Some see these events – taken together – as symptomatic of a larger effort to reverse reforms set down by the 1960s advisory council that came to be known as Vatican II – reforms which, back then, were seen as an effort to bring the church closer to modern times.

“There was a sense that we should try to bring Catholicism up to the 20th and then the 21st century,” said Gary Macy, a professor of theology at California’s Jesuit Santa Clara University. “In all kinds of ways – in scholarship, how do we relate to psychology? How do we relate to political science? How do we relate to modern ethics? All of those questions were opened up. There was much more involvement of the laity in the liturgy, so people felt much more involved. There were less spectators and more participants.”

The Vatican has now directed American churches to institute a new mass featuring an English translation more faithful to the original Latin – a mass critics say is harder to understand, less English-speaker friendly.

And not long ago, the church in Rome exercised that control – launching what’s called an apostolic visitation, a process shrouded in mystery allowing it to investigate orders of nuns here in the United States.

An Apostolic Visitation is a formal but personal process, initiated at the highest levels of the Catholic Church, to look into the welfare of a particular aspect of the Church. Cardinal Franc Rodé, C.M., Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, in a December 22, 2008 decree, initiated the Visitation of apostolic institutes of women religious in the United States and appointed Mother Clare Millea, A.S.C.J., Superior General of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to serve as the Apostolic Visitator.

Mother Clare is a Connecticut native who has served as superior general of her religious community since 2004. She has complete administrative authority of the Apostolic Visitation and will personally conduct many inquiries and visits. Mother Clare will prepare a confidential report of her findings and observations for Cardinal Rodé at the conclusion of the Visitation.

Cardinal Rodé, a Slovenian, is a member of the Congregation of the Mission, an apostolic community of men commonly called the Vincentians. He has served as prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life since 2004.

The Apostolic Visitation seeks to listen to and affirm the dignity of all women religious who serve the Church with exemplary love.

In addition, as Cardinal Rodé recently stated, “this Apostolic Visitation hopes to encourage vocations and assure a better future for women religious.” It offers women religious a valuable opportunity for prayerful and thoughtful self-examination to discern and foster avenues of growth and vitality in their congregations.

The Congregation for Consecrated Life is aware that many new congregations have emerged in the United States while many others have decreased in membership or have an increased median age. Apostolic works have also changed significantly because of societal changes.  These and other areas need to be better understood and assessed in order to safeguard and promote consecrated life in the United States.  

Various congregations of male religious were interviewed during the recent United States Seminary Study. In addition, this Visitation is guided by the scope of the mandate given to the Visitator.

The Apostolic Visitator will use the data gathered to prepare her report for Cardinal Rodé, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated life and Societies of Apostolic Life.  The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) will prepare an aggregate report of the quantitative data collected from all reporting institutes in Part A of the Questionnaire. Individual Congregations will not be identified in any way. Cardinal Rodé has authorized the public release of this report (emphasis mine).

We reached out to many orders of nuns across the country hoping to get their viewpoints about all of this.

In most cases someone would agree to be interviewed. But when the interview was imminent we would be called and it would be canceled.

In the end, Sister Mary Ann Hinsdale agreed to speak with us – partly, she said, out of concern that if she didn’t, no one would.

…the experience of women with vocations [to the priesthood] and the experience of a Church with a severe priest shortage push toward changes in Church teaching.

“Do you think this apostolic visitation is something that nuns like yourself, who are out there in the world, should be worried about?” asked Petersen. 

“I really don’t know,” she replied. “But I think the most problematic aspect of it is that we are not going to see a report, and we don’t know what is going to be done with this.”

“We were never told what was going to be done with this. And while we think this is, you know, a travesty, really, and insulting even about who we are in the church, because we think we’re trying to be loyal to the church. We’re trying to make, you know, plausible explanations where people are saying, ‘Well, why is the church doing this? Why are they excommunicating people who are, you know, seem to be wanting good for the church?'”

“Why the nuns?” asked theologian Gary Macy. “This is my suspicion: They can.”

“It’s interesting that they would take the women’s religious order, and not the men’s religious orders,” Macy said. “Although, you know, for so many centuries and centuries and centuries in Christianity, women have taken a hit first.”

When asked why she stays with the Church, Sister Mary Ann Hinsdale said, “Because it’s my church. I have a responsibility to speak the truth that’s been given to me.

“There’s a lot of pain and suffering, I think, in belonging to the Catholic Church today. But I think I’m following as best I can what I think God is asking me to do today in this church as we have it.”

What thrills me most, apart from being signs to God in the world and the freedom people have in approaching us, is the sense they have that they “own” us, so to speak. That is, they believe that they have free access to us, that we exist for them, that they have a right to expect us to pray for them, to help them, to be God’s arms to them in their need.  It is a beautiful expectation on their part, and, to my mind, that is as it should be.

