Vatican Crackdown on US Nuns

The April 20, 2012 Los Angeles Times article said: In a bluntly worded report, the Vatican's watchdog of orthodoxy, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, found what it called "serious doctrinal problems" with some of the comments and actions by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), based in Silver Spring, Maryland. In its assessment of the Conference the Vatican cited letters from some in the group "protesting the Holy See's actions regarding the question of women's ordination and of a correct pastoral approach to ministry to homosexual persons." "The terms of the letters suggest that these sisters collectively take a position not in agreement with the Church's teaching on human sexuality. It is a serious matter when these Leadership Teams are not providing effective leadership and example to their communities, but place themselves outside the Church's teaching," the report said. The Vatican on April 18 named Seattle Archbishop Peter Sartain to oversee changes in the group, a process that could take up to 5 years. The Leadership Conference, which says it has more than 1,500 members representing more than 80 percent of the 57,000 women religious in the US, stated it was "stunned" by the official assessment. "This is a moment of great import for religious life and the wider church," the group said on its website. "We ask your prayers as we meet with the LCWR National Board within the coming month to review the mandate and prepare a response." The Vatican's actions come at a time when Rome appears to be reasserting its conservative vision over some elements of the church, particularly in the US. Nuns have questioned a variety of church positions. In 2010 American bishops opposed the Obama administration's health care insurance overhaul but some nuns were very visible in supporting the plan. I found the timing of this interesting since I just watched the movie Pope Joan that came out in 2009 (there was one in 1972). Before I get into this I want to point out that there are only two books in the bible by women: the Book of Ruth (belongs within the early period of Judges) because the widow became the wife of Boaz, ancestor of David and Jesus (supports the genealogy of the savior-Matthew 1:5) and the Book of Esther (a Jewish maiden  who became queen of Persian King Ahasuerus; the 12 year events belong with the 6^th and 7^th chapters of Ezra) as Divine Providence is more obvious here than in any other book of the bible – despite the fact the people of Israel did not heed the call for return to their native land they were not forsaken by Jehovah. From a historical point of view the book supplies much information with reference to the state of the dispersed Jews in post-exilic times and gives the origin of the Feast of Purim. If you remember my April 3–Life & Women blog, Jesus had to instruct his disciples to mention Mary of Bethany (Matthew 26:10-13); first I wonder how the books were written if women were not educated and second it leads me to believe that women are mentioned not in a search for the truth but when it suits men.  

I found a December 29, 2005 ABC Primetime story called - Looking for Pope Joan. Mary Malone a former nun who wrote a history of women and Christianity said "90% of me thinks there was a Pope Joan, no woman would have been allowed to appear on the streets in public-that named you as a prostitute immediately”. Women were confined to their homes." Donna Cross, a novelist who spent 7 years researching the time period, said "I would say it's the weight of evidence-over 500 chronicle accounts of her existence." In AD 800 English missionaries were bringing Christianity to Germany and they created a monastery called Fulda in the town of Mainz which became a center of education, books and conversation for travelers -- but it was only for boys. In his "History of Emperors and Popes" a monk named Martin Polonus wrote about a young woman from Mainz who became "proficient in a diversity of branches of knowledge." (Per the Catholic Encyclopedia- Polonus lived at the Curia as papal chaplain and penitentiary and died in 1278 but the chronicles of Martin of Troppau say Joan, known as John Anglicus, became pope in 855 and occupied the papal chair 2 years, 7 months and 4 days.) Cross and others say a girl studying at the monastery would have no choice but to disguise herself as a boy. "First of all you might want to remember that clerical robes are very body-disguising. Also, in the 9^th century, personal hygiene was nonexistent. Nobody bathed. They washed their hands, their face, their feet, but they didn't bathe." said Cross." Clergy members were required to be clean shaven and malnutrition made most men and women physically gaunt. According to the 500 accounts, the woman made her way to Rome. In the 9^th century, Rome and the Vatican were nothing like today ... then the center of the Christian faith was home to bawdy monks, scheming cardinals, cross-dressing saints, intrigue, melodrama, corruption and violence. "Popes (18) ... killed each other off, hammered each other to death," says Mary Malone, the former nun. "There were 12-year-old popes (Benedict IX, 1032 AD was elected 3 times) ... we have knowledge of a 5-year-old archbishop. ... It was a very odd time in history." That also means it would have been a time of opportunity for someone with ambition and nerve. ABC said: If you travel to Italy many people will direct you toward the clues embedded in art, literature and architecture. The Renaissance poet Giovanni Boccaccio wrote a book on "100 Famous Women." No. 51 is Pope Joan. Rare book dealers in Rome pull ancient tarot cards from their shelves; the card for hidden knowledge is "La Papessa" -- the Female Pope. Travel north to Siena where inside the cathedral is a gallery of terra-cotta busts depicting 170 popes, in no particular order…In the 17th century, Cardinal Baronuis, the Vatican librarian, wrote that one of the faces was a female -- Joan the Female Pope. There’s more to the story coming.