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David Goldman / AP
Princess Wilson, center, joins a demonstration in support of U.S. Catholic nuns outside the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' biannual meeting on June 13, 2012, in Atlanta.
American nuns are gathering in St. Louis, Mo., this week for their organization's yearly national assembly, where they are expected to discuss the future of their relationship with the Vatican following scathing criticism of the nuns' alleged lack of fidelity to Catholic teachings.
This spring, after a three-year investigation, the Vatican's doctrinal watchdog issued a report questioning the organization's loyalty to some Church teachings, including the nuns' lack of outspokenness on issues such as gay marriage, abortion and contraception. Another concern voiced by the Vatican relates to conferences organized by the nuns featuring "a prevalence of certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith."
On April 18, the Vatican appointed Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle to oversee the nuns' organization and reform its programs to adhere more closely to "the teachings and discipline of the Church."
This week, the nuns will discuss a range of options for the future, from accepting the Vatican's mandate to starting a new organization independent of the church's control.
In an interview with NPR in July, Franciscan Sister Pat Farrell, president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an umbrella organization representing about 80 percent of the nuns in the United States, said the organization is "not talking about the risk of excommunication or leaving the church."
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Sister Pat Farrell, president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.
"The one and only underlying option for us is to respond with integrity with however we proceed," Farrell added. "Some of the options would be to just comply with the mandate that's been given to us. Or to say we can't comply with this and see what the Vatican does with that. Or to remove ourselves and form a separate organization."
Earlier, in a June interview with the National Catholic Reporter, Farrell said the option to become an independent organization would stay on the table.
"Again, that’s something we can’t respond to without further consultation with our members," Farrell said. "But the option always is there."
On the question of submitting to the Vatican's appointed overseer, Farrell said: "Clearly this is an outside control. We would rather not have that."
In a statement released just after the Vatican report, the nuns said the report had "caused scandal and pain throughout the church community, and created greater polarization."
“Board members concluded that the assessment was based on unsubstantiated accusations and the result of a flawed process that lacked transparency,” the statement read.
American Catholics are showing their support for the nuns, organizing vigils across the country to advocate for the end of the crackdown. The Nun Justice Project is one organization standing with the nuns against what they call "a prime example of how the hierarchy in the Roman Catholic Church misuses its power to diminish the voice of women."
On Aug. 12, Nun Justice supporters are planning a flower march in support of the nuns in Seattle. According to a June 20 press release, "Catholics have already pledged over $61,000 at nunjustice.org to communities of women religious all over the U.S."
Nuns and their supporters have said that questioning the church's teaching is not the same as disobeying it.
US priests reportedly behind Vatican crackdown on nuns
It is possible that no decision will be reached by the end of the assembly, but private sessions will give leadership a sense of the "leaning" of the group, Farrell said.
The conference opens Tuesday evening and concludes Friday. Farrell is expected to speak at a press conference Friday afternoon.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Also, and I quote re the "Bible" texts:
"In reality, no original ever existed, neither a New Testament text nor any biblical book at all was preserved in it original text form. Nor do first copies exist. There are only copies of copies. Today's text of the New Testament is a mixed text, pasted together from various writings that had been passed down. The text of the "book of books," today disseminated in more than 1100 languages and dialects, is thus hopelessly corrupted." Karl Heinz Deschner(1924-)
Dr of Philosophy, historian, literary specialist and repeated award winning author.
(a former "Roman Catholic" who studied the history of the "church" and wrote many books on the topic.
Dr. Deschner is completely right in saying no originals existed, but the same can be said of any ancient writing, including the old testament, where events and stories were kept in an oral tradition then written down over time. The time elapsed between the actual Jesus events and the time they were committed to writing was relatively short. Josephus, the Jewish-Roman historian, wrote of many aspects of Jesus' life that appear in the gospels around the year 70 AD, forty years after Jesus' death. By then the first Gospels had already been committed to writing by the scribes who has authored many of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
However, it is questionable they were "pasted" or that they were a "mixed text", because if we assume the gospels descend from an oral tradition, much the same as the works of Plato, Homer and other ancient Greek writers three thousand years before, they were firmly committed to memory by a bard (professional storyteller) who was held accountable by other bards if they "got it wrong". Pasting and borrowing from other sources would have been irregular, if not completely unheard of. Thus the gospels cannot be "hoplessly corrupted", as he stated. That's just my opinion, buit it is based on the rules of ancient storytelling as descibed by a number of paleographers.
