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Vatican Investigates US Nuns Who Openly Oppose Roman Catholic Doctrine on a Variety of Matters...

"The antichrist forces of the agents from hell are out now in great numbers invading Our convents and seminaries, My child. You must hasten to reach your pastors with the Message." - Our Lady of the Roses, July 25, 1975 

GetReligion.org reported on May 24, 2010:

So the Detroit Free Press has a huge article about the Apostolic Visitation of women religious orders here in the United States. What’s that? Well, a year or two ago, the Vatican’s Congregation for Religious ordered a review of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. That’s the group recently in the news for being involved in the 11th hour endorsement of health care legislation.

You never would have learned from the media coverage at the time, but this group is known for having leadership that openly opposes Roman Catholic doctrine on a variety of matters (more on that later). The media instead presented the women religious who signed off on the health care package as unassailable when it came to adhering to church teaching.

The reader who sent the story in said he thought the article was fairer than most but that’s because he gave them “bonus points for not using the word ‘inquisition’.”

Now that’s a pretty low bar, isn’t it? I actually think that if you made it through the entire article, it was better than most. But it definitely began with a particular viewpoint:

The investigation hits at a time when the Vatican is dealing with escalating criticism of its oversight of priests accused of sexually abusing children.

While church officials have said the study is necessary to account for the shrinking number of American nuns, the Rev. Thomas Reese, a Jesuit priest at Georgetown University’s Woodstock Theological Center, called it a “disastrous PR move by the Vatican.”

“When American Catholics find out (nuns) are being investigated by the Vatican, they scratch their heads and say, ‘What is this all about?’ ” said Reese, a Catholic commentator. “There has always been at the Vatican a deep suspicion of U.S. nuns because they are educated, outspoken and don’t like to be pushed around.”

One by one, several people deeply touched by the work of the Adrian Dominican nuns told a Vatican-sanctioned panel of investigators about the ways the Michigan-based order of Catholic sisters serves people in need and honors God.

The shorter version would be “Vatican mean, sisters awesome on every level.” The thing is that church officials have explained why they’re doing the study and I don’t think they even mentioned that the LCWR is facing precipitous declines in membership (particularly when compared to the increases seen by the smaller, more traditional Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious). They explained that the LCWR was facing investigation because of its doctrinal differences with the Holy See. Remember the New York Times/Laurie Goodstein story last year about this visit? Here’s how she put it:

Cardinal [William] Levada sent a letter to the Leadership Conference saying an investigation was warranted because it appeared that the organization had done little since it was warned eight years ago that it had failed to “promote” the church’s teachings on three issues: the male-only priesthood, homosexuality and the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church as the means to salvation.

Two of those three things are given the briefest mention possible a few paragraphs later. But, of course, these things are part of a fascinating story — one that must be included to give more balance to the piece. There’s no mention of specific practices that the Vatican has asked the nuns to stop (such as Reiki) or general trends toward radical feminism. Or who can forget the 2007 LCWR speech given by Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Laurie Brink praising the many nuns who have moved “beyond the church, even beyond Jesus” and into an interfaith approach to their work and theology.

That simply has to be mentioned in order to give an appropriate understanding of the array of doctrinal issues at stake. Yes, the Vatican considers its doctrines on the priesthood and homosexuality to be important. But to not include the battles over the essential, creedal issues of ancient Christianity — such as the uniqueness of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ — is irresponsible.

And the mention of female priests and homosexuality — to the exclusion of the other issues — also makes the story more about politics than about doctrine. For example:

The Vatican’s inquiry plays into the debate about women’s roles in many denominations and illustrates the conservative-liberal polarization that permeates American politics.

“This visit is part of the longer-term tensions between the liberals and the conservatives in the Catholic Church, and also is part of the tensions between the Vatican and the American Catholic Church,” said Professor John Green, director of the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron and a scholar on religion’s impact in America. “I expect this visitation will create more negative reactions from those on the liberal side and more positive reactions from those on the conservative side.”

Of course, Green isn’t talking about politics — American or otherwise. The reader who submitted the story pointed out how the words “liberal” and “progressive” (another word used in the story) mean different things in politics than in religious discussions. A political liberal could be a religious traditionalist, for instance. But this story conflates some political orientations with religious orientations. It’s important to clarify which sphere is being discussed.

