"Vatican visits of women religious welcomed by most but not by all"

From Catholic News Agency

Photo at left: Sr. Eva-Maria Ackerman FMSG. Sister is helping coordinate the Apostolic Visitations

Hamden, Conn., Mar 10, 2009 / 04:12 pm (CNA).- With a review of American seminaries recently completed, the Vatican is undertaking a series of visits to “look into the quality of life” of the women’s religious communities in the U.S. However, one sister sees the Visitations as “investigations” and is encouraging her fellow religious to engage in “non-violent” resistance.

Initially Sr. Sandra M. Schneiders’ reaction to the January 30, 2009 announcement was limited to those she emailed, but soon her words found their way onto the internet and were published with her permission by the National Catholic Reporter.

“We just went through a similar investigation of seminaries, equally aggressive and dishonest,” began Sr. Sandra’s email to a few of her colleagues.

“I do not put any credence at all in the claim that this is friendly, transparent, aimed to be helpful, etc. It is a hostile move and the conclusions are already in. It is meant to be intimidating. But I think if we believe in what we are doing (and I definitely do) we just have to be peacefully about our business, which is announcing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, fostering the Reign of God in this world,” Sr. Sandra wrote.

Sr. Eva-Maria Ackerman, a Franciscan Martyr of St. George religious who is helping conduct the Apostolic Visitations, told CNA that Mother Clare Millea is receiving quite a different reception. Mother Clare has been entrusted by the Vatican with carrying out the approximately 400 visits.
“Mother Clare has been impressed with the number of requests that have been made already and she has received a great deal of good feedback about the approach she is taking in this first phase of soliciting voluntary input.”

Sr. Eva-Maria also countered Sr. Sandra’s assertion that the Visitations are operating with foregone conclusions.

“Mother Clare is open to the Spirit’s guidance through this whole process and is focusing on each phase of the Visitation as it is scheduled. She has not drawn any conclusions but rather is desirous of hearing about the reality of each Congregation as it will be expressed by the Superiors General in the first phase,” she said.

Speaking at a press conference to announce the launch of the Visitations this past January, Sr. Eva-Maria explained the three step process.

“First, Mother Clare will solicit voluntary input from the superiors general through inviting them to make personal contacts with her in Rome or in the United States. During the second stage, the major superiors in the United States will be asked for information such as statistics, activities and community practices.”

She continued, “selected on-site visits will be made during the third stage. During this time, the sisters will have an opportunity to share with the visitation teams their joys and hopes, challenges and concerns about their lives as women religious in the Church today. The final stage will be the compilation and delivery of a comprehensive and confidential review by Mother Clare to Cardinal Rodé.”

When the Vatican undertook its 2005-2006 apostolic visits to U.S. seminaries, the visitors—groups led by a bishop but also including laity—used a working document or Instrumentum Laboris to evaluate the places they visited.

Sr. Eva-Maria explained the current status of the visitations to CNA, saying, “the writing of the Instrumentum Laboris is in process and we are currently involved in phase one of the Visitation which is the individual meetings of Superiors General with Mother Clare.”

“The visitation team is focusing on the quality of life of the religious institute itself,” she added.

When CNA asked Sr. Eva-Maria if the team would be looking at the number of vocations to each community, she replied, “While religious vocations are a concern for Mother Clare and all religious congregations, it will not be a primary focus of the visits. Of course, all are encouraged to continue to pray for an increase in vocations to religious life!”

Although Mother Clare reports that she has received “a great deal of good feedback about the approach she is taking in this first phase,” Sr. Sandra is encouraging resistance to the visits.

“We cannot, of course, keep them from investigating,” Sr. Sandra wrote in her email. “But we can receive them, politely and kindly, for what they are, uninvited guests who should be received in the parlor, not given the run of the house. When people ask questions they shouldn't ask, the questions should be answered accordingly.”

“…This is not mutual and it is not a dialogue,” she continued.

“The investigators are not coming to understand -- believe me, we found that out in the seminary investigation. So let's be honest but reserved, supply no ammunition that can be aimed at us, be non-violent even in the face of violence, but not be naive. Non-violent resistance is what finally works as we've found out in so many arenas,” Sr. Sandra said.

Mother Clare sees things differently though. As Sr. Eva-Maria explained to CNA, “With the mandate given to her by the Holy See as Apostolic Visitator, she has much confidence that she will be met with respect and openness.”

Sr. Eva-Maria also underscored the support that the Visitations are receiving from other members of the Church via its Apostolic Visitations Prayer Support page on Facebook. The group has grown to almost 350 members, since being launched in February.

One sister commented on the Facebook page that Mother Clare should be “assured of the enthusiasm, prayers and support of all the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles. You will find no unhappy Sisters here. God's strength and Holy Wisdom be your constant blessing.”

Sister Anne Lythgoe, also writes of her own experience as a religious. “As a Dominican for 34 years I have been deeply blessed by my vocation and have had a happy and productive life. You will find many Christ-centered, prayerful, generous and holy women all over the US. There is much to esteem among the religious of the US who have truly embraced the call of Vatican II to renew and refresh religious life. So much wonderful service as been done in the name of Our Lord and for the Church.”