Jerome was commissioned by Damasus I to produce in Latin a new Bible (the Vulgate Bible). What must be realized is that this was an enormous task as Jerome explained in his writings In his DESPAIR, he wrote the Pope:
"...even on the showing of those who revile us, readings at variance with the early copies cannot be right. For if we are to pin our faith on the Latin texts, it is for our opponent to tell us which; for there are almost as many forms of texts, as there are copies."
His task was difficult and he wrote,"...why not go back to the original Greek and correct the mistakes introduced by inaccurate translators, and the blundering alterations of confident but ignorant critics, and further, all that has been inserted or changed by copyists more asleep than awake?"
At that time already Romans were used to repeated readings of certain texts so correcting any mistakes at this time would have cost him so he wrote that he translated using his "pen with some restraint." So, he is said to have changed the scripture in 3,500 places.
There is not one manuscript that agrees with another. 50,000 to 1000,000 variations have been counted by theologians. Close to 5,000 manuscripts in Greek of the N.T. are known and no two have the same text.
While Jerome was said that it was extremely difficult to "glean the TRUTH" the Church claims it is "free of error."
Hopefully, in time, as each person grows spiritually at his own pace, we will truly find the TRUTH.
We can thank Jerome though that the Sermon on the Mount and the Ten Commandments were left in the Bible.
The fundamentals for leading us to God teaching us how to act and think and behave, to be "perfect like our Father in Heaven...."
(Correction above: 50,000 to 100,000 variations)
For years the Vatican has turned their heads as priests have molested innocent children repeatedly. They have moved priests out of the country to avoid prosecution. Now the priests want to blame the nuns on the decrease of popularity of the Catholic Church in the United States. The Catholic Church has lost touch with people in today's society. Birth control and abortion have occurred for centuries and will occur for centuries to come. The church has to change to accommodate the lifestyles and needs of its followers today, not in the 1700's. Birth Control was forbidden with the thought that if a family had 7 kids, it was 7 more catholics. No one is having 7 kids anymore and I don't care what the church says.
Maybe the church will just disappear in the next century or 2. That would be great, there would be a lot less killing and wars on this planet if religion was done away with and left in the past where it belongs...
KNOW your ROLE sisters!!! Just who do you think you are going against what your men have been telling you? Don't you know your place in the Catholic hierarchy? At the back and towards the bottom just behind the Alter Boys. Don't they know that they are supposed to be seen but not heard, just who do they think they are!!! They need to follow the rules of the Catholics midevil practices all the while keeping a smile on their stern faces.
Good for them! It's about time someone from inside their own church stood up to their "leaders" and expressed an opinion that didn't necessarily go along with the Pope's. It'll be interesting to see how the men in the church handle this? Will they resort to 14th century practices or move with them and progress into the 21st century?
They should form their own group (feeling led by God of course)...."Lesbian nuns for choice"...."gay catholics for abortion".... Since when should the Bible get in the way of one's Christian beliefs. Take a vote to decide who God is and what He believes. Obviously if the majority believes in abortion and gay sex then God is all for it and our religious should promote it in honor of the will of God.
this is a U.S. catholic nun movement...i wonder what nuns in other countries think of this movement...seems to me this is a grasping for power/treat me as equal/let me be the priest movement. Everything in life DOESN'T have to change... sometimes tradition should be revered and honored. JMHO...
Honoring traditions are great....especially if those traditions benefit YOU, right RYAN??
No Jet....RYAN should honor traditions that benefit YOU. Amazing how so many people think they know exactly what God wants...based on.....
It is so sad to see so many folks who are obviously smart, because they can use a computer and post comments on this forum, do nothing else but repeat the same clichés and refrains against the Church that have existed for years.
They can't separate the priestly child abuse issue, which is a grave crime that has to be dealt with, with a completely different issue here, namely the spiritual heterodoxy that so many nuns have been embracing to undermine the Church's spiritual strength, for at least the past fifty years.
They cheer on the nuns' attitude, and equate it with a "rebellion" against "the establishment" of "hypocritical old men" that can't see that the world is "changing", as if we this were 1960's Haight-Asbury long-haired hippies protesting against Vietnam, listening to Acid Rock as their coat-and-tie old fogie parents gasp in horror.
No folks, this is something way different, something deeper and more dangerous, with bad long-term consequences for the Catholic faith in this country, and sadly, since even the superiors of these nun orders are immersed in heterodoxy, the only possible intervention has to come from the bishops in whose dioceses these convents are located, and these bishops are currently stained with this whole priest pedophile issue.
In the meantime, many of the nuns continue spewing putrefied ideas that undermine all the good corporal works of mercy they do, planting seeds of discord and hatred in the minds of young men and women. Very sad indeed.
"They can't separate the priestly child abuse issue, which is a grave crime that has to be dealt with, with a completely different issue here, namely the spiritual heterodoxy that so many nuns have been embracing to undermine the Church's spiritual strength, for at least the past fifty years."
Exactly. They cannot refute the charges, so they try to change the subject. Like a criminal pointing to the judge and exclaiming "I bet you done bad things too!". A pathetic and immature response, rather than taking responsibility or squarely facing an issue.
"In the meantime, many of the nuns continue spewing putrefied ideas that undermine all the good corporal works of mercy they do, planting seeds of discord and hatred in the minds of young men and women."
Exactly. If they teach murder of the unborn, if they encourage people to be enslaved to their sexual sins such as homosexuality, this cannot be excused by anything else they do.
As James 3:11-12 says:
11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
The richness and fullness of Holy Mother Church, Her Nuns, Priests, Deacons, Friars and laity is a great blessing. The sister's have great courage and do wonderous works. This will all work out as it should. I support the Sisters and respect the Magesterium. In this broken world which we are destroying and polluting, human beings will be the end cause of it's own demise, not Catholics. Holy Mother Church will always be there to help, guide and feed the hungry and poor as She does like no other. She educates more, runs more hospitals, care for more of the poor...it's not really close. The Sisiters are such a wonderous part of this...the boots on the ground so to speak. Still the haters will hate, which is their choice. How this choice is to be judged is not for us to say. We should though say...beware of Hate, for there is none in His Kingdom of eternity. Pax et Bonum, In Christ. Pray the Rosary...
Absolutely beautiful comment. It can't be said better. Ultimately the Lord is arbiter and judge. He shall decide. He has given us the rules, and we are free to obey them or not. Just accept the possible consequences. All of my apparently undiluted comments in this forum are a poor attempt at waking people up to the reality of things of a minority of nuns. As I've said, most are faithful and gladly do God's work. In the end though, it is as you stated.
lack of outspokenness on issues such as gay marriage, abortion .I believ whole heartly that these suibjects should never ever be a school agenda on thj grounds you give ideas to students that may not be on their minds ever. if your gay your gay. dont teach about .if any school teaches about gay anything are school systemis ......ed up without a doubt.
How odd that the Vatican is trying to shift focus onto the Nuns after having covered up extreme child abuse for centuries. Catholicism is a dinosaur- the entire way of doing "business" needs to be brought out of the Dark Ages and into the new century or they will eventually disappear. This advice comes from the granddaughter of an ex-Priest who "saw the light" regarding celibacy and how unnatural it actually is.I also had two great aunts who served as Nuns and lived in extreme poverty while the priests did not. Come into the real world, Vatican.
While I support the nuns as fellow human beings, I question their wisdom in belonging to a church that is anti-woman, utterly totalitarian, and adamantly opposed to just about every manifestation of healthy human sexuality. Don't the good sisters realize that in another era, they would already have been burnt at the stake?
The Catholic Church is at a crossroads as I see it. There is an old saying in business that says "adapt or die." That is what the Catholic Church is facing today. The past 100 years has brought many changes to our social structure. None more dramatic than those brought by the current 'information age.' World War Two allowed women to find their independence. They discovered that they did in fact have the strength and the wherewithal to go it alone if they had to. Therefore the role of women in religion began to change as well and they began to long for more direct representation in their theology. Unfortunately the Catholic hierarchy simply was and is not prepared to permit that to any great extent. This cannot help but create a rift in the church.
I am not very up on the organization of the Catholic Church but I seem to recall that many nuns were cloistered. Often they had limited access to the outside world and only did pretty much what the Vatican and their local priests told them to do. There were and are some who are more open and in contact with the real world but they seldom had the organization to be able to resist their parent religious affiliation. However with computers and the world wide web the sisters are able to tap into the real pulse of the world and their parisheners.
