SIOUX CITY, IA -
The Vatican office that oversees Church
doctrine took aim at the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, a
group that represents around 80 percent of American nuns, over what it
calls the group's "radical feminist themes." We sat down with Sister
Shirley Fineran today; she says it comes down to nuns wanting to change
with the times, while the Vatican holds on to tradition.
"I am very proud to be a woman," says Sister Shirley Fineran.
And Sister Shirley says a strong women doesn't have to be called a feminist.
"I think people label feminists because they
don't know, if there is a strong women, they don't know what else to
call her," she said.
That didn't stop the Vatican from accusing a
group that represents 4 out of 5 nuns in U.S. of promoting radical
feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith.
Sister Shirley says that's just not true.
"I think we support all of life's issues and that's what we're about, is life," she said.
Among the Vatican's concerns is the ordaining of women.
"I certainly personally believe that women
should be ordained. I don't believe that Jesus only called men to be
ordained. I think women have a lot to offer in the church," Sister
Shirley said.
Sioux City Bishop R. Walker Nickless says he appreciates the nuns, but he stands by the Vatican, and Catholic doctrine.
"We're not trying to in any way diminish the
good the sisters are doing, but there's tension right now, and were
trying to solve that tension," he said.
Sister Shirley says the church could ease tension simply by including women's voices.
"The Vatican that has really questioned us,
have not included any women in what their doing, in the investigation,
it was really men looking at us from the outside, and saying, well this
is what we really think you ought to be doing," Sister Shirley said.
Tonight, the Sisters of Saint Francis held a wisdom prayer vigil, to pray for a resolution to this
theological disagreement.
