Sinsinawa Dominican attacks Catholics supporting religious freedom

Notorious Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Donna Quinn is attacking faithful Catholic organizations such as the Little Sisters of the Poor who are suing the government to secure their religious freedom not to have to insure for contraceptives, some of them abortifacient. The Sinsinawa Dominican congregation is very well aware, and, as has been the norm throughout Sister Donna’s long career of anti-Catholic activism, they are letting her do whatever she pleases. I contacted the Sinsinawa Dominican prioress yesterday for comment and assuring her of my prayers, she has not replied.

This article by a fellow “pro choice” activist appeared in the liberal Religion Dispatches Friday:

“NCAN is dismayed that the Little Sisters of the Poor, the University of Notre Dame and other Catholic organizations are challenging the Affordable Care Act. Spurred on by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops these organizations are attempting to hold hostage all women by refusing insurance to them for contraceptives,” said the 2,000-member group in a statement.

“This has gotten out of hand,” Sister Donna Quinn, head of NCAN, told RD. “It isn’t ‘faith and freedom’ when reproductive autonomy isn’t extended by the Catholic Church to women. Now we have other Christian religions seeing what the bishops are doing and saying we will do likewise. It isn’t freedom when a woman can be held hostage by the owner of a business.”

continue at Laetificat

Go read about her "magic wand" comment.  Chilling. 

Karl Keating on Sinsinawa labryths

via Karl Keating

Just when you think the New Age movement has faded into 1980s oblivion, you learn something like this.

The Sinsinawa Dominicans is a women's order located in southwest Wisconsin, just across the Mississippi River from Dubuque, Iowa. Its Sinsinawa Mound Center includes a 750-seat auditorium, retreat facilities, meeting rooms that hold up to 400, and walking trails.

The order sports not one but two labyrinths:

"The labyrinth is an ancient spiritual tool, founded as early as 200 B.C.E. Its history includes use in Crete, Tibet, Greece, Celtic spirituality, early European art, and in the Christian tradition. It is a spiritual tool and an effective metaphor for life's journey for believers of all traditions."

"The indoor labyrinth is available for walking most days." The outdoor labyrinth "consists of 6,000 limestone bricks placed end-to-end to form a perfectly round circle encompassing the symmetrical path walkways to the center. Walking the quadrants in this peaceful atmosphere among the natural surroundings enhances one's meditation experience, usually exceeding expectations of the labyrinth."

(How appropriate that the Sinsinawa Dominicans were unable to bring themselves to use "B.C." Too overtly Christian, I guess.)

Sinsinawa "Band of Sisters" movie featuring LCWR, NETWORK lobby nuns

Updated the title

Elizabeth from Laetificat Madison attended 

I and a friend attended a Sunday, Jan 13, 2013 premier showing of the new documentary film about liberal religious sisters, Band of Sisters at Sinsinawa Mound, the motherhouse of the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters.

The film centers on some liberal women religious who are former heads of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, NETWORK progressive political lobby, and some of their friends. Featured in the film: Reiki, “women’s ordination”, animals, plants, rocks and air have rights from the same source as humans have rights and one species shouldn’t be privileged over others, “the whole earth is a manifestation of God”, and the Sisters’ new cosmology apparently doesn’t have a heaven and hell anymore. Jesus is hardly mentioned. The film also shows one or two of their ministries that seem good. But so many of the beliefs highlighted aren’t those of the Catholic Church, and some of the Sisters in the film are key dissident figures, like Sr Theresa Kane in regards to “women’s ordination” and Sr Jeannine Grammick in regards to homosexual behavior. There’s no narration but it does present a certain angle on the story of American women religious and obviously a heavy concentration on some in leadership roles who hold dissenting views.

