The national board of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) has met and issued its response to the April 18th assessment of the organization issued by the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. The full LCWR response can be found on the LCWR website. Additional background is available in an article published online today by the National Catholic Reporter.
We, sisters of Benedictine Women of Madison, continue to stand with LCWR and all women religious in the US as sisters in Christ. We find most striking and poignant in the LCWR response their statement: “The report has furthermore caused scandal and pain throughout the church community, and created greater polarization.”
The LCWR statement goes on to say:
The board recognizes this matter has deeply touched Catholics and non-Catholics throughout the world as evidenced by the thousands of messages of support as well as the dozens of prayer vigils held in numerous parts of the country. It believes that the matters of faith and justice that capture the hearts of Catholic sisters are clearly shared by many people around the world. As the church and society face tumultuous times, the board believes it is imperative that these matters be addressed by the entire church community in an atmosphere of openness, honesty, and integrity.
Here at Holy Wisdom Monastery we pray daily for the unity of the church. Our morning prayer yesterday (May 31, 2012) included these words:
O God, we are the work of your hands, and you have made us for communion with you and with one another. As we begin this day, form us in loving ways and draw us into unity, through Jesus Christ, who lives with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
It is this deep desire to respond to Jesus’s prayer “that they may all be one” (John 17:21) that impelled our community to become an ecumenical religious community, opening our doors and embracing the faithful from all Christian traditions. Our prayers continue for the healing of the church, for the support of faithful Christian witness and work in all settings, for the leadership at all levels, and especially in these days for our sisters in Christ represented by LCWR.
Related blog post: United in Christ, posted May 3, 2012