A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion
Encyclopedia
A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion, alternatively referred to by its pull quote "A Diversity of Opinions Regarding Abortion Exists Among Committed Catholics" or simply "The New York Times ad", was a full-page advertisement placed on October 7, 1984 in The New York Times
by Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC). Its publication brought to a head the conflict between the Vatican
and those American Catholics who were pro-choice
. The publicity and controversy which followed its publication helped to make the CFFC an important element of the pro-choice movement.
The statement said that the Catholic Church's doctrine condemning abortion
as "morally wrong in all instances" was "not the only legitimate Catholic position." It said that "a large number" of Catholic theologians considered abortion to be a moral choice in some cases and cited a recent survey which found that only 11% of Catholics believed that abortion was wrong under all circumstances. It called for value pluralism and discussion within the Church on the subject. The statement was signed by 97 prominent Catholics including theologians, nuns, priests and lay persons.
The advertisement was intended to help 1984 vice-presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro
, a pro-choice Catholic, to resist the sharp criticism directed at her by Archbishop of New York John Joseph O'Connor during the 1984 U.S. presidential election
. Following the ad's publication, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops denounced it and called it contrary to "the clear and consistent teaching of the church that deliberately chosen abortion is objectively immoral." Subsequently, the Vatican pursued recantings by or reprimands of the signers who were directly subject to Church authority, including 24 nuns who became known as the "Vatican 24". Some signers recanted their affiliation with CFFC; most were said by their superiors to be in line with Catholic teaching. Two nuns resisted, publicly embraced a pro-choice position and eventually left their order.
In 1982, CFFC invited members of Congress
to a briefing titled "The Abortion Issue in the Political Process" describing the problems facing Catholic politicians and to show that there was a range of personal and political responses to the issue of abortion. Ferraro, then a member of the House
, wrote the introduction to the briefing. She wrote, "As Catholics we deal each day, both personally and politically, with the wrenching abortion issue ...the Catholic position on abortion is not monolithic and there can be a range of personal and political responses to the issue." Other endorsers of the briefing included fellow Democratic politicians Leon Panetta
and Tom Daschle
.
Catholic ethicist Daniel C. Maguire co-authored a position paper on abortion and religious pluralism with feminist Frances Kissling
, then the president of CFFC, and Maguire's wife Marjorie Reily Maguire, a theologian and CFFC activist. The position paper, titled "A Catholic Statement on Abortion", was circulated among several groups of theologians including the College Theology Society, of which Marjorie Maguire was a member, and the Catholic Theological Society of America
. Those who were sympathetic to moral pluralism and the possibility of nuanced abortion positions in the Catholic Church signed the statement and formed the Catholic Committee on Pluralism and Abortion.
When Ferraro was named Walter Mondale
's running mate for the Democratic Party
in the 1984 election, Archbishop O'Connor and Archbishop of Boston Bernard Francis Law issued statements denouncing her position on abortion. It is likely that O'Connor targeted Ferraro because of her association with CFFC. O'Connor said that Catholic voters should not vote for pro-choice politicians. O'Connor said Ferraro "has given the world to understand that Catholic teaching is divided on the subject of abortion", which he said was wrong. Ferraro said that her personal pro-choice views were not something she would force on the nation; she said she would follow the law of the land as interpreted by the Supreme Court. After receiving more criticism from O'Connor, Ferraro acknowledged that the Church's position on abortion was indeed "monolithic", but said many Catholics "do not share the view of the Catholic Church."
CFFC wanted to make clear the church's hierarchy did not speak for them. The CFFC turned the Maguire/Maguire/Kissling position paper holding about 80 signatures from leading Catholic reformers into a statement suitable for the public, and in August–September 1984 they sought further signatures from such groups as the Women Church Convergence, a group working to increase women's roles in the Church. A total of 97 signatures was gathered, including 26 nuns, two priests, and two lay brothers. The CFFC paid $30,000 for a full page advertisement in The New York Times, to run on a day that was the annual "Respect Life Sunday" celebrated by American bishops. The timing was intended to help Ferraro retain support in her campaign.
