Nuns group calls for changes in church

ST. LOUIS -- The board of the nation's largest network of Catholic nuns and sisters is recommending major changes in the way bishops exercise power in the Roman Catholic Church.

In a seven-point statement released Saturday, the board recommended inviting Catholic laity, clergy, and religious brothers and sisters to work with bishops in forming policies and in making decisions, according to a story Sunday in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

"We are calling for a more open and inclusive church," said Sister Mary Ann Zollmann, who was installed Thursday as the new president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.

The board also issued a statement in April. The updated statement released Saturday was based on hundreds of notes and comments made over six days last week by 1,000 participants at the conference's national meeting.

The 20-member board completed the statement Saturday after 2 1/2 days of discussion.

"We wanted to update the statement we made in April to reflect what has happened since then," Zollman said.

All conference participants are elected leaders of religious communities of sisters and nuns, such as the Franciscans, Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of St. Joseph and the Adorers of the Blood of Christ. The various orders have 76,000 Catholics sisters.

"We are outraged by the harm done to anyone, especially children, abused by Catholic clergy, brothers, or sisters. We ask (women religious) to do all within their power to assure that such harm will never recur," the statement says.

"Yet, we cannot affirm any policy, which makes no distinction among offenses committed or possibilities of rehabilitation. We pledge to respect appropriate confidentiality while also dealing with these matters openly and honestly, and we call our members to do likewise."

The statement defends the integrity of most priests, and includes concern for those wrongly accused.

The statement also stops short of criticizing bishops, mentioning cover-ups, or reassignments of known abusers, but clearly asks for lay people to have more collaboration.