Mother Clare is currently hoping to finish scheduling meetings with the various Superiors General by March 15, and will begin her on-site visits in Los Angeles on June 2.

For the latest on the Apostolic Visitations, please visit http://www.apostolicvisitation.org/en/index.html

"Aren’t you afraid of giving up marriage?"

"Bancroft teen pursuing religious life"
From the Catholic Globe, Sioux City
By Kara Koczur

At 19 years of age, to the world, Emily Morse has her whole life ahead of her. She has time to travel, time to date and time to just “do whatever.” But, that’s not what she wants.

She wants to be a nun.

Not only does she want to be a nun, but she believes God is calling her to be one. Yet, this lively and energetic girl has encountered skeptics.

“A lot of times I’ll get, ‘Wow, you’re just finishing your freshman year of college. Don’t you want to see a little more of the world? Aren’t you afraid of giving up marriage?’” Morse said.

Her answer is simply “no.”

“If God is calling me to do something then I want to do that one thing,” said Morse, a parishioner at St. John the Baptist in Bancroft. “To grow in holiness, that’s what I want to do. So, why put that off by trying to entertain myself with a life God didn’t call me to? He called me first to be a sister.”

Morse will be entering the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr of St. George on Sept. 8, the feast of the Nativity of Mary. She will be entering at their motherhouse in Alton, Ill. Throughout the United States, 122 sisters belong to the community, whose two main charisms are nursing and teaching, both which Morse said she loves.

“I was drawn to the order by their life of prayer and service, their very good balance between the both of them, and just their joyous spirituality there,” she said.

Morse, who would have been going into her sophomore year at Iowa State, will only be allowed to bring with her necessities for life, such as a coat and hat, and a few meaningful religious items.

Her first year of life at the convent will be her postulancy, where she will be mainly working with the community at a daycare, hospital or at the convent. During this time, Morse will wear a jumper instead of a habit and veil.

“It’s a year of discernment and immersing yourself in the life of these specific sisters of that Franciscan lifestyle,” she said.

At the end of her postulancy, Morse will receive the habit, white veil and religious name. The next two years will be her novitiate, after which she will make first vows and enter her juniorate, which lasts another four to six years. At this point Morse will be sent to school for either teaching or nursing, though she hopes nursing. From the time she enters, it will take about eight years before she is a fully professed sister.

The call

The religious life has always been very attractive to her, Morse said, but it was in high school that she began to take that attraction more seriously. She began to visit different communities, like the Missionaries of Charity, to get a feel for religious life. Morse said that was when she began to think she could live that life, and that God wanted her to live it.

“It was through prayer that I discovered that call initially, but through visiting the sisters and seeing how joyous they were and finding I could be myself there, . . .that was the moment that I knew this is it,” she said.

As a religious sister, Morse is giving herself to Christ as his bride, as a sign of the full communion she’ll have with him in heaven, she said.

“It’s saying, ‘God, I’m willing to give that sacrifice of a human marriage to you, in gratitude for the union that we will have in heaven, to draw the eyes of my friends and people that I meet throughout the world to that greater union that will be in heaven,’” Morse added.

This summer, Morse was a Totus Tuus teacher in the diocese. She said her experience in the program helped solidify her call to religious life by giving her a taste of community life, as well as having a structured prayer life that included the Liturgy of the Hours.

“It helped me have more confidence that I could live in a community,” she said, “and it helped me to be brutally honest with my brothers and sisters, which were my teammates throughout the summer.”

This isn’t the first time a Totus Tuus teacher from the diocese has gone on to pursue religious life. A teacher from 2007, Sarah Stodden, now Sister Mariela, also entered the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr of St. George.

Morse’s family has been a source of encouragement in her discernment of God’s call. The third oldest of five girls, she said having sisters who share her beliefs and who challenge her to do what’s right has been helpful. Morse’s oldest sister is also a religious sister, and having her as an example of what it means to be the bride of Christ has made religious life more tangible to her, she said.

Her mom has also been a great example of what it means to be Catholic, not just on Sunday, but every day of the week, Morse said, and has sacrificed a lot so that Morse and her sisters could grow in their faith.

“She has laid her life down so that we can be Catholic,” Morse said about her mother. “She has always taken us to daily Mass, since before I can remember. She encouraged us to go to confession regularly, as well as praying the family rosary. That has been a big thing in my life.”

Morse said it’s going to be hard for her family when she leaves, but that it will be hard for her as well. Once she enters on Sept. 8, she’ll only be able to see her family for a few days twice a year, including a home visit once a year, write letters once a week and call them a few times a year.

“It’s hard for them to give me up,” Morse said. “But, they also realize what the most important thing is. It helps me that they realize this too, is God’s will, and that’s when we’re going to attain the happiness that we’re seeking.”

Morse said one the things she’s most grateful for is the honor and privilege that God has called her to this vocation. She must depend on him for everything, she said, and in taking it day by day, she is able to do the Lord’s will. But, that doesn’t mean that it’s easy to contemplate what she’s about to do.

“Sometimes I’ll be thinking and I’ll be like, ‘What?! God is really calling me to be his bride? Are you serious Emily?’” she said. “It kind of blows me away sometimes, but it’s just [through] his mercy and his love that he allows us to have such a union with him even here on earth.”