The second paragraph read as follows:
, author of the 1974 reaffirmation against procured abortion and the prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
, requested on November 30, 1984 that the signers who were subject to Church authority be required to publicly retract their position or be dismissed. This elicited a good deal of international press coverage. Of the 26 nuns, two were taken off the Vatican's list, one for unknown reasons and the other because her missionary order was not under Hamer's supervision. The remaining 24 nuns were labeled the "Vatican 24" by the press.
Some 35 of the signers met at the St. Charles Hotel in Washington, D.C.
on December 19, 1984 to determine a course of action. The meeting included 18 nuns of the Vatican 24. They said the Vatican, in its stern reaction, "seeks to stifle freedom of speech and public discussion in the Roman Catholic Church and create the appearance of a consensus where none exists." The group issed a statement describing the current Church stance as not in the spirit of the Vatican II
which said, "Let there be unity in what is necessary, freedom in what is unsettled and charity in any case." Sister Donna Quinn, a past president of the National Coalition of American Nuns
, said, "We believe we have a right to speak out when we have a differing opinion, and this is something European men do not understand."
The four male members of religious orders who signed—two priests and two lay brothers—recanted in published statements, the last on January 17, 1985. The Vatican announced that many of the nuns had also recanted.
In seeking to discipline the nuns, the Vatican did not contact any one of them personally, and did not respond to direct individual communication. Rather, the superiors of the nuns were asked to write letters verifying whether or not the nuns were in line with Catholic teaching on abortion, and a variety of responses were received from the superiors. A few nuns disavowed their position on abortion and the cases were quickly closed. Most nuns held to their earlier conviction, although their superiors sent letters saying that they accepted Church teaching. Once a nun's superior had sent a letter to the Vatican, the case was closed, without any further attempt to prevent the nun from speaking out on the issues.
Two Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur
, Patricia Hussey and Barbara Ferraro (no relation to Geraldine Ferraro), did not recant from their pro-choice positions. Hussey and Ferraro, directors of the Covenant House
in Charleston, West Virginia
—a shelter for homeless and abused women and children—were supported by CFFC in their dispute with the Church. By March 1986, Hussey and Ferraro were no longer calling for "dialogue" but were publicly demanding recognition of "a woman's right to choose." In July 1986 when the two nuns were pressured more strongly with expulsion, 11 of the other nuns who signed came forward with a statement in solidarity with them, denying a recent Vatican announcement that all nuns but Hussey and Ferraro were now aligned with the Church's position on abortion. The eleven complained of the Church's divisive tactics, which they said were intended to isolate Hussey and Ferraro. Signer Maureen Fiedler
said, "I have never retracted or recanted one syllable of the Catholic Statement on Abortion and Pluralism. I continue to stand behind every word of it without the slightest reservation." After nearly four years of dispute, Hussey and Ferraro were informed by their order's leadership in June 1988 that they would not be dismissed from the order. However, the leadership of the School Sisters of Notre Dame distanced the order from Hussey and Ferraro, calling them "intransigent" and stating that they "have in practice placed themselves outside the life and mission of the congregation."
The two nuns subsequently held a press conference and announced that a woman "can be publicly pro-choice and still be a nun." In July 1988, the two resigned from the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.
Signer Judith Vaughan, a resident of Los Angeles
and a nun with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, said, "We didn't commit a crime. All we did was say, 'Hey, there's a diversity of opinion among people [of our faith] and we need to talk about freedom of conscience.' I don't see myself as defiant." In January 1985, Monsignor
John P. Languille sent a memo to all Los Angeles social service directors, ordering them to cease referring homeless women to the shelter Vaughan supervised "because of [her] pro-abortion position". Vaughan was reportedly expelled in February 1985 but in April 1986 she spoke to the Los Angeles Times
to say that the Church had closed the case without requiring her to retract her statement. With the help of her superior, Sister Miriam Therese Larkin of St. Louis, Missouri, she retained her position in the order, and Languille's memo was overturned.
