The Vatican finally realized that they were investigating the wrong people! I admired the way the LCWR responded with prayer and respectfulness while the cardinals and bishops were throwing around insults and meanness.

In the 60's there were about 150 thousand nuns, now 2015, less than 40 thousand. The average age is 70.

Sad end.

Nunsuch the LCWR not only failed to refute the statement made at their conference, in 2012, the same year as the Vatican enquiry began, the conference hosted philosopher Barbara Marx Hubbard, an author and promoter of “Conscious Evolution” as the keynote speaker for their annual General Assembly. The concept has since featured heavily in LCWR materials. If you allow what effectively is Gnosticism to have such prominence, unless you are hard of thinking, you know what is likely to follow.

Aloyisius, I like your comments very much. If only the LCWR had put forward such a cogent argument they might not have been the cause of so much time and money being wasted.

Following Jesus and his teachings is something that makes the keen follower restless. There is a restlessness that goes with contemplating Jesus who came to offer life to the full, and did it often urgently. We see him healing on the Sabbath, touching lepers, stooping and washing the feet of his disciples, etc. In doing these acts he announces the immediacy and presence of the Kingdom of his Dad; a Kingdom that is inclusive; that is naturally open to all people, regardless of how our human eyes look at reality----often in very limited and prejudiced ways. I think the attempt to intrude in the affairs of the American sisters had something to do with fear of the consequences of following Jesus very closely and very radically. The great news is that we can celebrate that this investigation has ended more or less amicably; 'with a whimper rather a bang'. Time tends to be a great teacher. We shall learn more of how this came about as time unfolds. But i tend to think that there are some confident and servant leaders who have emerged over the last few years, and can see beyond power and patriarchy, and can discern the Spirit who blows where the Spirit wills through the Sisters' choice to live and work with the Poor! And we the Poor are so diverse!

Aloysius Beebwa ( abeebwa@hotmail.com)

Nonsense. You are citing an out-of-context passage from a talk given at LCWR, in which it was stated that a FEW sisters (NOT members of LCWR) might be exploring such ideas. This was hardly an "assertion "by LCWR." If you are going to engage in hyperbole, at least base it minimally on reality.

"a new bye-law emphasising the centrality of the teachings of Jesus and of the Church to their mission and ministries."
In every sense of the word, unbelievable. The LCWR brought this entirely upon themselves by their frankly crack pot behaviour. Their assertion in 2007 about having moved beyond Christ was an ill thought out and utterly provocative piece of silliness. Surely they can't have been so daft as to think The Vatican would let that go.