CMSWR Backs the Bishops

Here's the statement issued yesterday from the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, posted on the organization's Web site:

March 18, 2010

In a March 15th statement, Cardinal Francis George, OMI, of Chicago, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, spoke on behalf of the United States Bishops in opposition to the Senate’s version of the health care legislation under consideration because of its expansion of abortion funding and its lack of adequate provision for conscience protection. Recent statements from groups like Network, the Catholic Health Association and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) directly oppose the Catholic Church’s position on critical issues of health care reform.

The Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, the second conference of Major Superiors of Women Religious in the United States, finds the provisions of the bill to include expansion of abortion funding and fails to include conscience protection. We believe the bill needs to include the Hyde Amendment as passed by the House in November.

Protection of life and freedom of conscience are central to morally responsible judgment. We join the bishops in seeking ethically sound legislation.

Mother Mary Quentin Sheridan, R.S.M.

President

On behalf of the Membership of the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious

Apart from the support of the U.S. Bishops' position, what's particularly striking about this message is that Mother Mary Quentin Sheridan, RSM, really is speaking on behalf of the entire membership of CMSWR. As the news cycle of the last few days has shown, that may not be every nun in the country, but neither does this purport to be.