In the last few weeks, The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) was criticized by Cardinal Gerhard Müller because the association, who represents many American nuns, selected Sr. Elizabeth Johnson, a theology professor at Fordham University, to receive the Outstanding Leadership Award. Cardinal Müller said he was saddened when he learned of this choice because “of the gravity of the doctrinal errors in that theologian’s writings.” Johnson, author of the recent Ask the Beasts and The Quest for the Living God, which was denounced in 2011 by the Committee on Doctrine of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, was selected for the award because of her ministry to the church, her leadership and work in conscience evolution, and her public service.
So far Pope Francis has remained silent on the controversy, which Maureen Dowd speculates in a recent New York Times article is a sign that the Pope is finally losing his “cool”. In the article, Dowd speaks to author Paul Vallely, author of the biography Pope Francis: Untying the Knots, who argues that Pope Francis actually “agrees with the nuns” and wants the church to make decisions about this issue, albeit slowly. Read the full article here.
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