Although there wasn’t actually a standing ovation, the film was warmly praised by other attendees. I heard Sinsinawa Dominicans say: “I wonder if she went in the Academy Awards for best documentary!” “I saw so many people I knew, it’s like a reunion!” “The film was true to my lived experience. We’ve been part of something growing like yeast, we’ve been on a trajectory. You [filmmaker Mary Fishman] did it the best I’ve ever seen.” In talking with several Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters after the showing, I was sad not to find one who believed, for instance, the infallible Catholic teaching that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women. 

continue at Laetificat Madison

Photo

Madison Vicar General releases statement on "crack down"

Allegory of the Cave

“Morlino Cracks Down on Two Nuns” is a misleading headline to an article appearing in the Wisconsin State Journal newspaper of Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. The headline provocatively attempts to sensationalize the ordinary operations of the Catholic Church. The real issue is about the permissibility of members of Wisdom’s Well to speak at parishes, not about religious sisters. Contrary to the impression of the article’s headline, the prohibited group at this specific time is Wisdom’s Well, which includes not only religious sisters, but also others, and the “group” not being corrected at this time is religious sisters in general in the Diocese of Madison, including the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa. The Diocese of Madison is aware of and grateful for the charitable work of many religious sisters over the years.

The article also fails to address sufficiently the risk that materials and methods of the members of Wisdom’s Well may appear to promote opinions that are contrary to the Church faith. The Diocese of Madison pursued this matter with utmost confidentiality to protect the reputations of all parties. The specific limitation of this issue to members of Wisdom’s Well and the confidential documents sent to the priests were also communicated personally, confidentially, and directly by me to the Prioress of the Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation at the time of the confidential communication to the priests in the Diocese of Madison.

However, with the apparent leak of both the confidential statement sent to priests and the accompanying “synopsis of concerns” regarding the members of Wisdom’s Well, it is now necessary to protect the good reputation of the Church. Interested readers can go to www.madisondiocese.org to see both of these documents and will now be able to consider directly the fundamental issue of the materials and methods of the members of Wisdom’s Well that may appear to promote opinions contrary to the Catholic faith, as evidenced by excerpts from the Web site www.wisdomswell.org

continue at Madison Catholic Herald

Here's some examples from the doc

"My spiritual practice includes an Earthling’s contemplative way of BE-ing in the NOW,
continuing lively work in quantum awareness and honoring the Oneness of the diversity of all life."

"WHO IS SOPHIA? - In the West, divine wisdom is known as Sophia. In the East she is Mother Tao and Prajnaparamita. Sometimes she is recognized as incarnate in Mary and Kuan Yin. Indigenous peoples and others of Earth based spiritualities know her by many names, from Spider Woman to Danu to Tonantzin. She is celebrated as the Soul of the World. She is the wisdom of Earth as Gaia. The wisdom of evolution calling to us from the future is seen as a manifestation of Sophia."

Bishop Morlino cracks down on Madison nuns for espousing 'New Ageism' and 'indifferentism'

Two longtime Madison nuns who lead an interfaith spirituality center have been banned by Madison Catholic Bishop Robert Morlino from holding workshops or providing spiritual direction or guidance at any Catholic churches in the 11-county diocese.

Sisters Maureen McDonnell and Lynn Lisbeth, both Sinsinawa Dominicans, have diverged too far from Catholic teaching, according to a confidential memo sent Nov. 27 to priests on behalf of Morlino. A copy of the memo was leaked to the State Journal.

Two other women connected to the interfaith center, called Wisdom's Well, also have been banned as part of the same action.

The memo says Morlino has "grave concerns" about the women's teachings, specifically that they "espouse certain views" flowing from such movements as "New Ageism" and "indifferentism." The latter, according to the memo, is "the belief that no one religion or philosophy is superior to another."

The women "may not share an authentic view of the Catholic Church's approach to interreligious dialogue," the memo said.

Brent King, a spokesman for the diocese, said three other potential parish guest speakers, all male, have been banned "in recent years." The women are not prohibited from attending Mass or, if Catholic, from receiving communion, King said. Asked whether they could contribute to parish life in other ways, such as reading Bible passages from the pulpit or chairing a church committee, King said that would be up to individual priests.

Read more: http://host.madison.com/news/local/bishop-morlino-cracks-down-on-madison-nuns-for-espousing-new/article_37f434d0-4325-11e2-a826-001a4bcf887a.html#ixzz2Ei5ry68M

After all you can't spell Sinsinawa without Sin. 

HT DougUlaszek

I love Bishop Morlino. With all the good things going on, I'm tempted to move there just to be part of it.

