On the American Nuns “Castigated” by Vatican
RH Advocacy Groups PRESS STATEMENT in Solidarity with the American Nuns “Castigated” by Vatican
We, the undersigned, comprised of individuals, various people’s and civil society organizations with membership all over the country, wish to express our support and solidarity with the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), the umbrella group representing most of the United States’ 57,000 nuns, as they find themselves under attack by the Vatican for not taking a stronger stand against sexual and reproductive health and rights in line with their overall ministry to serve the poor. The LCWR has also been taken to task by the Vatican for not taking explicit positions against homosexuality, euthanasia and women’s ordination.
The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) last week ordered a new mandate that the LCWR be overseen by a specially appointed archbishop due to the nuns’ statements, which “disagree with or challenge positions taken by the bishops, who are the church’s authentic teachers of faith and morals.”
We believe this crackdown is a result of the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy’s wider campaign to silence the public voice of women both within their church and outside of it — locally reflected in the actions of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). We value the LCWR’s commitment to social justice and their right to take a conscientious position against a religious leadership that has shown to be both out of touch and outright hostile to the very idea of women taking a greater role in society.
About The Author
Noemi Lardizabal-Dado
Noemi Lardizabal-Dado is a Content Strategist with over 16 years experience in blogging, content management, citizen advocacy and media literacy and over 26 years in web development. Otherwise known as @MomBlogger on social media, she believes in making a difference in the lives of her children by advocating social change for social good. She is a co-founder and a member of the editorial board of Blog Watch . She is a resource speaker on media literacy, social media , blogging, digital citizenship, good governance, transparency, parenting, women’s rights and wellness, and cyber safety. Her personal blogs such as aboutmyrecovery.com (parenting) , pinoyfoodblog.com (recipes), techiegadgets.com (gadgets) and benguetarabica.coffee keep her busy outside of Blog Watch. Disclosure: I am an advocate. I am NOT neutral. I will NOT give social media mileage to members of political clans, epal, a previous candidate for the same position and those I believe are a waste of taxpayers' money. I do not support or belong to any political party. I was part of accredited media covering the Office of the Vice President and Leni Robredo as she ran as a presidential aspirant in the 2022 National and local elections. On August 5, 2021, YouTube announced that I was selected as one of 50 Program participants of its Creator Program for Independent Journalists She was a Senior Consultant for ALL media engagements for the PCOO-led Committee on Media Affairs & Strategic Communications (CMASC) under the ASEAN 2017 National Organizing Council from January 4 -July 5, 2017. Having been an ASEAN advocate since 2011, she has written extensively about the benefits of the ASEAN community and as a region of opportunities on Blog Watch and aboutmyrecovery.com. Organization affiliation includes Consortium on Democracy and Disinformation Updated June 6, 2022