Leadership Conference of Women Religious

Leadership Conference of Women Religious
FormationNovember 1956; 67 years ago (1956-11)
Founded atChicago, Illinois, United States

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) is one of two associations of the leaders of congregations of Catholic women religious in the United States (the other being the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious). LCWR includes over 1300 members, who are members of 302 religious congregations that include 33,431 women religious in the United States as of 2018.[1]

Founded in 1956, the conference describes its charter as assisting its members to "collaboratively carry out their service of leadership to further the mission of the Gospel in today's world." The canonically-approved organization collaborates in the Catholic Church and in society to "influence systemic change, studying significant trends and issues within the church and society, utilizing our corporate voice in solidarity with people who experience any form of violence or oppression, and creating and offering resource materials on religious leadership skills." The conference serves as a resource both to its members and to the public who are seeking resources on leadership for religious life.[2]

In April 2015 the Vatican closed a controversial, multi-year investigation initiated in 2012 by Cardinal Gerhard Müller of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.[3] Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle was appointed to work with the conference.[4] According to Associated Press' Vatican correspondent, Nicole Winfield, the investigation "embittered many American Catholics against what they perceive as heavy-handed tactics by Rome."[5]

While Pope Francis, elected after the investigation began, reaffirmed it and the organization's members were ordered to review their statutes and reassess their plans and programs, the Holy See in its conclusion praised the nuns' work.[6] The joint final report of both the Vatican and the LCWR stated that the conference is "a public juridic person centered on Jesus Christ and faithful to the teachings of the Church," its publications "need a sound doctrinal foundation," and "when exploring contemporary issues, particularly those which, while not explicitly theological nevertheless touch upon faith and morals, LCWR expects speakers and presenters to have due regard for the Church's faith".[7]

  1. ^ "Annual Report, 2018" (PDF). Leadership Conference of Women Religious. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  2. ^ "About LCWR". lcwr.org. Silver Spring, MD: Leadership Conference of Women Religious. 9 November 2011. Retrieved 2021-09-07.
  3. ^ ABS-CBN News, Reuters: "Sacked cardinal issues manifesto in thinly veiled attack on Pope Francis" [1]
  4. ^ CNA. "Archbishop Sartain stresses dedication to addressing religious sisters' issues". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  5. ^ Winfield, Nicole (1 September 2012), "Gerhard Ludwig Mueller Tapped By Pope To Head Congregation for the Doctrine of The Faith", Huff Post Religion, archived from the original on 18 April 2015, retrieved 16 May 2020, its findings have embittered many American Catholics against what they perceive as heavy-handed tactics by Rome against U.S. sisters who provide critical health care, education and other services for the poor.{{citation}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ "US Catholic nuns criticised in Vatican report on LCWR". BBC News. 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  7. ^ "Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith concludes mandate regarding LCWR". lcwr.org. Silver Spring, MD: Leadership Conference of Women Religious. 2015-04-13. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-09-24.