Wisconsin nuns signed, circulated Walker recall petitions

Image: From iverifytherecall.com, the School Sisters of Notre Dame, based in Elm Grove, Wis., also signed the petition. View this particular recall form here.

From Breitbart.com:

As the Catholic Church takes action to counter the left-wing drift of American nuns, Breitbart.com has learned that hundreds of nuns are involved in the left's campaign to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R)--in favor of pro-choice Democratic challengers.

The nuns who have circulated and signed petitions include sisters from convents and other Catholic institutions across the state.

Over 100 signatures, for example, all of female voters, as verified through iverifytherecall.com, list the same address as a Dominican institution in Sinsinawa, WI, in the southwestern portion of the state. Representatives of that organization could not be reached for comment.

One Catholic official at a school with a large number of signatories stressed that Catholic organizations advocate for the poor and downtrodden, but do not take political positions, and that what their individual members do is up to them alone.

Though many Catholic voters support Walker, and roughly 40% of Wisconsin Republican primary voters are Catholic, there is some Catholic opposition to Walker's collective bargaining reforms among those partial to the "social justice" movement within the Catholic Church. Democrats are hoping to tap into that opposition.

Walker is Catholic, as is his most likely Democratic challenger, former congressman and former Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett, who has been criticized for opposing the ban on federal funding for abortion. Other Democratic candidates--Kathleen Falk, Doug LaFollette, and Kathleen Vinehout--appear to be pro-choice.

Read the rest here.

Couple items of comment... Breitbart linked to the Badger Catholic (the Barrett pro-choice item)! And Walker isn't Catholic -- he is the son of a Baptist preacher and attends a Protestant church. Also, Archbishop Weakland signed the recall petition, so it's not too much of a surprise to learn that Wisconsin nuns did so as well. As Matt pointed out earlier this week, the Catholic country club has been open for quite a while.

SNAP letter to Bp Morlino regarding Sinsinawa concert

Dear Bishop Morlino:

We are writing about a credibly accused child molester who was recently sued and lost his teaching job but will soon lead a concert in your diocese.

He’s Bradley T. Barrett and this Sunday, he’ll be at the Sinsinawa Mound (near Dubuque), which run by Dominican nuns. Barrett leads the Chorale Midwest and the Chorale Midwest Chamber Singers.

Last year, he was sued[apparently not criminally charged?] for molesting a boy in Missouri. That lawsuit is still pending. Administrators at the University of Northern Iowa (Barrett’s most recent employer) have fired him. And in Missouri in the last few months, others have come forward reporting abuse by Barrett as well.

You are responsible for the safety and well-being of every Catholic in your diocese. A simple Google search would have shown that there’s a current civil lawsuit, filed just last year, charging that Barrett repeatedly molested a Missouri boy. Given this fact, it’s stunningly careless for you to let any Catholic group bring Barrett into your diocese. [These people make great points but come across as complete idiots.  Why would Bishop Morlino care about the day to day operations in Sinsanawa]

We know the man who has courageously taken legal action to expose Barrett and protect other children. We know his attorneys[I'm $ure you do], who are very experienced in this field, having represented hundreds of child molestation victims.

Even after filing suit, Walker continues to take other steps to warn parents and protect kids.

For these reasons and others, this is a credible allegation. Any reasonable decision-maker would think long and hard before giving a position of respect and honor, not to mention greater access to kids, to Barrett.

Yet that’s precisely what some Catholic nuns in your diocese are doing. [These nuns also escort women to abortions clinics.]
...
...
We strongly suspect that if the Dominican nuns were lobbying in Madison for the death penalty, abortion rights or gay marriage, you would not take a “hands off” approach. You would most certainly use all your influence and power to stop them.

So please don’t pretend to be uninvolved. Please use your considerable power to stop this reckless and callous move, and make sure that Brad Barrett is never invited back into your diocese. [Again, SNAP could be a great group that I might even support, but until they get off their high horse they will just continue to sound pretentious and overblown.  I'm not holding my breath...]

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thank you. David Clohessy [aka God]
Executive Director, SNAP

SNAP press release