LCWR leader talks pain of visitation, state of Vatican doctrinal investigation

Sr. Sharon Holland, president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, speaks Tuesday at a Vatican press conference for release of the final report of a Vatican-ordered investigation of U.S. communities of women religious. (CNS/Paul Haring)
Sr. Sharon Holland, president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, speaks Tuesday at a Vatican press conference for release of the final report of a Vatican-ordered investigation of U.S. communities of women religious. (CNS/Paul Haring)

by Joshua J. McElwee

News Editor

View Author Profile

jmcelwee@ncronline.org

Join the Conversation

Send your thoughts to Letters to the Editor. Learn more

The woman who represents tens of thousands of U.S. Catholic sisters said she hopes the release of a report on the controversial six-year Vatican investigation of their life and work can lead to "greater forgiveness and reconciliation" between sisters and church leaders.

Asked about sisters who remain angry about the process of the investigation, Immaculate Heart of Mary Sr. Sharon Holland said she is concerned about those sisters and wants to listen to them.

"Sometimes when we're fearful and we feel powerless, we externalize that in anger," said Holland, president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.

"I think we'll have to look at the document itself ... to move to greater forgiveness and reconciliation wherever it's needed," she said. "We have to listen to each other and try to understand where people are coming from."

Holland, whose LCWR represents 80 percent of some 57,000 U.S. sisters, spoke to NCR at a Vatican press conference Tuesday for the release of a report of a Vatican investigation of U.S. Catholic sisters known as an apostolic visitation.

Later Tuesday, in an exclusive 20-minute interview with NCR, Holland said she hoped sisters would focus more on the result of the report than how the investigation was begun.

Read the full story at Global Sisters Report.

Latest News

Advertisement