LCWR

NunJustice 

~~NCR:   http://ncronline.org/feature-series/lcwr-cdf-2014

~~Mueller’s statement and the articles: http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/head-vatican-doctrinal-congregation-confronts-lcwr-noncooperation

~~Message from the Institute Leadership Team: The following communication from the Institute Leadership Team regarding the Leadership Conference of Women Religious' recent meeting with Cardinal Gerhard Müller of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will be translated into Spanish and delivered as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.

May 5, 2014

Today, the Vatican press released the Opening Remarks of Cardinal Gerhard Müller in his meeting with the Presidency of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. Later today, the LCWR presidency provided the following contextual statement. Both statements follow a brief message from the Institute Leadership Team.

~~Message from the Institute Leadership Team
As a leadership team, we appreciate the words of our LCWR presidency (below) that they found strong echoes of Pope Francis’ call to create a “culture of encounter exemplified by dialogue and discernment” in their visits to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and other offices in Rome last week. Although we are helped by the LCWR comments that their dialogue with Cardinal Müller reflected a respectful and engaging tone, it disturbs us that the CDF office published the opening remarks of Cardinal Müller without some further context to the subsequent conversation that he had with the LCWR leaders.

We look forward to further conversations and communications from LCWR and are deeply appreciative of the leadership of the presidency – Sisters Carol Zinn SSJ, Florence Deacon OSF, and Sharon Holland IHM – and the respectful work they promote in collaboration with LCWR Executive Director, Sister Janet Mock, CSJ.

As members of LCWR, the Institute Leadership Team of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas believes that LCWR has remained faithful throughout the Doctrinal Assessment process to the collaborative engagement of leaders in enhancing the LCWR mission to promote a developing understanding and living of religious life.

 Please refer any inquiries from the media to Sue Carroll in the Institute Communications Office at301.587.0423 or scarroll@sistersofmercy.org.

In Mercy,

The Institute Leadership Team

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~~Message from the Leadership Conference of Women Religious -  May 5, 2014

Shortly before leaving Rome, we learned that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published on its website the opening remarks made by Cardinal Gerhard Müller at our meeting with the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith on Wednesday, April 30, 2014. These remarks were made by Cardinal Müller in order to set a context for the discussion that followed. We have included the text of these opening remarks in this communication so that you have easy access to it in its entirety.

Throughout our time here in Rome, in our meetings with various offices, we consistently heard and felt the impact of Pope Francis' call to create a "culture of encounter" exemplified by dialogue and discernment. We want to assure you that this was our experience at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, also.

In the honest, respectful and engaging discussion that followed Cardinal Müller's opening remarks, we were able to offer responses that illuminated some of the perceptions about LCWR held by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

For example, in our discussion about the 2014 LCWR Outstanding Leadership Award, we noted that Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ served the universal church on a Pontifical Commission and was a consultant to the USCCB in the areas of ecology, science and faith. We further shared how distressing it is to realize that one aspect, in one book, of a distinguished theologian's body of work seems to caste the entire body of respected and credible work in its shadow. Additionally, we noted that when LCWR continues to read the signs of the times, within the context of our Catholic beliefs and tradition, it is an effort to attend to emerging insights and learnings. We are exploring these areas of contemporary culture, we are not proposing them. Nor are we using them to replace our firm commitment to the Christological foundation of consecrated life. Our efforts to explore new understandings from science and philosophy are in service of our members who desire to exercise anticipatory leadership in order to meet the challenging times in which they are leading. These points of discussion, among many more, were met with genuine respect, attentive listening and honest exchange.

We have much more to share with you about our conversations with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Congregation for Religious. We will be meeting with the Executive Committee of the LCWR Board in late May in preparation for our assembly in August. At the assembly we will engage in further dialogue and discernment as we continue to respond to the mandate from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Thank you for your ongoing prayer as we move through this discernment. We are deeply grateful for your prayerful and loving support. We are honored to serve you, our Sisters, and to walk together in fidelity and hope.

We look forward to being with you in August.

Gratefully,

Carol Zinn, SSJ

Sharon Holland, IHM

Florence Deacon, OSF

Janet Mock, CSJ

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