May 15, 2014
An Open Letter to Pope Francis About Women’s Leadership in The Church
His Holiness, Pope Francis PP.
00120 Via del Pellegrino
Citta del Vaticano
Dear Pope Francis,
We write with respect and gratitude for your extraordinary leadership in our Church.
Sadly, we also write with concern and dismay at the behavior that Cardinal Gerhard Müller recently exhibited toward women leaders of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) and especially toward Dr. Elizabeth Johnson CSJ.
Cardinal Müller’s preemptive public criticism of LCWR leadership and Dr. Johnson, one of the most beloved and respected theologians in the world, eclipsed any opportunity for public dialogue.
This communicates that faithful Catholic female leaders are disrespected and discounted in our Church.
On numerous occasions you have expressed a desire to expand leadership opportunities for women. We respectfully suggest that the place to begin is to listen to faithful women who are already exercising leadership.
We ask you to personally intervene with Cardinal Müller and Archbishop Sartain and remove the unjust mandates imposed on LCWR over two years ago.
In addition, a public apology to Dr. Johnson and LCWR leadership would speak volumes about the institutional Church’s intent to truly listen to women and honor their voices.
In closing, we express our love and solidarity with you as together we joyfully proclaim the rich diversity revealed in the Good News of Jesus Christ, a message ever ancient yet ever new.
Sincerely yours,
The NunJustice Coalition
American Catholic Council
Association of Roman Catholic Womenpriests
Call To Action
Catholics Speak Out / Quixote Center
CORPUS
DignityUSA
Federation of Christian Ministries/RCFCC
FutureChurch
National Coalition of American Nuns
New Ways Ministry
Pax Christi Maine
RAPPORT
Roman Catholic Womenpriests - USA
Southeastern Pennsylvania Women’s Ordination Conference
Voice of the Faithful
WATER: Women's Alliance Theology, Ethics and Ritual
Women’s Ordination Conference
Cc:
Sr. Carol Zinn and Sr. Janet Mock
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
8808 Cameron Street
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Cardinal Gerhard L. Müller
Prefect, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Piazza del S. Uffizio, 11, 00193
Roma, Italy
Archbishop J. Peter Sartain
Archdiocese of Seattle
710 9th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganó
Apostolic Nuncio
3339 Massachusetts Avenue
NW Washington, DC 20008
Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz
President, US Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 Fourth Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20017
Those interested in supporting the sisters in this can sign their online petition here.
Pope Francis: Support U.S. Nuns & Remove the Unjust Mandate Against LCWR | Groundswell
Father Z says, "Remember: They will settle for nothing less than the ordination of women. The catholic Left will turn on Pope Francis when they finally realize that he is not going to conform to their liberal and heretical notions and agenda... the cracks are already appearing. He is not going to give the nod to moving beyond Jesus."
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