never stopped me from noting what stands out to me. In this case, each group…
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Let us pray for the repose of the Augustinian soul of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. I have learned a lot of theology in the last week – but more of that later. I had decided to start this blog as young Patrick Hudson started the Tablet weekly online update this week. I know he’s young…
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Would you believe that Nine to Five is almost forty years old? NPR’s Morning Edition on Thursday featured the song as one of its American Anthems. It’s fun to wake up to, and interesting to hear the examination of the lyrics by Lynn Neary, Karen Nussbaum, Rebecca Traister, and Merrill Garbus. It’s not as simple…
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Did you notice this line in Josepha Madigan’s speech to We Are Church in Ireland? The full sentence is “Yes, we say to our daughters, you can be an altar girl but don’t get too ahead of yourself, you will never be a priest.” I love that Irish women who have succeeded in politics are…
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In contrast to their blathering around the sex abuse crisis, the USCCB did approve “open wide our hearts: the enduring call to love. a pastoral letter against racism,” oddly titled in lower case. It’s pretty good. As a young person, I was deeply inspired by the bishops’ 1958 pastoral on the same subject. I took…
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Over 900 Catholic nuns gathered in St. Louis for the much-anticipated annual meeting of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR). After four days of discernment, Sr. Pat Farrell, current president of LCWR, announced “open and honest dialogue” would be their next step with Archbishop Sartain who has been appointed to oversee the mandate. She…
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A few days ago, the latest edition of the Oakland Diocesan newspaper showed up in my mailbox. On the front page, there was an article proudly proclaiming that approximately 500 Catholics from across the Bay Area had gathered in San Francisco for the Bishops’ Fortnight for Freedom campaign. As I read the article, I began…
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A diocese bans girls from serving at the altar. The United States Conference of Catholics Bishops investigates the Girl Scouts of the USA. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith investigates American nuns and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. Madness, isn’t it? Little girls and nuns? At first, I thought so, too, but…
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A new spiritual uprising is rocking the Catholic Church today. At the Vatican we see the “Monsignors Mutiny,” a tale of betrayal, corruption, and power struggles that has the potential of becoming a blockbuster movie that could rival the Da Vinci Code. One Italian paper even suggested that an unnamed laywoman had secretly ordered the…
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Over the past decade as a feminist activist, I have made several protest signs – signs for women’s ordination, to support anti-domestic violence legislation, to close the SOA, end the war, support marriage equality, women’s health, immigrants’ rights, and Fr. Roy . . . but if you told me I would need to make signs…
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