ND Expert: American sisters aren’t 'radical feminists' | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › ND Expert: American sisters aren’t 'radical feminists' ND Expert: American sisters aren’t 'radical feminists' Published: June 01, 2012 Author: Michael O. Garvey The board of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) has responded to a Vatican assessment reprimanding the organization for “serious doctrinal problems” and announcing plans to place it into a sort of “receivership” overseen by three American bishops. According to Kathleen Sprows Cummings, associate director of the University of Notre Dame’s Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, the response of the LCWR, which represents most of the nation’s Catholic nuns, “will surprise no one who is familiar with how sisters operate.” “Balanced and straightforward, the LCWR’s press release shows them to be unintimidated, committed to dialogue, and above all focused on working toward a more just society,” Cummings said. “The sisters correctly point out that the assessment contained a number of unsubstantiated accusations against them. Perhaps the most baseless of these was the allegation that they have been unduly influenced by ‘radical feminism.’ “In advance of their June meeting with LCWR in Rome, its critics may want to brief themselves on the meaning of radical feminism. Locating the root cause of women’s oppression in patriarchal gender relations, radical feminists seek to abolish patriarchy through a radical reordering of society; specifically, they aim to dismantle all structures that shore up patriarchy, such as the Church or the family. Though many sisters may support a more equitable division of authority within the Church, very few of them are prepared to tear apart the institution to which they have dedicated their lives." According to Cummings, "the suggestion that sisters are against the family is similarly preposterous, considering all they do to build and maintain the familial, community, church- and state-sponsored structures that support mothers and fathers. The outpouring of support and gratitude for sisters over the last few weeks shows that the vast majority of American Catholics recognize, if Church officials do not, that sisters are among the staunchest pro-life advocates in the United States today.” A historian of the Catholic Church in America and particularly of women in American religion, Cummings is the author of “New Women of the Old Faith: Gender and American Catholicism in the Progressive Era” and is at work on a new book, “Citizen Saints: Catholics and Canonization in American Culture.” Contact: Kathleen Cummings, 574-631-8749, kathleen.s.cummings.23@nd.edu Posted In: Faith Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related October 03, 2022 dCEC to Award 2023 ND Evangelium Vitae Medal to Robert P. George September 22, 2022 In memoriam: Rev. Richard Warner, C.S.C., longtime leader for Notre Dame, Congregation of Holy Cross September 15, 2022 In new book on global Catholicism, Provost John McGreevy explores modern history, current challenges of the Church September 15, 2022 Death penalty abolitionist Sister Helen Prejean to speak at Notre Dame September 14, 2022 Apostolic nuncio to Great Britain to deliver the 2022 Keeley Vatican Lecture For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn