Sisters of the Little Way of Beauty, Truth, and Goodness

[Irenaeus]

This, from the About Us tab on the linked website, is interesting:

We are the Sisters of the Little Way of Beauty, Truth, and Goodness, a private association of the faithful intending to become a religious institute in the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky, in the United States.*

We live a mission of listening and solidarity with people on the fringes of the Church, especially those who have been wounded, scandalized, or abused by members of the Church. We are the first community of sisters whose mission is explicitly dedicated to safeguarding, accompanying survivors, and educating about the dynamics of abuse in religious contexts.

*We are in good standing with the Catholic Church, conducting our mission with the recognition, permission, and accompaniment of our local ordinary, Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv.

Sisters of the Little Way

[Riverboat]

Victims of abuse at all levels certainly merit attention, but this incipient order is restricted to those within the Church. This smacks more of ax-grinding than Divine Charity. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

And whatever that thing is in the picture doesn't look like a rosary.

[Highlander]

It smacks of a camel's nose poking under the tent.

[Highlander]

This topic has remained in my mind. This "order" smacks of the modernist tactic to propose a seemingly helpful, even innocuous, program ... which conceals a revolutionary agenda to morph and then destroy an infiltrated organization. Whenever I see "education" contained in a mission statement, I run for the hills ... knowing what damage "education" has done to otherwise appropriately functioning institutions.

Even the name sets off warning klaxons. After all, who could object to "Beauty, Truth, and Goodness"? After all, only the most vile and reprehensible persons could possibly do so. And who could oppose solidarity with the oppressed?

I would not be in the least surprised if one of the early items on the order's agenda would be to address the harm done by denying women the priesthood.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

They aren't a member of either of the large groups of women's religious congregations.

[Riverboat]

They aren't a member of either of the large groups of women's religious congregations.

Noted. But given the history of, say, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, would that necessarily be a bad thing?

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

If they had been listed with either the CMSWR or the LCWR, that would give me a good guess where they fall of the spectrum.

[Highlander]

Another alarum (perhaps requiring an excursion) is the word "fringes". No Catholic, as far as I can tell in my limited knowledge of the theology and practice, is on the fringe of the Church.

Am I wrong?

[aussie_aussie_oi_oi]

Another alarum (perhaps requiring an excursion) is the word "fringes". No Catholic, as far as I can tell in my limited knowledge of the theology and practice, is on the fringe of the Church.

Am I wrong?

They are theoretically a full member like the rest of us.
But they perceive themselves as being outcasts, unloved by the Church and/or God or on the fringes because of the sexual and/or physical abuse they have received.
e.g sexually abused by Bishops, priests and religious
physically and/or sexually abused by someone in Catholic families and called liars when they tried to tell someone (parents, teachers)

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

And then there is the C/E crowd, and cultural Catholics, etc. According to canon law, there aren't fringes. But in the way people live and perceive their relationship with the Church, yes, there is a fringe.

[Highlander]

I understand the subjective feeling of being on the fringe. I also understand the human reaction to genuine abuse ... and that the Church has an obligation to address, correct, and prevent it. Otherwise, you end up with Ireland. Again, I refer to the Church Spiritual and the Church Temporal. If one has full access to the Church spiritual, then one isn't on the fringe. Is one?

My experience is that when a Catholic conflates the temporal issues in the Church with the spiritual Church, problems arise. I had a cradle Catholic co-worker who refused to receive Communion from her parish priest. Because she didn't like him. Because he was an old man who didn't (something) about women in the Church. He was not simpatico. I asked her if she acknowledged that he could perform the office of Priest. She said that he could ... but she didn't like him so it didn't matter.

I also knew a cradle Catholic who worked for a religious order. There were Sisters located with the order. Our friend related that the Sisters lunched together, along with the female employees, and that they spent lunches dissing the patriarchy and discussing "necessary" changes to the role of women in the Church. The years our friend spent with the Order changed her from a "traditional" Catholic to something like a feminist activist in the pew. She is now constantly unhappy with the Church, changing parishes and having disagreements with pastors. Not surprisingly, her kids don't practice ... all they have heard is criticism of the Church.

So, if there is a fringe, how did one wind up there? Do not some resolutely place themselves there?

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Absolutely some do.