This is going to be me getting on a soapbox a bit, thinking in writing (I would say thinking out-loud, but that's obviously not quite right) and searching for feedback/answers, and just ranting a bit. Fair warning. You may now proceed.
I've been following the story about the LCWR and the Vatican situation from a distance. Obviously the media has a very biased story: "Vatican is a bully! Vatican is head honcho! Vatican hates women religious!" Ha. Please. I hope even secular readers can at least see that that's ridiculous. The story that is circulating goes a bit like this: LCWR does wonderful wonderful deeds. Vatican out of the blue says, "Hold up, you're not hitting the mark quite right. You need to fix things." LCWR gets offended. Says they're doing the work of the Church and that the statement is mean and spiteful.
My observations are limited to what I can read. That being said, I think we as hopefully educated and informed decision-makers can start to draw some deductions and sort fact from opinion. I'd like to start with some (hopefully I have this right) facts. LCWR is made up of mostly women religious who are politically involved in reforms for the poor, outcast, and needy. Vatican representatives have been making visits to religious orders in the U.S. for at least a year, though I'm sure it's been longer than that, which means that the statements made about the LCWR were probably at least expected in some way, shape, or form.
Actually, that's all I really truly have that I can say, almost without a doubt, to be factual. Now the rest of this paragraph is unapologetically opinion. It's perfectly fine for religious to be aware of the political climate, and must obviously act if legislation is harming and offensive to citizens. I believe this goes for protesting abortion at the March for Life, holding religious freedom rallies as is now happening to protest the mandate, fighting for reform for immigrants, and being aware of legislation that affects the welfare of the poor, though I am less involved with the latter two than other matters, not that they necessarily matter less. While I obviously tend more towards reform in our law against abortion, stem cell research, and the death penalty, I cannot fault others for striving to reform the law in other ways that I don't understand as well to uphold a culture of life and dignity. My involvement and volunteer work in Catholic worker houses has shown me how great and broad is the fight to renew the culture. That being said, if I were to fight for abortion reform and ignore the plight of the poor and laugh off those that want reform for the needy, that would obviously be wrong. Just as it is for those who fight for reform for the poor and outcast to approve of abortion and stem cell research. For several reasons I find that it those who want abortion repealed also want reform in other ways, but are simply starting at the most basic and vulnerable of human lives. And for that reason you will rarely find one who wants the country to be rid of abortion but won't support a charity that houses the homeless. It amazes me, though, that there are many who do just the opposite and without any second thought...to help the poor and outcast of society and wholeheartedly allow for a "pro-choice" mindset. That is exactly what the Vatican is getting at from what I can tell. It's not that the fights of the LCWR are wrong...I think their causes are very much needed, as long as they are within Church teaching. But that they do not at least openly state their opposition to beginning and end of life issues is what needs fixing.
Like I said, the above is opinion, and may be totally off-base, at which point I would appreciate any correction in comments. This was spurred tonight by a friend of a more liberal mindset asking me about the following article: Nuns on the Bus. I basically said that, while they may not be going against any Church teaching, and are indeed brave for striving for a more perfect charity in the world, I don't necessarily think they should be endorsing this the way they are. By saying they are NUNS on a bus for political reform of this sort, they are saying they are affiliated with the Catholic Church, and therefore representing the view that this is a Catholic position and every Catholic should think the way they do. Now, I don't know enough about the legislation they are opposed to so that I could say one way or the other whether it is unjust...if I did, I would probably not be writing this post. But in my mind I just started getting confused...what if the legislation is not unjust? What if it is needed, although some may suffer from it? What if the law IS unjust? Should not all Catholics be on the "Nuns on the Bus" side of matters? What if Catholics do...and of course we do, we're humans...make a wrong choice politically? What if a legislation we originally support because it appears to increase prosperity and dignity turns out to be a bust and make the rich richer and the poor poorer? Of course that's why we must follow our conscience and seek for the rest of our lives the truth and strive to make ourselves as informed as possible. I was quite thankful for the friend who asked for my thoughts...it makes me want to be more informed on the issue(s) facing us politically. I don't want to be always stating before any political statements, "Sorry, I don't know a lot about this issue, and I don't know much about politics, but I think that..." We need to be informed citizens, and be cautious about making any political movements of ours "endorsed" by our religion. Of course on matters of morals and religious freedom and the right to life, there are very clear reasons why they are both political and religious issues. But I do believe there are many types of laws and legislation out there that I don't understand that are on the fence between being simply political opinions and needing some clear definition of action on a moral and spiritual standpoint.
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