Breaking silence, US nuns say Vatican probe cleared up confusion, reinforced their mission

David Gibson

(RNS) The controversial Vatican probe of American nuns that abruptly ended last month looked from the outside like a tense standoff between Rome and the U.S. sisters, punctuated by occasional public jousts that appeared to signal even tougher negotiations behind closed doors.

Not so, say the sisters, now freed to speak out after both sides agreed to a monthlong media blackout that ended Friday (May 15).

Those involved in the talks said that after a rocky start, the discussions settled into a constructive dialogue that cleared up many misunderstandings that Vatican officials had about the sisters.

Church leaders also clarified that the final agreement leaves the Leadership Conference of Women Religious — the umbrella group of U.S. nuns that was the focus of the investigation — free to focus on the work of social justice and theological inquiry that it was doing before.

http://www.religionnews.com/2015/05/15/breaking-silence-u-s-nuns-say-vatican-probe-cleared-confusion-reinforced-mission/