Article by By Mary Johnson published in the Times Union May 26, 2012****
I left the convent 15 years ago, but I still dream of myself in a long white habit.
Lately those dreams have intensified. I dream of nuns on trial, sisters forced into boxes. I find myself shouting into crowds, trying to get someone to pay attention.
In April the Vatican accused some American sisters of exploring spiritualities outside Roman Catholicism, engaging in corporate dissent and embracing “radical feminism.” They’ve appointed a Seattle archbishop to oversee the activities of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious for the next five years. Beginning Tuesday, the sisters of the LCWR will gather to formulate a response.
Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Sisters-are-women-of-conviction-3586625.php#ixzz1w1KltRM2
On Tuesday in Albany, there will be an Evening of Prayer in Support of Women Religious of America at St. Vincent de Paul Church, 900 Madison Ave., from 7-8:30 p.m.
**** See another article by Mary Johnson published May 21st on the Huffington Post:
The Vatican Lays a Cunning Trap for American Nuns
By Mary C. Johnson
Posted: 05/21/2012 1:54 pm Huffington Post
At the end of this month, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious will meet to formulate a response to a Vatican trap whose cunning is best appreciated within the long tradition of religious authorities who craft impossible dilemmas for those they perceive as threats.
Two millennia ago, the chief priests sent someone to ask Jesus, “Should we pay taxes?” If Jesus said yes, he would pit himself against Jewish resistance to Roman occupation and therefore, in Jewish eyes, against God. If he said no, the Romans could execute him for sedition. Instead, Jesus famously replied, “Render to Ceaser what is Ceaser’s and to God what is God’s.”
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-c-johnson/vatican-lays-a-cunning-trap-for-american-nuns_b_1527369.html