Yale Divinity School
ethics professor Sister Margaret Farley said that her signing of the 1984 advertisement came up in early 1986 when she was to be honored with an award given by John Carroll University
, a Catholic institution in Cleveland, Ohio
. The Cleveland archdiocese
wrote to the Vatican to determine Farley's status, and the Vatican responded that Farley "has retracted her signature from the 'Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion. Sister Helen Amos, the president of Farley's order, the Sisters of Mercy
, was quoted by the Vatican: "Sister Margaret's position is in accord with the teaching of the Church." This statement had been accepted as a recantation by Cardinal Hamer in December 1985. After learning of the Vatican response, Farley said Hamer's assumption was in error, that she had never recanted or asked that her signature be removed. She said, "What I did...was to clarify my position. And that was accepted as sufficient."
On March 2, 1986, a follow-up advertisement was placed by the Committee of Concerned Catholics, signed by more than 1,000 Catholics supportive of the right to speak dissenting views on abortion and other controversial subjects. This advertisement was intended to show solidarity for the 97 signers of the 1984 advertisement who were threatened by the Church. It began, "We affirm our solidarity with all Catholics whose right to free speech is under attack." Committee member Kissling said that, though seven nuns had "clarified" their positions, "There have been no retractions; there have been no withdrawals." She said the Church's assertion that many nuns had disavowed their 1984 signing was "a lot of wishful thinking".
Some Catholic theologians who signed the statement reported being threatened with stagnation in their careers, and found that speaking engagements were canceled because of the controversy. Theologians Daniel Maguire, Rosemary Radford Ruether
, Giles Milhaven, Elizabeth Jane Via
, Mary I. Buckley, Kathleen M. O'Connor and Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza
all saw their careers limited after October 1984. Sister Anne Carr
felt pressured to quit the women's advisory committee assigned to assist U.S. bishops write a pastoral on women. One of the 1,000 signers of the March 1986 statement, Mary Ann Sorrentino, was told by her local church hierarchy that in signing she had "excommunicated herself".
The various responses to the 1984 advertisement and its aftermath remained in the news through 1986.
Several nuns were given a platform to air their views including activist nuns such as Marjorie Tuite
, Margaret Traxler
, and six nuns of the order Sisters of Loretto
, an order known for its work on pacifism
and social justice
. In some cases, signers of the statement grew more radical in their beliefs after being reprimanded by church authority.
In the publicity surrounding the dispute with the nuns and the theologians, the statistics showing that most American Catholics disagreed with church teachings about abortion were repeated many times. Traxler appeared in a television spot with a tube of toothpaste, saying that you cannot put the toothpaste back in the tube.
In August 1992, filmmakers Sylvia Morales and Jean Victor presented their PBS
POV documentary about three nuns, including one of the Vatican 24. Titled "Faith Even to the Fire", the program followed statement signer Sister Judith Vaughan, who faced difficulty in Los Angeles then moved to Chicago to lead the National Assembly of Religious Women. Also featured were Sisters Marie de Pores Taylor of Oakland, California, and Rosa Marta Zarate of San Bernardino, California.
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
by Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC). Its publication brought to a head the conflict between the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
and those American Catholics who were pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
. The publicity and controversy which followed its publication helped to make the CFFC an important element of the pro-choice movement.
The statement said that the Catholic Church's doctrine condemning abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
as "morally wrong in all instances" was "not the only legitimate Catholic position." It said that "a large number" of Catholic theologians considered abortion to be a moral choice in some cases and cited a recent survey which found that only 11% of Catholics believed that abortion was wrong under all circumstances. It called for value pluralism and discussion within the Church on the subject. The statement was signed by 97 prominent Catholics including theologians, nuns, priests and lay persons.
The advertisement was intended to help 1984 vice-presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro
Geraldine Ferraro
Geraldine Anne Ferraro was an American attorney, a Democratic Party politician, and a member of the United States House of Representatives. She was the first female Vice Presidential candidate representing a major American political party....
, a pro-choice Catholic, to resist the sharp criticism directed at her by Archbishop of New York John Joseph O'Connor during the 1984 U.S. presidential election
United States presidential election, 1984
The United States presidential election of 1984 was a contest between the incumbent President Ronald Reagan, the Republican candidate, and former Vice President Walter Mondale, the Democratic candidate. Reagan was helped by a strong economic recovery from the deep recession of 1981–1982...
. Following the ad's publication, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops denounced it and called it contrary to "the clear and consistent teaching of the church that deliberately chosen abortion is objectively immoral." Subsequently, the Vatican pursued recantings by or reprimands of the signers who were directly subject to Church authority, including 24 nuns who became known as the "Vatican 24". Some signers recanted their affiliation with CFFC; most were said by their superiors to be in line with Catholic teaching. Two nuns resisted, publicly embraced a pro-choice position and eventually left their order.
Background
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
to a briefing titled "The Abortion Issue in the Political Process" describing the problems facing Catholic politicians and to show that there was a range of personal and political responses to the issue of abortion. Ferraro, then a member of the House
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, wrote the introduction to the briefing. She wrote, "As Catholics we deal each day, both personally and politically, with the wrenching abortion issue ...the Catholic position on abortion is not monolithic and there can be a range of personal and political responses to the issue." Other endorsers of the briefing included fellow Democratic politicians Leon Panetta
Leon Panetta
Leon Edward Panetta is the 23rd and current United States Secretary of Defense, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama since 2011. Prior to taking office, he served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency...
and Tom Daschle
Tom Daschle
Thomas Andrew "Tom" Daschle is a former U.S. Senator from South Dakota and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
.
Catholic ethicist Daniel C. Maguire co-authored a position paper on abortion and religious pluralism with feminist Frances Kissling
Frances Kissling
Frances Kissling is scholar and activist in the fields of religion, reproduction and women's rights. She was President of Catholics for a Free Choice from 1982 until 2007 when she turned over the reins to Jon O’Brien. She is now a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Bioethics at the University of...
, then the president of CFFC, and Maguire's wife Marjorie Reily Maguire, a theologian and CFFC activist. The position paper, titled "A Catholic Statement on Abortion", was circulated among several groups of theologians including the College Theology Society, of which Marjorie Maguire was a member, and the Catholic Theological Society of America
Catholic Theological Society of America
The Catholic Theological Society of America is a professional association mostly in the United States and Canada. It is a "Catholic" organization that was founded in 1946 to promote studies and research in theology within the Catholic tradition...
. Those who were sympathetic to moral pluralism and the possibility of nuanced abortion positions in the Catholic Church signed the statement and formed the Catholic Committee on Pluralism and Abortion.
When Ferraro was named Walter Mondale
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...
's running mate for the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
in the 1984 election, Archbishop O'Connor and Archbishop of Boston Bernard Francis Law issued statements denouncing her position on abortion. It is likely that O'Connor targeted Ferraro because of her association with CFFC. O'Connor said that Catholic voters should not vote for pro-choice politicians. O'Connor said Ferraro "has given the world to understand that Catholic teaching is divided on the subject of abortion", which he said was wrong. Ferraro said that her personal pro-choice views were not something she would force on the nation; she said she would follow the law of the land as interpreted by the Supreme Court. After receiving more criticism from O'Connor, Ferraro acknowledged that the Church's position on abortion was indeed "monolithic", but said many Catholics "do not share the view of the Catholic Church."
CFFC wanted to make clear the church's hierarchy did not speak for them. The CFFC turned the Maguire/Maguire/Kissling position paper holding about 80 signatures from leading Catholic reformers into a statement suitable for the public, and in August–September 1984 they sought further signatures from such groups as the Women Church Convergence, a group working to increase women's roles in the Church. A total of 97 signatures was gathered, including 26 nuns, two priests, and two lay brothers. The CFFC paid $30,000 for a full page advertisement in The New York Times, to run on a day that was the annual "Respect Life Sunday" celebrated by American bishops. The timing was intended to help Ferraro retain support in her campaign.
Publication
On October 7, 1984, one full page of The New York Times carried the combined statement of the CFFC and the other signers. At the top of the page were the bold-type words: "A Diversity of Opinions Regarding Abortion Exists Among Committed Catholics". Underneath that was the title "A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion". Following this was a citation to a poll showing only 11% of American Catholics surveyed opposed abortion in all circumstance, and an endorsement of "candid and respectful discussion" within the Church of a "diversity of opinion" held by Catholics on the issue. The bottom of the page included 97 names divided into two groups: 15 members of the Catholic Committee on Pluralism and Abortion, and 82 others in a group marked "Other Signers". The advertisement concluded by saying the list of signers was only partial—that 75 priests, members of religious orders, and theologians had written in support "but cannot sign because they fear losing their jobs."The second paragraph read as follows:
Reaction
On November 14, 1984, following the election (which Mondale and Ferraro lost), the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement saying the text of the advertisement could only represent the personal opinions of the signers because they were in contradiction to "the clear and consistent teaching of the church that deliberately chosen abortion is objectively immoral." Cardinal Jean Jerome HamerJean Jérôme Hamer
Jean Jérôme Hamer, OP, S.T.D. was a Belgian Cardinal who was Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life from 1985 until 1992....
, author of the 1974 reaffirmation against procured abortion and the prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for everything which concerns institutes of consecrated life and Society of Apostolic Life regarding their government, discipline, studies, goods, rights, and...
, requested on November 30, 1984 that the signers who were subject to Church authority be required to publicly retract their position or be dismissed. This elicited a good deal of international press coverage. Of the 26 nuns, two were taken off the Vatican's list, one for unknown reasons and the other because her missionary order was not under Hamer's supervision. The remaining 24 nuns were labeled the "Vatican 24" by the press.
Some 35 of the signers met at the St. Charles Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
on December 19, 1984 to determine a course of action. The meeting included 18 nuns of the Vatican 24. They said the Vatican, in its stern reaction, "seeks to stifle freedom of speech and public discussion in the Roman Catholic Church and create the appearance of a consensus where none exists." The group issed a statement describing the current Church stance as not in the spirit of the Vatican II
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
which said, "Let there be unity in what is necessary, freedom in what is unsettled and charity in any case." Sister Donna Quinn, a past president of the National Coalition of American Nuns
National Coalition of American Nuns
The National Coalition of American Nuns , since its inception has been an advocate for social and structural change inside and outside the Catholic Church. It is said to officially represent from 500 to 2,000 U.S. women religious....
, said, "We believe we have a right to speak out when we have a differing opinion, and this is something European men do not understand."
The four male members of religious orders who signed—two priests and two lay brothers—recanted in published statements, the last on January 17, 1985. The Vatican announced that many of the nuns had also recanted.
In seeking to discipline the nuns, the Vatican did not contact any one of them personally, and did not respond to direct individual communication. Rather, the superiors of the nuns were asked to write letters verifying whether or not the nuns were in line with Catholic teaching on abortion, and a variety of responses were received from the superiors. A few nuns disavowed their position on abortion and the cases were quickly closed. Most nuns held to their earlier conviction, although their superiors sent letters saying that they accepted Church teaching. Once a nun's superior had sent a letter to the Vatican, the case was closed, without any further attempt to prevent the nun from speaking out on the issues.
Two Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur
Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur
The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, is the name of a Roman Catholic order of religious sisters, dedicated to providing education to the poor.The order was founded in Amiens in 1803, but the opposition of the local bishop to missions outside his diocese led to the moving of headquarters to then...
, Patricia Hussey and Barbara Ferraro (no relation to Geraldine Ferraro), did not recant from their pro-choice positions. Hussey and Ferraro, directors of the Covenant House
Covenant House
Covenant House is the largest privately funded agency in the Americas providing shelter, food, immediate crisis care, and an array of other services to homeless, and runaway youth. In addition to basic needs, Covenant House provides a continuum of care to homeless youth aged 16–21 designed to...
in Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
—a shelter for homeless and abused women and children—were supported by CFFC in their dispute with the Church. By March 1986, Hussey and Ferraro were no longer calling for "dialogue" but were publicly demanding recognition of "a woman's right to choose." In July 1986 when the two nuns were pressured more strongly with expulsion, 11 of the other nuns who signed came forward with a statement in solidarity with them, denying a recent Vatican announcement that all nuns but Hussey and Ferraro were now aligned with the Church's position on abortion. The eleven complained of the Church's divisive tactics, which they said were intended to isolate Hussey and Ferraro. Signer Maureen Fiedler
Maureen Fiedler
Sister Maureen Fiedler, S.L., Ph.D. is an American activist and radio host and a member of the Sisters of Loretto. She is a progressive, sometimes controversial activist within the Roman Catholic Church...
said, "I have never retracted or recanted one syllable of the Catholic Statement on Abortion and Pluralism. I continue to stand behind every word of it without the slightest reservation." After nearly four years of dispute, Hussey and Ferraro were informed by their order's leadership in June 1988 that they would not be dismissed from the order. However, the leadership of the School Sisters of Notre Dame distanced the order from Hussey and Ferraro, calling them "intransigent" and stating that they "have in practice placed themselves outside the life and mission of the congregation."
The two nuns subsequently held a press conference and announced that a woman "can be publicly pro-choice and still be a nun." In July 1988, the two resigned from the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.
Signer Judith Vaughan, a resident of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and a nun with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, said, "We didn't commit a crime. All we did was say, 'Hey, there's a diversity of opinion among people [of our faith] and we need to talk about freedom of conscience.' I don't see myself as defiant." In January 1985, Monsignor
Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
John P. Languille sent a memo to all Los Angeles social service directors, ordering them to cease referring homeless women to the shelter Vaughan supervised "because of [her] pro-abortion position". Vaughan was reportedly expelled in February 1985 but in April 1986 she spoke to the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
to say that the Church had closed the case without requiring her to retract her statement. With the help of her superior, Sister Miriam Therese Larkin of St. Louis, Missouri, she retained her position in the order, and Languille's memo was overturned.
Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School is a professional school at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. preparing students for ordained or lay ministry, or for the academy...
ethics professor Sister Margaret Farley said that her signing of the 1984 advertisement came up in early 1986 when she was to be honored with an award given by John Carroll University
John Carroll University
John Carroll University is a private, co-educational Jesuit Catholic university in University Heights, Ohio, United States, a suburb of Cleveland. The university was founded in 1886 by the Society of Jesus as Saint Ignatius College.The university was founded in 1886 by the Society of Jesus, as...
, a Catholic institution in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. The Cleveland archdiocese
Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland is a Roman Catholic diocese in Ohio. It was erected on April 23, 1847 by Pope Pius IX. The diocese lost territory in 1910 when the Diocese of Toledo was erected by Pope Pius X, and in 1943 when the Diocese of Youngstown was erected by Pope Pius XII...
wrote to the Vatican to determine Farley's status, and the Vatican responded that Farley "has retracted her signature from the 'Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion. Sister Helen Amos, the president of Farley's order, the Sisters of Mercy
Sisters of Mercy
The Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....
, was quoted by the Vatican: "Sister Margaret's position is in accord with the teaching of the Church." This statement had been accepted as a recantation by Cardinal Hamer in December 1985. After learning of the Vatican response, Farley said Hamer's assumption was in error, that she had never recanted or asked that her signature be removed. She said, "What I did...was to clarify my position. And that was accepted as sufficient."
