Vatican backs down and gives mild rebuke to American nuns Read more

The Vatican has announced the unexpected conclusion of its crackdown of the main umbrella group of US nuns, ending a controversial takeover of a liberal group and signalling a major shift in tone and treatment of US sisters under the social justice-minded Pope Francis.

The Vatican said it had accepted a final report on its overhaul of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and declared that the “implementation of the mandate has been accomplished”.

In a final joint report, the congregation and the LCWR said the group’s statutes had been revised to show its focus on Christ and being faithful to church teaching. It said an advisory committee would be created to ensure manuscripts submitted for inclusion in LCWR publications are doctrinally sound. It said speakers at LCWR events must use the “ecclesial language of faith” in their remarks and said there was a revised process for selecting award winners.

Rebel US nuns in showdown with Rome over women's role Read more

When the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith took over the LCWR in 2012, it accused the group of taking positions that undermined Catholic teaching on the priesthood and homosexuality while promoting “certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith”.

It envisioned a five-year doctrinal overhaul, fuelled by concerns among US conservatives that the group, which represents 80% of the 57,000 Roman Catholic nuns in the US, had strayed from church teaching by not focusing enough on issues like abortion.

The takeover, combined with a separate Vatican investigation into the quality of life of US nuns, had deeply wounded the US sisters who oversee the lion’s share of the Catholic church’s social programmes, running schools, hospitals, homeless shelters and soup kitchens. The crackdown resulted in an outpouring of popular support for their work and fuelled allegations that the church’s treatment of women was heavy-handed and misogynistic.

In December, the Vatican’s quality of life investigation ended with sweeping praise for the sisters for their selfless work caring for the poor. Thursday’s conclusion of the doctrinal assessment signalled a similar positive conclusion.