As a result the sisters of all orders are able to intercommunicate, share ideas, and develop an organization that can stand on its own against an oppressive parent organization. It is allowing them to be more responsive to those they serve as well and encourages them to become more autonomous. Eventually I see many if not all of the women of the Catholic Church forming a completely seperate organization. Somewhere I read that some prognosticator or another had predicted just such a rift in the Catholic Church and that it would come as we neared the end times. I don't know about that but I do agree with the seperation possibility. Given enough support it could very well happen very quickly leaving the Vatican with a serious hole in their organization.
As our society evolves all religions must evolve with it. Unfortunately the Catholic Church as well as many of the extreme Protestant religions and the Orthodox Jewish religions are resisting such changes. I personally feel that they will live to regret being so stodgy and resistant to social progress. Social changes happen now almost over night and that dynamic could very well spell doom for the more traditional organizations be they religious or political. The handwriting is on the wall and the changes are underway. Only time will tell but I suspect that something is going to have to give one way or another.
This "crackdown on the nun" sounds like a witch hunt. From what I read the nuns said they were "taken by surprise by the gravity of the mandate."
Archbishop Lori started the "investigation" and then Cardinal Bernard F Law who was disgraced for permitting priests to molest children, was a fervent advocate in investigating the nuns. American Cardinal Raymond Burke and Cardinal James Stafford backed the "investigation."
Where were these bishops and cardinals the last 50 years when the ultimate betrayal of children was being perpetrated. All of sudden here are these grave investigations against the nuns.
What exactly is their "crime"? I read "the nuns aren't vocal enough on conservative social issues....the nuns' lack of outspokenness on issues such as gay marriage, abortion and contraception...." They are also guilty of "a prevalence of certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith."
So they're guilty of not being vocal enough, they aren't outspoken enough and there are feminist themes they are spreading?
I admire them for not speaking against the priests that hurt and abused children.
I wish my dear catholic friends would see what this "institution" is really all about. They are such devout believers in Jesus the Christ but I have to say that like some Jewish people that have a veil in front of their eyes regarding Christ being the Messiah, some Catholics have a veil in front of their eyes as to the truth of the formation of the Church and it's due to doctrination. I know, I've been there.
I agree there will be changes.
I find what the priests are doing is hypocritical and they are doing it publicly as if to defame nuns as they, the priests, have been defamed. There isn't one priest without sin and probably lots with lascivious thoughts at least.
I'm sure these nuns will gracefully defend themselves.
I agree with much of what you say. It could very well be that a Vatican politician, at this crucial time of crisis, came up with the ridiculous idea that a scathing report against a minority of nuns would "deflect" the attention off the paedophilic priests on a worldwide scale and shine a bright light on their irregular beliefs -- a moronic idea indeed.
However, there is no crime -- just a slap on the wrist for "unorthodox" activities. No one has been thrown out of an order, no one has been censored. The point is that many nuns have been acting in a heterodoxical way since the mid 1960's, and for all that time, conservative and traditional Catholics have been decrying the witch covens, the heathen practices illicitly mixed in with the liturgy, and the attempts to become ordained priests. For all those years the Vatican never even issued a statement on their activities; now, all of a sudden, they publish this document. Indeed, the reek of hypocrasy and polemic deflection is all over this one.
The old bait-and-switch, smoke and mirrors way of dealing with things that the Catholic Church does so well.
Sad really....but totally understandable. Its frightening to have to give up one's pedestal and spit out the silver spoon.
The Bible teaches everyone to be more "CHRIST LIKE"! The keyword here is everyone! Not just men, but women as well! If the Bishops would get off of their high horse and ACT mor Christ like, none of this nonsense would have ever occured! It is absurd for Bishops to act this way in the first place! Acting like a bunch of children is not the way Bishops should be acting, nor should they act as if they are better than anyone else, because they are not. The Vatican could start to act more CHRIST like also! Does the Vatican and the Bishops have nothing better to do anyway? All of these Bishops and the Vatican could learn a thing or two from the Sisters, such as acting as adults and actually doing what they wanted the Sisters to do for them! Christ would never condone such an attack upon these Sisters, not at all. So, exactly who do these Bishops and the Vatican think they are, better than Christ? I think not! Not even close! We could talk about a lot of the beliefs of the Catholic church, such as keeping the pews filled with mindless idiots whose only roles seem to be to open their wallets or purses and give, give and give even more. Vatiican expenses nor any Bishop, Cardinal or Priest's for that matter should not be as high as they believe it should be! What is sad, is that these Bishops have nothing better to do with their time, yet the Sisters always seem to be doing what is right and just! That is, according to Christ's teachings! Any Bishop who condones breaking the laws of a country just because a Bishop is of Hispanic origan, does not make it right too bring in illegal aliens in the name of the church! Being a Bishop does not excuse them from obeying this countries laws! Or, could it have anything to do with more tithes?