On March 2, 1986, a follow-up advertisement was placed by the Committee of Concerned Catholics, signed by more than 1,000 Catholics supportive of the right to speak dissenting views on abortion and other controversial subjects. This advertisement was intended to show solidarity for the 97 signers of the 1984 advertisement who were threatened by the Church. It began, "We affirm our solidarity with all Catholics whose right to free speech is under attack." Committee member Kissling said that, though seven nuns had "clarified" their positions, "There have been no retractions; there have been no withdrawals." She said the Church's assertion that many nuns had disavowed their 1984 signing was "a lot of wishful thinking".
Some Catholic theologians who signed the statement reported being threatened with stagnation in their careers, and found that speaking engagements were canceled because of the controversy. Theologians Daniel Maguire, Rosemary Radford Ruether
Rosemary Radford Ruether
Rosemary Radford Ruether is an American feminist scholar and theologian.-Biography:Ruether was born in 1936 in Georgetown, Texas, to a Roman Catholic mother and Episcopal father. She has reportedly described her upbringing as free-thinking and humanistic as opposed to oppressive...
, Giles Milhaven, Elizabeth Jane Via
Elizabeth Jane Via
Elizabeth Jane Via is a California lawyer and one of 32 women ordained in the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement. RCWP is not sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church, which considers ordination of women a violation of its canon law and invalid.In 1984 she was one of 97 theologians and religious...
, Mary I. Buckley, Kathleen M. O'Connor and Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza
Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza
Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza is a feminist theologian. She received her Theologicum , Lic. Theol., University of Würzburg, Thoel.D. from the University of Munster, Germany. She identifies as Catholic and her work is generally in the context of Christianity, although much of her work has broader...
all saw their careers limited after October 1984. Sister Anne Carr
Anne Carr
Sister Anne Carr was a feminist theologian at the University of Chicago Divinity School, where she was the first female permanent member of the faculty....
felt pressured to quit the women's advisory committee assigned to assist U.S. bishops write a pastoral on women. One of the 1,000 signers of the March 1986 statement, Mary Ann Sorrentino, was told by her local church hierarchy that in signing she had "excommunicated herself".
The various responses to the 1984 advertisement and its aftermath remained in the news through 1986.
Impact
Marjorie Tuite
Sister Marjorie Tuite, O.P., was a New York City-born and reared Dominican Sister, a progressive activist on issues related to the Church and the larger world, such as poverty, war and the ordination of women...
, Margaret Traxler
Margaret Traxler
Margaret Ellen Traxler was a prominent women’s rights activist and nun with the School Sisters of Notre Dame.- Biography :...
, and six nuns of the order Sisters of Loretto
Sisters of Loretto
Sisters of Loretto or the Loretto Community is a Catholic religious institution, which, according to their mission statement, "strive[s] to bring the healing Spirit of God into our world" and is committed "to improving the conditions of those who suffer from injustice, oppression, and deprivation...
, an order known for its work on pacifism
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
and social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
. In some cases, signers of the statement grew more radical in their beliefs after being reprimanded by church authority.
In the publicity surrounding the dispute with the nuns and the theologians, the statistics showing that most American Catholics disagreed with church teachings about abortion were repeated many times. Traxler appeared in a television spot with a tube of toothpaste, saying that you cannot put the toothpaste back in the tube.
In August 1992, filmmakers Sylvia Morales and Jean Victor presented their PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
POV documentary about three nuns, including one of the Vatican 24. Titled "Faith Even to the Fire", the program followed statement signer Sister Judith Vaughan, who faced difficulty in Los Angeles then moved to Chicago to lead the National Assembly of Religious Women. Also featured were Sisters Marie de Pores Taylor of Oakland, California, and Rosa Marta Zarate of San Bernardino, California.
Catholic Committee on Pluralism and Abortion
- Anthony Battaglia, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Religious Studies, California State University, Long BeachCalifornia State University, Long BeachCalifornia State University, Long Beach is the second largest campus of the California State University system and the third largest university in the state of California by enrollment...
- Roddy O'Neil Cleary, D.Min., University of VermontUniversity of VermontThe University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
- Joseph Fahey, Ph.D., Professor, Manhattan CollegeManhattan CollegeManhattan College is a Roman Catholic liberal arts college in the Lasallian tradition in New York City, United States. Despite the college's name, it is no longer located in Manhattan but in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, roughly 10 miles north of Midtown. Manhattan College offers...
