"Institutions that claim power over our nature will have to pay nature's denied due, and will end by abusing their flock."
— "Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life," by James Hollis.
I was still savoring the peace and joy of a Triduum retreat at Genesis Spirituality Center in Westfield last month, when the Vatican completed their investigation of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) and appointed an American bishop to "rein in" the group which represents most of America's 55,000 nuns for "not speaking out strongly enough against gay marriage, abortion and women's ordination."
It was my second Triduum retreat with Edward Quinnan, S.J. and Sisters of Providence Elizabeth Oleksak, Ann Horgan and Mary Horgan.
Genesis has been one of my favorite retreat centers ever since I made an 8-day retreat there in 2004 because I could no longer find spiritual nourishment in an institution that refused to hold bishops responsible for enabling the sexual abuse of children or for denying the Eucharist to those they called "public sinners."
According to a news account, members of LCWR "challenged church teaching on homosexuality, the male-only priesthood, and promoted radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith." They were also "reprimanded for public statements that disagree with or challenge the bishops, who are the church's authentic teachers of faith and morals." (N.Y. Times, April 18)
Was Cardinal Bernard Law teaching "faith and morals" when he and his men covered up the sexual abuse of children in the Boston Archdiocese, transferring pedophile priests to other parishes and paying hush money to parents of abused children? Is that what Pope John Paul II was doing when he placed Cardinal Law in charge of a Vatican Basilica and refused to meet with abuse victims? Is that what prelates throughout the world did, confronted with a scandal so big it had to be kept secret from those who still think bishops actually are "authentic teachers of faith and morals?"
And who were the ones who urged the bishops to warn parishes that the priests they were sending them had a record of abusing children?
In many cases, it was a Catholic sister whose wisdom was ignored by both bishops and priests — as well as the Vatican.
According to the report of the Attorney General of Massachusetts (July 23, 2003), Catherine Mulkerrin, a Sister of St. Joseph who served from Aug. 3, 1992 to Sept. 1, 1994 under Cardinal Law provided a "pastoral response" to victims and was "the primary Archdiocese liaison for the victims of clergy sexual abuse ... keeping a list of priests against whom sexual abuse allegations were made," a list that "grew to more than one hundred different names."
She also met with "a minimum of 200 victims and family members."
The report described Sister Mulkerrin as "a strong and lonely advocate for change" promoting a policy to reflect that victims were the Archdiocese's "first priority" and should "apply to schools and other Archdiocese institutions, not just clergy." Unfortunately, her "suggestions were not incorporated into the final policy" because as the AG's investigation revealed, priests were the "first priority" of Cardinal Law and his bishops.
I learned "faith and morals" first from my parents, followed by Dominican Sisters in grade school and Sisters of Charity in high school in New York City.
And Jesus learned a great deal from what the Vatican might call "radical feminists" in his life. His mother triggered his first miracle, saying "they have no wine" (John 2:1-11), and the Canaanite woman who begged him to cure her child, reminding him that even "dogs were fed scraps," convinced him that his mission was broader than he thought (Mark 7:24-30).
Jesus warned his disciples that they would be persecuted and he denounced devious religious officials as "blind guides" (Matthew 23:1-39).
He'd probably be excommunicated if he was physically present today.
Eileen Ford is a regular Times columnist and lives in Rockport.