I read almost all the comments and my views seem to be totally different. The nuns are working with the less fortunate, they see how hard they work and the obstacles everyday they face. For the priest or the Vatican to concern themselves about insurance covering contraception when the Health Bill is for everyone from the rich to the poor. Cardinal Burke from the time he crossed the Missouri line he imposed his self righteousness on every parish and person in the Dioces of St. Louis. I found him to be the most judgemental, crass, adjective's expressing my views of Cardinal Burke, from this point if I continued would be crud. I could not believe when he was brought to Rome he was made a Cardinal. The nuns I'm behind 100%, yes I remember grade school I didn't receive the rath of their ruler but I witnessed it. That was how they were raised and witnessed. That was part of the fear based expectations of our behavior and acceptance we had to adhere to for God to love us. I believe the nuns regret and have experienced life now they understand it is easy to expect black and white, but it is not resonable. The Vatican and the Bishops act as the rich do all we have to do is work hard like them and we will all be rich. It is easy to sit on throne and have expectations for everyone to be perfect, but we are all on our own journey and I believe we all are in search of Love. To be loved and give love. To only give love if one obeys your rules is not Love it is control. I would love to see the journalist research all of the company's who the religous have turned over the control of running Catholic Institutions. Hospital's for one in St. Louis several months ago a black woman went to the emergency room in dire pain, after they asserted she was OK but she refused to go because she knew how sick she was they called the police to have her removed. The camera's in the jail showed 3 policemen carrying her by her arms and legs and placing her on the floor of her cell. The woman died 20 minutes later. Where is the act of Love the following of Jesus treating a sick person absolutely disgraceful. She died I will never forget the visual of those police officers laying her on the floor after carrying her by her arms and legs. Speaker Gingrich the poor don't know how to work their children don't haven't been raised by example what hard work is. How dare the people who are elected by all the people to be judged so harshly. Get out on the streets, join the nuns and witness what they see everyday and then open your mouth. The largest part of our poor are women, head of households trying to hold it all together. I never hear the politician's or the righteous church giving lecture's to the men of their responsibility. Everyone makes a decision on the facts they have or are dealing with at the time. To look back and judge yourself is not healthy the decisions were based on the situation at the time. No one has the right to condemn a woman on their decision for abortion. The angry faces of people outside an abortion clinic the hate they display, who are these people? How many young women are living in their home with love from the bottom of their heart to help the woman deal with a horrendous situation they feel they have NO way around. But yet they are judged as if every woman comes from a home of love and apple pie every day. How dare. Don't judge until you have walked a mile in my shoes. The Catholic Church and all denominations get out of politics we vote our government in. We come to you when we want and don't want judgement. PSJ
I agree with Craig above. Christ like. Cardinal Burke now (I couldn't belive when he was made a Cardinal) from the time he crossed the Missouri line and became Bishop and then Arch Bishop of the Dioces of St. Louis he was a dictator. Brash, judgemental, insenitive, crude, etc., everyone I know couldn't believe this man was transfered to St. Louis. We all breathed a little easier when he was transferred and it wasn't soon enough. When Senator Kennedy passed away at the funeral mass I could not believe the arrogance of the Priest who walked past Vice President Biden without so much of a glance, how dare him because Vice President doesn't have the same views as him. How is that Christ Like? The priest who was recently transferred from a parish after refusing to give Communion to a woman because she was gay at her own mother's funeral mass. What the hell is going on? In Ohio the Republicans the behavior they are exhibiting to control possible Democratic voting is appalling. The Republicans, the Catholic Church, Evangelicals are judgemental, and trying to control everyone who doesn't have the same convictions as they do.
