Folks, this according to LifeSiteNews, a follow up to Why is this woman still a nun?
HINSDALE, Illinois, November 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A congregation of US Dominican nuns has publicly apologized for the scandal caused by one of its members acting as a volunteer escort at a Chicago area abortion facility.
LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) first broke the story about Sr. Donna Quinn, O.P., a Dominican nun who is outspokenly in favor of legalized abortion, who had been identified by pro-life witnesses as an escort for the ACU Health Clinic.
Sr. Quinn's religious community, the Wisconsin-based Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation, admitted in a press release posted on their website that they were informed of the allegation several months ago, and, after having completed a period of investigation, the Congregation's leaders have informed the pro-abortion sister that "her actions are in violation of her profession as a Dominican religious."
The congregation reports that its leaders "are working with Sr. Donna to resolve the matter appropriately" and regret the public scandal caused by her actions.
The Sinsinawa Dominicans took the opportunity to re-affirm unequivocally their commitment to the Catholic Church's core teachings, as well as the necessity to witness to the sanctity and dignity of all human life from conception to natural death.
"We as Sinsinawa Dominican women are called to proclaim the Gospel through the ministry of preaching and teaching to participate in the building of a holy and just society," read a statement issued on behalf of the congregation.
"As Dominican religious, we fully support the teaching of the Catholic Church regarding the dignity and value of every human life from conception to natural death. We believe that abortion is an act of violence that destroys the life of the unborn. We do not engage in activity that witnesses to support of abortion."
Commentary. This is great news and denotes great progress after the Sinsinawa Dominicans’ initially tepid, non-committal response to the initial reports. I hope Sr. Donna is disciplined according to canon law, repents, makes penance, and be reconciled with the Lord and His Body, with us, the Church.
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5 comments:
This is just another reminder of how priests and religious NEED the prayers of all the faithful, that they may be true examples of virtue and a Christ-like presence in the world. Unfortunately, I have met my share of dissident religious, some of them being outright heretics and it is heartbreaking. I pray that Sr Donna Quinn, and all religious that share her views, will open their hearts to the true faith and remember when they heard and responded to God's invitation to love and serve Him.
I received a very positive response to the communication sent to the prioress about Sr Donna, and was expecting this statement at the beginning of this week; I am glad it has been made. I have the impression that the community has been trying, for some time, to have this renegade nun change her ways.
As ocd sister says, we clergy and religious need the laity to pray for us. Happily, my experience of men and women religious has been much more positive than what ocd sister appears to have had. The vast majority of religious are good people who possess a genuine love for God and His people. I also believe that, if there indeed be heretics amongst them, they are few and far between.
Alban,
Yes, most religious are good people trying to do God's will. It's unfortunate that the some of the ones that make the headlines are not worthy of imitation. About 5 yrs ago, before I entered religious life, I saw a documentary on PBS about a particular community that I knew relatively well after making some retreats with them over the years. In it, the interviewed sisters expressed their pro-abortion preferrence, how in the Pater Noster they prefer saying "Our Mother who art...", and other horrifying comments backed up by actual footage. I could go on...
Still, anyone reading this: religious life is a beautiful way of answering God's invitation to all to follow Him. The discernment process can be long and tedious, but in the end, it is in doing God's will that we ultimately find our happiness. The good ones should never have the pay for the "renegade" ones.
Let's pray for one another.
I think that the Sinsinawa Dominicans have been trying to take care of this problem quietly, but couldn't any longer after the matter became public.
I don't question that uncloistered sisters can engage in secular occupations, particularly those related to healing and teaching, or provide social services of a kind. But, is that the central purpose of religious life? The Sinsinawa Dominicans are one of those aging, shrinking women congregations that will soon disappear for lack of new vocations. For who would want to join a group of aging celibate social workers?
The congregations that are growing faster are those who live a more "traditional" life shown by wearing their habits and keeping to communal prayer, whether they're cloistered contemplatives or work in the world. The Dominicans of Fátima in Puerto Rico, of which my cousin Sor Cecilia is a member, are thriving. They have a substantial number of vocations. And they are not cloistered, and a significant portion of their ministry consists of providing social services.
Why are they thriving? Because they are prayerful bunch, loyal to the Church, and wear their habits with "holy pride" in a world that every day is turning against them and against what they represent. The difference is that they don't equate living their vocation with providing social services or worry about becoming a vanguard for feminist militancy in the Church. They provide social services because of the Gospel, but the Gospel to my Dominicans in Puerto Rico comes before any wordly activity.
Why is it that the Sinsinawa Dominicans are not learning the lessons from the Fátima Dominicans in Puerto Rico? They are branches of the same tree. I'm sure they can tell the difference.
It's just unbelieveable to me that the Sinsinawa Dominicans are unaware of these basic facts.
Thank you for reading my rant.
-Theo
And it took them how long an investigation to decide to do something? Who's in charge anyway?
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