The Vatican Should Exalt Catholic Nuns, Not Upbraid Them

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Susan, if you’re not a closed minded Dawkins/Hitchens, atheist type, here are a couple of steps you should take - I’m not gonna do the heavy lifting for you - Just nailin’ up a couple of signposts;
1. God is real - His Truth is eternal and not subject to your personal ideas or perceptions.
2. God wants you to know and understand Him.
3. God needs an interface system to fully communicate with mankind.
4. God needed to send someone who understands us and what it means to be human (pain, love, anger, loss - all that), but also needs to be aware and in sync with Him.
5. He has to let us know what He expects of us, yet still allow us our free will - otherwise we would be mere puppets.
6. This messenger would need to establish a Church and give unto it the Keys to the Kingdom.
7. The members of the Church willingly and peacefully died horrible deaths in order to plant the seeds of His Truth which eventually toppled the greatest power on earth - the Roman Empire. Not through the martyrdom of killing others, but through the martyrdom of dying a holy and purposeful death. And, all this was done before the New Testament existed.
8. Find a religion/theology founded by the only being who ever claimed to be the Son of God. Stay with the roots and traditions of the Church he founded before the bible ever existed. Jesus founded a Church to teach - He didn't write a bible so people could apply the doctrine of "sola scriptura".
9. Accept that the Church is made of men, and so is not perfect in some matters that do not pertain to the words and truth of God. There have been many lousy Popes and awful priests and nuns. The Church suffers them and survives. The failings of man are not the failings of God or His Church.
10. Do not accept the proposition that we can not know the mind or will of God or that all theology , all religions are equal - therefore relative, subjective, and so, ultimately meaningless. Impenetrable skepticism is your enemy. Accept the existence of Absolute Truth and that it is knowable. Then discipline your mind to begin the real work of conforming your will to His.
One final thought - When you finally "get it" you'll understand that It’s not about having faith who your father is - But rather, it’s about knowing who your Father is...

R.L. Schaefer of CA 6:29PM April 26, 2012

Ms. Milligan, your comments speak to your ignorance about Catholicism.
The current "administration" nor those that preceded it, or those that will follow, have any authority to change the teachings of the Church which have been revealed by God and preserved by the Church. This includes some women religious who have been doing just that! For far too long they have been misrepresenting Catholicism in very critical areas. This chastisement is long overdue! Social justice is a wonderful thing but not at the expense of teaching heresy. Thank God there are many young women entering religious life who embrace the authentic Catholic charism. They are orthodox in their views and have no problem whatsoever wearing a habit to give witness that they are the bride of Christ.
Homosexual behavior, "gay" marriage, abortion are all serious sins and a great offense to God. They can never be condoned in any way. The Catholic Church is not politically correct. What she taught over 2,000 years ago in faith and morals is still valid today. Many people who were Protestant felt this way and gave up membership in the liberal Protestant churches because they could not stand the "watering down" of the teachings of Christ.
The Catholic Church is growing and and we know that Christ is with us. He made us a promise that He would be with us until the end of time. I take Him at his word!

Mary Moskowitz of PA 4:45PM April 26, 2012

Quote: "Dressing them down in such a public and demeaning way not only adds insult to that injury, but damages the image of the church."
Really? For over 40 years high-profile nuns associated with the LCWR have been advocating for the ordination of women, defending the abortion "choice", normalization of same-sex relationships while disparaging, ignoring, and undermining the pastors of the Church these ladies proclaim they belong to. Their transgressions have been quite public and the private warnings against their deviations have been quite numerous. But no matter, they kept doing their own thing, without regard to faith of the rest of the Church.
Their public upbraiding was appropriate. The only thing I regret is that it took so long to happen.
- Teófilo de Jesús
Blogmaster, http://www.vivificat.org

TDJ of PA 3:17PM April 26, 2012

All human rights stem from the right to life. Without the right to life, there are no other rights. As such, being anti-abortion is the most important moral position that one can take. The Catholic Church has always been against abortion and always will be. Period. There is no discussion on this matter as far as the Catholic Church is concerned. There never was any discussion. There never will be. "I am the life" says Jesus Christ, the Author Of Life. How much more plain can it get? To be against life (AKA pro-abortion) is to be against Jesus. It really is that simple. Why people are not getting this is incredibly strange at time; however, the likely source of such temptation is the Ancient Enemy itself, who was a murderer from the beginning, a liar and deceiver. Given all this, yes, the Catholic Church is a comfortable place for those who are anti-abortion and, at the same time, it is an uncomfortable place for those that are pro-abortion. When pro-abortion people learn that life is a sacred gift from God, they will start to heal. Jesus is life. When humans come to know and believe this, they will also know The Way (Jesus) and The Truth (Jesus) and, as such, His Holy church (The Catholic Church) will be a lot more comfortable for them. If not, then not. That said, yes, it can take a long time for humans to learn and The Catholic Church is patient. The gates of hell will not prevail against His Holy Church. With love and peace.

Mark Kamoski of MA 3:17PM April 26, 2012

Amazing lack of grace by Jacob and as demonstrated by the Vatican. But then what would one expect from a religion that indoctrinats men into believing that they are superior over the other sex. Your church had to literally kill off the Pagan beliefs, the women doctors, and holy women to rest that control with the first holocaust unrecognized, to claim your patrioical throne. It took a period 200 years of inquisitions and witch burnings based on intolerance, ignorance, and hate to gain that position of superiority. The irony is that your religious stories are a reconstruction of older religions, taken in bits and parts. Too bad that in the process they lost the most important tenant…the golden rule, and the following of the word and spirit of Jesus.
Aptly named…(In the Hebrew Bible, he is the son of Isaac and Rebekah, the grandson of Abraham and Sarah and of Bethuel, and the younger twin brother of Esau. Jacob had twelve sons and at least one daughter, by his two wives, Leah and Rachel, and by their female slaves Bilhah and Zilpah. The children named in Genesis wereReuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, daughter Dinah, Joseph, and Benjamin.)

Anne of CA 2:45PM April 26, 2012

It's Ms. Milligan's right to disagree with the Church's moral teachings, but I hope she can understand if the Church doesn't throw them over the side simply because she thinks so.
The problems with these women's religious orders goes back decades, long before Obamacare was ever dreamed up. They abandoned not only their habits, communal living, and traditional devotions - the hallmarks of consecrated religious life going back to the 3rd century - but almost any Christological orientation whatsoever (you will look hard and long at the LCWR website for references to Jesus Christ). It is no surprise that these orders have had virtually no vocations for the last three decades. The average age of an LCWR nun is in the 80's now. The only surprise is that the Vatican did not act sooner.
But there *are* orders drawing young women, quite a lot of them, and it's because they can combine much greater education and mature spiritual formation with traditional religious life and fidelity to the ancient teaching of the Church. And I wholeheartedly favor putting *those* women out front.

Richard M of MD 2:25PM April 26, 2012

By the way I love how my entire life there's been this old hippie saying "Finally! All the members of the Catholic Church are leaving! I know I said last year, but it's this year, or maybe next year but soon it wont exist anymore!!"
I think the Church is doing fine and it's hippies who are dying.

Jacob of CA 1:32PM April 26, 2012

Thanks for another ignorant uneducated view on the inner workings of the Catholic Church!
How come they don't pay me to write about the homosexual agenda? I mean I have about as much respect for that as you bunch of pagans do for the Catholic Church!

Jacob of CA 1:30PM April 26, 2012

It's little wonder that the Catholic Church is losing support among a large segment of their members.
This raking the nuns over the coal's for their stance on issues that are of great concern for many catholic women.
The Vatican can choose to ignore this reality. but they do so at their peril.

bruce b of NV 12:55PM April 26, 2012