US priests write letter of criticism to Pope Francis

Objections raised to cardinal's 'blunt' rebuke of US sisters.

United States:  The Association of U.S. Catholic Priests in a letter to Pope Francis criticized the head of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for his recent comments chastising the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.

The Seattle-based association, which claims 1,000 U.S. priests as members, focused its letter to the pope on comments made by the congregation's prefect, German Cardinal Gerhard Muller, in an April 30 welcoming address to LCWR leadership.

LCWR is a Maryland-based umbrella group that claims about 1,500 leaders of U.S. women's communities as members, representing about 80 percent of the country's 57,000 women religious. The group is currently undergoing a major reform ordered by the Vatican in 2012.

Muller's remarks were "self-confessedly blunt," said the letter, signed by Fr. David Cooper of the Milwaukee archdiocese, the association's president, and members of the group's board.

Dated June 2, the letter was released to the media June 12.

The prelate's comments included, among other things, the view that an LCWR award to one sister whose book was subject to doctrinal scrutiny "will be seen as a rather open provocation against the Holy See and the doctrinal assessment"; that LCWR is promoting futuristic ideas he described as "opposed to Christian revelation"; and there is "increasing concern" over the "directional statements" of some LCWR member congregations.

LCWR plans to give a major award at the group's annual assembly in August to St. Joseph Sr. Elizabeth Johnson. In 2011, the U.S. bishops' Committee on Doctrine criticized one of Johnson's books as containing "misrepresentations, ambiguities and errors" related to the Catholic faith.

The cardinal's remarks were released by the congregation "without any aspects of the subsequent discussion being included," the U.S. priests told the pope.

"Does that kind of premature, one-sided public comment build trust? Does it help the process or the public perception of the church?" the letter asked.

"Rather it projects what many perceive as clerical/hierarchical bullying of religious women, publically shaming them. That is deeply regretful. A joint concluding statement after the discussions would have been more appropriate."

Source: National Catholic Reporter