Thank You nuns for demonstrating love for the less fortunate. For being among the the less fortunate with love and not judgement. Thank you for standing up to the very people Jesus said to share with. Thank you nuns for demonstrating love and peace. Your work is Christ Like and the rest of the Church should be proud. PSJ
These nuns are in a position that many are in, but they are strong to stand up for what they believe. The nuns don't have a hook in their mouth's. Their vow of Obedience is to the teachings of Jesus nowhere in their vows that I have heard or read is to the Pope. Catholic's look to the Pope for guidance we all still have individual conscience. The nuns are on the streets. They are in the neighborhoods with the children, mother's, father's, young and old. There are Ten Comandments no ambiguity about them. As far as everyone's interpetation of the scripture's in the bible or whatever book is in your religion each has their own interpetation of what they believe. What I see in this World is Church's beliefs, are not questioned being led like blind mice. The hatred I see in this Country, the demand for individuals to behave within guidelines based on someone else's belief or church teaching or their interpetation of the Book of their Religion is so out of line with the teachings of Jesus. Never once have I ever interpeted the teachings of Jesus with hatred. Always Love. Never once did I interpet Jesus guideance as judgemental, you do it my way or I'm going to kill you, hang you, hate you, make your life miserable, control you, disrespect you NO his life was guided by Love the same Love God has for all of us. ALL of Us. People who don't like Blacks they say they can find scripture that supports that is True. Children raised in Catholic schools were taught if you weren't Catholic the gates of Heaven wouldn't open. There are Thousands of Gods, Thousands of Religion and Not one is wrong everyone I know anything about the basis is Love. I don't see that. I agree with the person above Republicans are mean, judgemental, angry, selfish with the conviction you do it my way or your wrong and we'll do whatever we can think of to control you. How can these people Grover, who is not elected but controls how a person is elected what to believe in. How does Limbaugh have 2 million are more listeners when he doesn't have respect for anyone? How do the Koch Brothers justify spending millions and millions and millions to brain wash people to vote on their convictions? Can you imagine if the money spent on every election in the United States, contributed of every candidate for any office including Union, any office for 4 years. Can you imagine the money that would accumulate, the good and positive effects it could have on our Country, on any organization that promotes Positive results. I find it shameful people (Democrats) without their individual contributions how do they expect their views to be recognized. Have you ever thought about it? The Republicans understand Democrat's don't dig in their own pockets we would like to believe people who we vote for win because their good people and have our best interest at heart. Unfortunately that maybe how they feel, but in reality the significant amount of money raised and given to Democrats is through contributions from Unions. Republicans know that. Republicans do anything they can to break the Unions because they know how the Democrats raise their contributions and what they stand for and it is nothing they do so they will break them and break the Democrats until we wisen up and fight back. Basically Democrats are for the working people, anyone who isn't very wealthy. They look out for the Public Educastion, for the water you drink, for the safety of vehicles on the street. Loans for education, for the rights of of all people no matter what your color, religion, disability, man woman or child. The Republicans want NO regulations, they don't want to pay any taxes, they look out for Corporations and Financial Institutions that make them even more wealthy. Then nuns made the statement at their new conference yesterday afternoon in St Louis. Their are business's who don't pay their employee's fairly and know their is Public Asssistance they can turn to and they keep stashing the cash. All people have to understand people who own or run business's are not all nice people. That is why there are Union' s that is why thank God we Have Democorat's and nuns who stand up for what is right. PSJ
Blevin's are you serious when you say Republicans are more attuned to Christ Like morals of Jesus than Democrats? Are you kidding me? Jesus was not judgemental, stingy, a hypocrite, racist, he was not a Romney Hood, he took care of the poor, he led with a heart of love. Jesus did not judge someone with eyes of hate and anger. Jesus would not have spent millions and million and millions of dollars to buy an election. Jesus would not try to control the vote of Democrats like the Republicans did in Ohio this past week. Jesus would not be racist with pre-conceived assumptions like the Republicans do. Jesus would not be part of group who wanted major highways to be toll roads are vote down college loans. Jesus would not of feared the NRA and toted a gun or an AK47. OH! your going to bring up Abortion. Jesus would not have been judgemental he would of opened his arms up in Love. He would not voted against Head Start programs, after schooll programs. The Republicans don't believe in Abortion, but every social bill they vote against because they believe everyone lives in the burbs, drives a foreign car, has the money for College. They will write 900 bills to