New York Times Runs Another Mean Vatican Nice Nuns Op-Ed ( Nuns and the American West )

I think everyone in this saga is going to benefit when this story goes away a tad. That being the Holy See, the Leadership group of nuns there are concerned about and various other impacted parties.

There needs to be some dialogue , and that is perhaps not helped by the napalm various factions are throwing for their own often unrelated agendas. There needs to be a media time out so there can be some calm.

Which brings us to this Op-Ed written by Anne M. Butler, a professor emerita of history at Utah State University, is the author of the forthcoming book “Across God’s Frontiers: Catholic Sisters in the American West, 1850-1920.”  See Nuns on the Frontier .

One thought that is sort of unrelated. Its kinda of sad that in the history of building American Fortress Catholicism that the role of the Brothers are so often ignored. It's all Priest vs Sisters or something like that. I have just noticed that as the history of the America Church is often mentioned in this conflict.

One looming elephant in the room as to this Op-Ed were these nuns and sisters were very Orthodox. Somehow they did not think of moving to a "post Jesus" situation was apt.



Then as now, not all priests and bishops treated sisters badly, though the priests who reached out to nuns in a spirit of appreciation, friendship and equality could not alter the church’s institutional commitment to gender discrimination. And, as now, some bishops, dismissive of the laity, underestimated the loyalty secular Catholics felt for their nuns.



In the case of Mother St. Andrew, tenacity and spirituality triumphed over arrogance and misogyny. The Vatican would do well to bear this history in mind as it thinks through the consequences of its unjust attack on American sisters.

Of course this is not an attack on all American Sisters Also she sort of fails to make the case that this is 'unjust".

One things that bothers me , and I wonder how many Catholic women think the same as to how this playing out . Some of the theological concerns the Vatican have is a rather big deal. I will take it for granted that some of these Female Relgious  leaders take this theological  thought seriously.

But it seems since they help the poor and because they are women that any discussion of what the Vatican is actually concerned about seems off limits.

I find that strange ,and well sort of a degrading anti female point of view. Its also seems striking that a female Prof at a University where her work would no doubt be engaged and held under scrutiny  is parroting that.

It's quite clear that some of the sisters in question want this theology that has all sort of implications to have a effect on the Church and beyond. YET to even say some of this seems well outside the boundary of traditional Christianity is to be attacking all nuns .

I suppose there is some benefit of this theological thought going under the radar from a tactical point of view. However I do't thnk that is a good state of affairs.

Let us bring it out in the sunshine as it were. It appears some University professors disagree though.