• Listen to this segment

• Listen to the entire program

The popular image of the Catholic nun as a deferential servant to the church was shattered this week when the Vatican announced that an investigation into the largest umbrella group of US nuns found it was promoting, ‘certain radical feminist themes.’ Through a statement posted on its website the presidency of the group, the Leadership Conference on Women Religious, said it was “stunned” by the Vatican’s conclusions.

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious represents over 45,000 nuns. It describes its mission as being broad in scope, which includes, “[c]ollaborating in Catholic church and societal efforts that influence systemic change.” Two other church organizations, The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Leadership Conference, had complained about the LCWR in the past. They accused its leaders of, “collectively [taking] a position not in agreement with the church’s teachings on human sexuality.” The Vatican’s report criticized the group for being “silent” on the “right to life” and for promoting positions that contradicted the bishops, whom the Vatican called, “authentic teachers of faith and morals.”

The AP reports that the Vatican’s investigation began in 2009 during the debates around healthcare reform, which the Catholic Bishops opposed but the LCWR and other Nun-led organizations supported. The LCWR will be subjected to a years-long reform effort overseen by a Seattle, Washington Archbishop.

GUEST: Catherine Morris, a former Catholic nun and long-time member of the LA Catholic Worker. She has run the group’s 6th Street kitchen with her husband since the early 1970s.

Visit www.lacatholicworker.org for more information.