Now, the story also includes some absolutely wonderful perspective from the sisters being investigated. Many of them — and many of their defenders — speak candidly about the process and how it makes them feel. That is truly a mark in the story’s favor. But we also need the rest of the story — and the voices from the other side to help personalize the Vatican perspective.

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U.S. feminist nun urges liberal religious orders to resist "hostile" Vatican visitation...

"Jesus the Lord, your Lord, my sisters and brothers, has made the rule. You cannot change it to suit yourselves. You have been blinded by satan. The liberation in your hearts has been placed there by satan. You gain nothing but your own destruction. Nuns, those who have accepted the rule and taken the habit, must remain in the habit." - St. Theresa, October 2, 1975 

LifeSiteNews.com reported on March 6, 2009:

A self-proclaimed feminist religious sister has urged her fellows in the feminist Catholic movement to "non-violent" resistance against an upcoming Vatican-mandated visitation into the lives and works of American religious orders. Vatican visitors to the convent, wrote Sr. Sandra M. Schneiders, should be received "politely and kindly," but not welcomed, honored or cooperated with.

Sr. Schneiders, a member of the Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and a professor of New Testament studies and Christian spirituality at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California, wrote a thousand-word email, published Friday in the left-leaning National Catholic Reporter, in which she urged other members of the feminist religious orders not to "panic."

"We cannot, of course, keep them from investigating. But we can receive them, politely and kindly, for what they are, uninvited guests who should be received in the parlor, not given the run of the house. When people ask questions they shouldn't ask, the questions should be answered accordingly," Sr. Shneiders wrote. 

In January, when the Vatican announced it would be conducting a "visitation" of some women's religious orders in the US, many faithful Catholics expressed their appreciation that serious attention was to be paid to what they see as a major crisis in the US Church, that of the virtual dissolution of the active religious life.

In the last four decades, many of the active religious orders have become leaders in the radical feminist movement, with full support for abortion, divorce, contraception and homosexuality, and systematic opposition to the teachings of the Catholic Church on the sanctity of life and marriage. In the meantime, these communities have been reduced to a numeric shadow of their former selves. With thousands of sisters leaving convents in the 1960s and '70s, and scarce recruits since, many communities are merging and even shutting down operations, and the average age of US active sisters now hovers around 70.

In her email, Sr. Schneiders urged her confreres in the feminist religious orders to "be honest but reserved, supply no ammunition that can be aimed at us, be non-violent even in the face of violence ... Non-violent resistance is what finally works as we've found out in so many arenas."

Accusing the recent Vatican visitators in US seminaries of being "aggressive and dishonest," Sr. Schneider called the Visitation a "hostile move" intended to quash the work of a "renewal of Religious Life" undertaken by feminist sisters over the last forty years. It is, she said, a "fake war being stirred up by the Vatican at the instigation of the frightened."

She concludes, "The institutional Church has always resisted the new in Religious Life, especially among women. But the new will continue to happen. At this moment in history, we are it."

Sr. Schneiders' email is making the rounds amongst Catholic commentators, who have commented widely that, in their opinion, Sr. Schneiders' view is representative of a dying and outdated movement in the US Church.

Elizabeth Scalia, writing for the online edition of the influential First Things magazine, said that far from being "the new," the feminist and heavily secularized religious orders are yesterday's news. "In truth, Sr. Schneiders was 'it' in 1972," Scalia wrote. "Religious Life for women in the United States will be defined in the next few decades by those orders that manage to thrive in a world where the values of chastity, humility, and obedience are misunderstood."

The US spokesman for the Apostolic Visitation, Sister Eva Maria Ackerman, told LifeSiteNews.com that the Visitation is intended only as a means of bolstering the works and life of American religious sisters. She rejected the accusation that the Visitation is an attack on a certain kind of religious order.

Sr. Ackerman told LSN that there was nothing to say in response to Sr. Schneiders' email, because for purposes of their work, her opinion is "irrelevant." The Visitation, said Sr. Ackerman, is an attempt by the Church to gauge the "vitality of religious life in the US Church." Four hundred communities, she said, are involved in the various phases and many superiors of religious communities are already preparing to work closely with the visitators.

"The Church esteems the religious life," she said. "Religious in this country continue even with fewer sisters and older members to serve the Church in a variety of ways." The purpose of the Visitation then, she said, is to see where the strengths lie and to help bolster them and prepare for the future.

