Sartain: 'I am in full agreement' with Müller's LCWR concerns
The discussion between U.S. women religious and Vatican officials that followed "blunt," confrontational opening remarks [1] by the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was "frank and open," says a U.S. archbishop present at the April 30 meeting.
Ultimately, it was "a very helpful meeting," according to Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain, the Vatican-appointed delegate tasked with reforming the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.
The discussion "took place in very respectful conversation," Sartain said in a statement released Monday. "Everyone who took part expressed gratitude for both the frankness and breadth of our conversation."
The LCWR leadership – St. Joseph Sr. Carol Zinn, Franciscan Sr. Florence Deacon, Immaculate Heart of Mary Sr. Sharon Holland, and St. Joseph Sr. Janet Mock, LCWR executive director – met with Sartain; Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; and other congregation officials April 30 at the Vatican.