Some see these events – taken together – as symptomatic of a larger effort to reverse reforms set down by the 1960s advisory council that came to be known as Vatican II – reforms which, back then, were seen as an effort to bring the church closer to modern times.

“There was a sense that we should try to bring Catholicism up to the 20th and then the 21st century,” said Gary Macy, a professor of theology at California’s Jesuit Santa Clara University. “In all kinds of ways – in scholarship, how do we relate to psychology? How do we relate to political science? How do we relate to modern ethics? All of those questions were opened up. There was much more involvement of the laity in the liturgy, so people felt much more involved. There were less spectators and more participants.”

The Vatican has now directed American churches to institute a new mass featuring an English translation more faithful to the original Latin – a mass critics say is harder to understand, less English-speaker friendly.

And not long ago, the church in Rome exercised that control – launching what’s called an apostolic visitation, a process shrouded in mystery allowing it to investigate orders of nuns here in the United States.

An Apostolic Visitation is a formal but personal process, initiated at the highest levels of the Catholic Church, to look into the welfare of a particular aspect of the Church. Cardinal Franc Rodé, C.M., Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, in a December 22, 2008 decree, initiated the Visitation of apostolic institutes of women religious in the United States and appointed Mother Clare Millea, A.S.C.J., Superior General of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to serve as the Apostolic Visitator.

Mother Clare is a Connecticut native who has served as superior general of her religious community since 2004. She has complete administrative authority of the Apostolic Visitation and will personally conduct many inquiries and visits. Mother Clare will prepare a confidential report of her findings and observations for Cardinal Rodé at the conclusion of the Visitation.

Cardinal Rodé, a Slovenian, is a member of the Congregation of the Mission, an apostolic community of men commonly called the Vincentians. He has served as prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life since 2004.

The Apostolic Visitation seeks to listen to and affirm the dignity of all women religious who serve the Church with exemplary love.

In addition, as Cardinal Rodé recently stated, “this Apostolic Visitation hopes to encourage vocations and assure a better future for women religious.” It offers women religious a valuable opportunity for prayerful and thoughtful self-examination to discern and foster avenues of growth and vitality in their congregations.

The Congregation for Consecrated Life is aware that many new congregations have emerged in the United States while many others have decreased in membership or have an increased median age. Apostolic works have also changed significantly because of societal changes.  These and other areas need to be better understood and assessed in order to safeguard and promote consecrated life in the United States.  

Various congregations of male religious were interviewed during the recent United States Seminary Study. In addition, this Visitation is guided by the scope of the mandate given to the Visitator.

The Apostolic Visitator will use the data gathered to prepare her report for Cardinal Rodé, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated life and Societies of Apostolic Life.  The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) will prepare an aggregate report of the quantitative data collected from all reporting institutes in Part A of the Questionnaire. Individual Congregations will not be identified in any way. Cardinal Rodé has authorized the public release of this report (emphasis mine).

We reached out to many orders of nuns across the country hoping to get their viewpoints about all of this.

In most cases someone would agree to be interviewed. But when the interview was imminent we would be called and it would be canceled.

In the end, Sister Mary Ann Hinsdale agreed to speak with us – partly, she said, out of concern that if she didn’t, no one would.

…the experience of women with vocations [to the priesthood] and the experience of a Church with a severe priest shortage push toward changes in Church teaching.

“Do you think this apostolic visitation is something that nuns like yourself, who are out there in the world, should be worried about?” asked Petersen. 

“I really don’t know,” she replied. “But I think the most problematic aspect of it is that we are not going to see a report, and w
e don’t know what is going to be done with this.”

“We were never told what was going to be done with this. And while we think this is, you know, a travesty, really, and insulting even about who we are in the church, because we think we’re trying to be loyal to the church. We’re trying to make, you know, plausible explanations where people are saying, ‘Well, why is the church doing this? Why are they excommunicating people who are, you know, seem to be wanting good for the church?'”

“Why the nuns?” asked theologian Gary Macy. “This is my suspicion: They can.”

“It’s interesting that they would take the women’s religious order, and not the men’s religious orders,” Macy said. “Although, you know, for so many centuries and centuries and centuries in Christianity, women have taken a hit first.”

When asked why she stays with the Church, Sister Mary Ann Hinsdale said, “Because it’s my church. I have a responsibility to speak the truth that’s been given to me.

“There’s a lot of pain and suffering, I think, in belonging to the Catholic Church today. But I think I’m following as best I can what I think God is asking me to do today in this church as we have it.”

What thrills me most, apart from being signs to God in the world and the freedom people have in approaching us, is the sense they have that they “own” us, so to speak. That is, they believe that they have free access to us, that we exist for them, that they have a right to expect us to pray for them, to help them, to be God’s arms to them in their need.  It is a beautiful expectation on their part, and, to my mind, that is as it should be.