Letters: Nuns vs. the Vatican

Re “Nuns reject Vatican criticism,” June 2

Perhaps the sisters of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious judged that abortion and gay marriage were already getting a great deal of attention from American Catholic bishops, so they could concentrate on other issues that are also part of the church’s social moral teaching, such as human trafficking, domestic abuse, capital punishment and access to healthcare.

But they have also been listening to discussions about what the Vatican considers “radical feminist themes,” the third rail in the Vatican’s agenda.

In his rule for monks, St. Benedict, the pope’s chosen patron, requires the supreme authority in the monastery to listen to the counsel of every member of the community, as the Lord may reveal what is best to the youngest member. The sisters have followed St. Benedict’s dictum. The Vatican needs to learn how to listen widely too.

Marie Anne Mayeski

Los Angeles

The writer is a professor emeritus of theological studies at Loyola Marymount University.

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