block abortion but fillabuster the jobs bill to put people to work. On a rough year there maybe 1 fillabuster NO with the Congress there were 137. Jesus please Blevin your head is so far up your ass. Come down to Earth Life doesn't roll out in circumstances everyone can handle. Not everyone experiences accceptance. Men rape women, women have children and raise them some with partner's more women than appartently your aware of don't. Do you ever hear a Republican protest against men who don't pay child support? NO in fact they have a Representative Walsh from IL. the one who called President Obama a liar during the State of the Union address he owes thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars back child support. Read about the State of Kansas how the elected officials feel the man who killed an abortion clinic Dr., deserved to die, but the man who killed him shouldn't have gone to jail for life and because of their feelings they didn't want to support the former Prosecuting Attorney because he was in charge of the case. Really! but you think Republicans have the moral's of Jesus. If the Republican's would get out of the bedrooms, they don't want regulations on any of their busniness's but when it comes to women they want to control them, not pay them equally for a days work, not provide basic care for women. Women are the care takers of their children, their parents, participate in the school meetings, but if your against women having basic health care, but if they die you don't have a problem putting them on the street? Read the 100 neediest cases at Christmas in the St.Louis Post Dispatch. Get rid of Planned Parenthood? Only 3% of the care they provide for women is abortion. How about the woman that does your hair has she been covered under insurance? How about the men or women who wait on the tables at your favorite breakfast, lunch or dinner place does the owner provide insurance? no like the Democrats Jesus was not judgemental, he excepted and loved everyone, no matter their race, religion, no matter what education they had or disability. No Jesus wouldn't of voted for over 7,000 missles, wouldn't of carried a gun. I feel sorry for the Republicans in this Country you live never having enough with a heart so closed you don't have any consideration for the less poor. For Seniors who have Social Security, spent all the money they had in savings and then had to go on Medicaid, but you want to deny them dignity. How about adults who have disabilities who live in center's were there are NO organized activities for them. People in prison have a voice. The individuals who have disabilities don 't they look forward to meals and going outside to smoke. I'll put my money on Jesus definitely a Democrat but didn't judge
How are the nuns stay out of politics and help those less fortunate (sarcasm)! This church has forgotten Jesus's message!
The sisters knew when they took their vows what was expected of them and their role in the Church.Looks to me that they may need to move on and do whatever but they will not be doing it as nuns...:o)
Vatican schmatagan...I'm sorry...but really? How does a former Hitler youth member (current Pope) throw stones???
I think if Jesus were to set foot upon this earth tomorrow...he would laugh at the mockery!
Stand tall Ladies...Sr. & Sisters (sista's) unite! :)
To everyone referring to the Bible and Scripture, I would just like to point out one little thing. It was Rome and the Vatican who put the monks to work publishing bibles for the masses. And it was Rome that decided what books would get included and which books wouldn't. It was Rome that did the editing, and anything that the original books said that they didn't like was deleted or changed to suit their purposes. So, I don't think everything the prophets and apostles were told by God and Jesus made it in there or is told exactly the way it was meant to be told, because Rome wanted control. Control of women, control of lifestyles they didn't like, ie: homosexuality, etc. Jesus said: "Love one another". That is what I believe. That is what I put my faith in. The rest is open to debate because there is no way to know what got deleted and what got changed. Food for thought.
These things are NOT Catholic nuns. They are a bunch of sexually deranged and perverted lesbians. We do not recognize them as being affiliated with the Catholic church. They need to be booted out, and I am happy that the Vatican has dealt with these horrific disciples of satan. No one that condones the killing of babies is of the Light. No one that by their silence on depraved sexuality, gives license to men and women behaving like dogs in heat is of the Light. Glad to be rid of those disordered freaks of the natural law.
As a former nun, many of these comments distress me tremendously. There still seems to be a tremendous amount of anti-Catholicism present in America. I left the religious life not due to a desire to be secularized but because I found that our religious communities were becoming focused on secular and political issues rather than faith. The religious communities that have lost their charism and focus are dying out while more traditional communities are flourishing. I am a Catholic due to my faith, not politics. I belong to the Church due to the Eucharist and the presence of Jesus Christ, not because of old men in Rome.
I'm glad that the liberal breed of these kind of sisters are dying out. I do hope they are kicked out, which will happen with our next pope. One can only pray that they then will realize their errors and decide to come back to the church and its' 2000+ years of Jesus-based teachings.