SSDD: Vatican Ends Crackdown on US Nuns Accused of Radical Feminism
The takeover, combined with a separate Vatican investigation into the quality of life of US nuns, had deeply wounded the US sisters who oversee the lion’s share of the Catholic church’s social programmes, running schools, hospitals, homeless shelters and soup kitchens. The crackdown resulted in an outpouring of popular support for their work and fuelled allegations that the church’s treatment of women was heavy-handed and misogynistic.
In December, the Vatican’s quality of life investigation ended with sweeping praise for the sisters for their selfless work caring for the poor. Thursday’s conclusion of the doctrinal assessment signalled a similar positive conclusion.
More: Vatican Ends Crackdown on US Nuns Accused of Radical Feminism
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Vatican backs down and gives mild rebuke to American nuns
Sister Simone Campbell, the executive director of the Catholic social justice pressure group Network and leader of the Nuns on the Bus project, which tours the US to draw attention to social issues, said the report “reflects the difference that a different pope can make”.She said: “It was really wonderful to have the document say that religious women, more than most, may understand Pope Francis’s call to care for the poor and marginalised. The invitation to dialogue - I really hope they mean it.”
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However, Ellen Euclide, director of programmes at Call to Action, a group lobbying for change in the Catholic church, said the disappointment of the 2012 criticism had not yet gone away. “People still know … it was a demeaning way to treat women who have devoted their lives to ministry,” she said. “I don’t think that’s changed. “