Is there a war between feminism and the Catholic Church? American nuns' 'radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith'

The year-long inquiry into American nuns by the Holy See's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has concluded, and will not take any action against the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), the body that governs around 80 percent of nuns in the United States. However, it has warned the LCWR against straying from the religious line issued by the Catholic Church, especially on issues like same-sex marriage, abortion and the ordination of women.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The report issued by the LCWR following its investigation is largely positive, falling in line with another report that the Vatican released back in December of 2014 after it looked into the lives of numerous nun groups in America.

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These reports did outline that the doctrinal arm of the Church will be keeping a closer eye on these groups in regards to their commitment to Catholic orthodoxy.

The dialogue between the Vatican and the LCWR required "long and challenging exchanges of our understandings of and perspectives on critical matters of Religious Life and its practice," said the president of LCWR, Sister Sharon Holland.

"Through these exchanges, conducted always in a spirit of prayer and mutual respect, we were brought to deeper understandings of one another's experiences, roles, responsibilities, and hopes for the Church and the people it serves."

Following these inquiries, several leaders in the LCWR met with Pope Francis on April 16.

In a statement that followed the meeting, the group said: "Our conversation allowed us to personally thank Pope Francis for providing leadership and a vision that has captivated our hearts and emboldened us as in our own mission and service to the church."

The Vatican's doctrinal oversight group began to reform the LCWR's statutes and processes of selecting speakers and publishing writers in 2012.

Archbishop Peter Sartain of Seattle was appointed to head this reform, which did not take five years to implement, which was the time frame that had earlier been expected.

"Our work together was undertaken in an atmosphere of love for the Church and profound respect for the critical place of religious life in the United States, and the very fact of such substantive dialogue between bishops and religious women has been mutually beneficial and a blessing from the Lord," he said in a statement.

These reforms and inquiries were a response to what the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith called a promotion of "radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith." As of now it appears that the LCWR remains inline with Catholic doctrine.

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