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RELIGION

Vatican heaps praise on US nuns in fence-mending report that shifts from previous criticism

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    Sister Sharon Holland reacts during a press conference at the Vatican, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014. The Vatican went out of its way Tuesday to mend fences with American religious sisters, thanking them for their selfless work caring for the poor, gently suggesting ways to survive amid a decline in numbers and promising to value their "feminine genius" more. The Vatican released the long-awaited results of its controversial three-year investigation into U.S. women's religious orders, and the report was remarkable for what it didn't say. After years of tension and distrust between the nuns and the Vatican, there was no criticism of American nuns, no demands that they shift their focus from social justice issues to emphasize Catholic teaching on abortion, no condemnation that a feminist, secular mentality had taken hold in their ranks. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) (The Associated Press)

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    Brazilian Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life reacts during a press conference at the Vatican, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014. The Vatican went out of its way Tuesday to mend fences with American religious sisters, thanking them for their selfless work caring for the poor, gently suggesting ways to survive amid a decline in numbers and promising to value their "feminine genius" more. The Vatican released the long-awaited results of its controversial three-year investigation into U.S. women's religious orders, and the report was remarkable for what it didn't say. After years of tension and distrust between the nuns and the Vatican, there was no criticism of American nuns, no demands that they shift their focus from social justice issues to emphasize Catholic teaching on abortion, no condemnation that a feminist, secular mentality had taken hold in their ranks. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) (The Associated Press)

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    Mother Mary Clare Millea reacts during a press conference at the Vatican, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014. The Vatican went out of its way Tuesday to mend fences with American religious sisters, thanking them for their selfless work caring for the poor, gently suggesting ways to survive amid a decline in numbers and promising to value their "feminine genius" more. The Vatican released the long-awaited results of its controversial three-year investigation into U.S. women's religious orders, and the report was remarkable for what it didn't say. After years of tension and distrust between the nuns and the Vatican, there was no criticism of American nuns, no demands that they shift their focus from social justice issues to emphasize Catholic teaching on abortion, no condemnation that a feminist, secular mentality had taken hold in their ranks. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) (The Associated Press)

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican is going out of its way to mend fences with American religious sisters, thanking them for their selfless work caring for the poor while gently suggesting ways to survive amid a decline in their numbers.

A long-awaited report on the Vatican's three-year investigation into U.S. women's religious orders was released Tuesday and was remarkable for what it didn't say. There was no criticism of American nuns, no hard recommendations to shift focus away from social justice issues and no condemnation that a feminist mentality prevails among them.

Rather, the report was remarkably positive and encouraging. It offered a radically different message in content and tone compared with that of another Vatican office investigating a group of the sisters' leaders.
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