While the communities of sisters represented by the feminist organization, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, are generally aging and shrinking, new communities are arising who have consciously rejected the "progressivist" hostility towards the Catholic Church and retained the traditions of the religious life. These communities, together with some existing orders who refused to follow the progressivist trend, are represented by the more recently founded Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, and are burgeoning with eager young recruits. The new orders are invariably staunchly pro-life and pro-family, with many being founded especially to do pro-life work.

These vibrant new communities also tend to be keenly aware of the value of the internet to reach out to potential new recruits. With this in mind, Sr. Ackerman's office has set up a website for those interested in following the progress of the Visitation and has even started a group on the internet social networking site Facebook.

Mother Clare Millea, the sister appointed by Rome to coordinate the Visitation, wrote on the group's webpage, "I am coming to a new appreciation for the great advantage of modern technology for getting out the 'good news' about the Apostolic Visitation. I appreciate also how this communications and networking tool is bringing people like you and your Friends together for the common good - the prayerful support of religious life in our country."

"There's a great deal of hope," said Sr. Ackerman, "that there will be strengthening where it needs to be strengthened."

"We have great hope that some very good strong things will come out of it."

To visit the Apostolic Visitation Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=60994567428

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

American Nuns' Group Voter's Guide Favors Abortion, Homosexuality
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/nov/06110306.html

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"My child, I wish you also to make note in your heart and the hearts of all mankind that I am much despaired, as Theresa, Our Little Flower, is much despaired at the lack of numbers in the nunneries. Vocations are needed for the priesthood, and also for the nunneries.
     "Are there not any who care to come forward and dedicate their lives to save Our young children? Please, My children, surely among you, those who hear My voice or will read this written word, can you not give your life to win your reward forever in Heaven? And perhaps also, those you love you can bring with you. So many little souls are crying. They thirst for the knowledge of Jesus and all of Heaven. Will you not solace them and comfort them in their loneliness? They are like sheep out in the wilderness, astray with no leaders. They are wandering. And what do they feast upon but weeds. No good nourishment is being given them. Will you not, My children, you who are children of the light, come forward and become nuns, nuns with good hearts, with a good foundation of the Faith and the truth, and nourish Our sheep?” - Our Lady of the Roses, June 18, 1982

EDITOR'S COMMENT:  Evil is expanding and the Anti-Christ forces are gaining power in the world.  When the persecution starts, Christian web sites on the internet will be forced to close, including this one.  Be sure to have in your possession all the following items: the Bayside books, Bayside Medals, Douay-Rheims Bibles, the Protection Packets, Candles, Sacramentals, and Religious Books.  Purchase these items now while they are still available!  You will urgently need them in the days ahead.  Also, you can print out all PDF files for the Directives from Heaven and all of the Bayside Prophecies.  Copy Our Lady's messages and the Directives from Heaven now while they are still available!  Pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance on how to prepare now and for the days ahead.  God bless.

Our Lady of the Roses awesome Bayside Prophecies... https://www.tldm.org/../Bayside/
These prophecies came from Jesus, Mary, and the saints to Veronica Lueken at Bayside, NY, from 1968 to 1995.

PURPOSE OF LIFE
"While you are upon earth you are there to do honor and glory to your God in Heaven. You must know Him, love Him, and serve Him in this world, so that you will be happy with Him forever in the next." - Our Lady, June 1, 1978

THE  DEDICATED  ARE  LEAVING
"My child, We watch and see the houses of My Son crumbling, being destroyed throughout your world. Doors are closing, convents are emptying, and the dedicated are leaving and falling into all manner of sin and abominations. Who shall be in the remnant? Only a few will be saved." - Our Lady, May 26, 1976 

INFILTRATED
"Yes, My child, I spoke to you of the evil ones who have infiltrated into the clergy. They are not entering with dedication and spirits of light, but they are bringing in the spirit of darkness. By their fruits will you know them, My child. I have asked you to be not fooled by those who wear the garments of the dedicated but have fouled their garments. You must pray more for the light and recognize the faces of evil about you, My child." - Jesus, June 5, 1975 

OBEDIENCE
"In the cause of obedience, pastors and Our dedicated nuns, remember this: you cannot be obedient to one who has defamed his habit, to one who has cast aside his Faith, to one who goes forward as a destroyer of souls. The rabat is the teacher of life, but do not be fooled by those who foul these habits." - Our Lady, August 5, 1976 

COME  FORWARD
"Will you not, My children, you who are children of the light, come forward and become nuns, nuns with good hearts, with a good foundation of the Faith and the truth, and nourish Our sheep?" - Our Lady, June 18, 1982  

JESUS  MADE  THE  RULE
"Jesus the Lord, your Lord, my sisters and brothers, has made the rule. You cannot change it to suit yourselves. You have been blinded by satan. The liberation in your hearts has been placed there by satan. You gain nothing but your own destruction. Nuns, those who have accepted the rule and taken the habit, must remain in the habit." - St. Theresa, October 2, 1975 

GARMENT  OF  PURITY
"Holiness and piety! Man—men of God, you must wear your garment of purity, dedication, and piety. What manner of foul deeds do you perform for the destruction of your sheep! For what? Material gain and pride and arrogance? You shall be cast into the abyss! Rank shall give you no advantage when you come over the veil." - St. Michael, December 24, 1975 

WOE
"And woe to the clergy who has given himself over to worldliness and sin! Woe to the clergy who rejects his vocation and chooses a life upon earth after he has taken his vows! I say unto him: the judgment will fall great upon him." - Jesus, August 4, 1979 

MOCKED
"Know now, my brothers and sisters of religious orders, you will be mocked, you will be scorned, but you will please the Eternal Father and receive your reward in the Kingdom." - St. Francis, May 28, 1975  

THE  "BUCK-PASSER"
"I see, My children, a great evil transpiring upon earth. Those who have the power to stop the evil have chosen to go downstream like ducks upon water, letting everything slide off their backs, neither caring nor visualizing the future. And why?  Because they have given themselves to the world.
     "Just as My Son stood before Pilate and he washed his hands and said: 'This man is innocent; I see no wrong in him,' however, in his heart he knew of innocence but he feared reprisal from the crowd, My children; he valued his life, he loved his sin, and he was too much involved with the pleasures of this life and the world.
     "You see, My children, it is taking place all over again for those in command in rule. They go along 'passing,' as you say, 'the buck,' each one not willing to admit his error or his participation in evil, but only too willingly allowing others to take the blame or the responsibility. And I assure you, My children, if evil is being allowed, the 'buck passer' is just as guilty as the original one who had started the evil.         
     "If you know in your hearts, O pastors, that souls are in danger of being corrupted, misled, and even destroyed, and you do nothing about it, because you do not wish to offend your superiors, because you value your life in this world too much and your good living; I assure you, O pastors, you shall stand before My Son and He shall not know you. You will be disowned, banished from eternal life in Heaven, and you shall join your father who is the father of all liars, satan, and the prince of darkness." - Our Lady, March 18, 1977   

DO  NOT  LEAVE
"Do not leave when you are discouraged by those who satan has sent into your convents. Stand forth as an example of purity and godliness. You will not be cast aside by your God, as you will by man, as you stand to defend your God. Pick up your cross and carry it." - St. Theresa, November 20, 1972 

TELEVISION / RADIOS
"Modernism must not be a way of life for Our dedicated. Our nuns have to have discipline, My children. Do not bring the world into the convents. I ask that the convents remain free of all television and radios, and return to their prayer life." - Our Lady, June 18, 1990  

FOR  GOOD
"Pastors, you shall be called and shall you stand before, in judgment, the Eternal Father and say that your teaching has been pure in His sight? Better that you fear your God than man! Obedience? Obedience is commanded by the Eternal Father for good, not for evil!" - Our Lady, May 26, 1976  

Directives from Heaven...  https://www.tldm.org/directives/directives.htm 

D35 - Nuns  PDF
D78 - Charity  PDF
D159 - Religious  Orders  and the  Dedicated: Part 1   PDF
D160 - Religious  Orders  and the  Dedicated: Part 2   PDF
D233 - Vocations, Part 1    PDF
D234 - Vocations, Part 2  PDF

Articles...

The sources of growth and decline in religious orders
https://www.tldm.org/news7/Foley1.htm

Pope Pius XI warned religious orders to maintain rigorous discipline
https://www.tldm.org/news7/Foley2.htm

The new Commandment of Jesus
https://www.tldm.org/News7/Colin1.htm

Love of God and love of neighbor
https://www.tldm.org/News7/Colin2.htm

Beware of groups forming that have alienated themselves from their hierarchy
https://www.tldm.org/News7/AlienatedFromHierarchy.htm

We have dialogued enough! We have experimented enough!
https://www.tldm.org/news7/Timlin.htm 

"What is a priest?" by St. Theresa the Little Flower
https://www.tldm.org/News7/WhatIsAPriest.htm