- Elisabeth Schüssler FiorenzaElisabeth Schüssler FiorenzaElisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza is a feminist theologian. She received her Theologicum , Lic. Theol., University of Würzburg, Thoel.D. from the University of Munster, Germany. She identifies as Catholic and her work is generally in the context of Christianity, although much of her work has broader...
, Ph.D., Professor, University of Notre DameUniversity of Notre DameThe University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
- Mary Gordon, M.A., author of Final Payments and Company of Women
- Patricia Hennessy, J.D., New York City
- Mary E. HuntMary E. HuntMary E. Hunt, Ph.D., is a feminist theologian who is co-founder and co-director of the Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA...
, Ph.D., Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual - Frances KisslingFrances KisslingFrances Kissling is scholar and activist in the fields of religion, reproduction and women's rights. She was President of Catholics for a Free Choice from 1982 until 2007 when she turned over the reins to Jon O’Brien. She is now a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Bioethics at the University of...
, Executive Director, Catholics for a Free ChoiceCatholics for a Free ChoiceCatholics for Choice , formerly Catholics for a Free Choice , is a Catholic pro-choice organization based in Washington, D.C. that was founded "to serve as a voice for Catholics who believe that the Catholic tradition supports a woman's moral and legal right to follow her conscience in matters of... - Justus George Lawler, Executive Editor, Academic Bookline, Winston-Seabury Press
- Daniel C. Maguire, S.T.D., theologian, widely published Catholic ethicist.
- Marjorie Reiley Maguire, Ph.D., theologian, an early and active member of CFFC.
- J. Giles Milhaven, Ph.D., Professor, Brown UniversityBrown UniversityBrown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
- Rosemary Radford RuetherRosemary Radford RuetherRosemary Radford Ruether is an American feminist scholar and theologian.-Biography:Ruether was born in 1936 in Georgetown, Texas, to a Roman Catholic mother and Episcopal father. She has reportedly described her upbringing as free-thinking and humanistic as opposed to oppressive...
, Ph.D. Professor, Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary - Thomas Shannon, Ph.D., Professor, Worcester Polytechnic InstituteWorcester Polytechnic InstituteWorcester Polytechnic Institute is a private university located in Worcester, Massachusetts, in the United States.Founded in 1865 in Worcester, WPI was one of the United States' first engineering and technology universities...
- James F. Smurl, Ph.D., Professor at Indiana UniversityIndiana UniversityIndiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
Other signers
- Ronald Burke, Ph.D., University of Nebraska at OmahaUniversity of Nebraska at OmahaThe University of Nebraska at Omaha is a four-year state university located in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. Founded in 1908 as Omaha University, the institution became the public Municipal University of Omaha in 1931. It assumed its current name in 1968 following a merger into the University...
, co-founder of The Journal of Religion & FilmJournal of Religion & FilmThe Journal of Religion and Film is an online, academic journal that "examines the description, critique, and embodiment of religion in film". Dr. William L. Blizek and the late Dr...
. - Anne CarrAnne CarrSister Anne Carr was a feminist theologian at the University of Chicago Divinity School, where she was the first female permanent member of the faculty....
, nun and theologian at the University of Chicago Divinity SchoolUniversity of Chicago Divinity SchoolThe University of Chicago Divinity School is a graduate institution at the University of Chicago dedicated to the training of academics and clergy across religious boundaries...
. - Patty Crowley, long-term co-leader of the Christian Family MovementChristian Family MovementThe Christian Family Movement is a national movement of parish small groups of families that meet in one another’s homes to reinforce Christian values and actively encourage other fellow Christian parents through active involvement with others...
. - Margaret FarleySister Margaret FarleySister Margaret A. Farley, R.S.M., Ph.D is an ethicist and the Gilbert L. Stark Professor of Christian Ethics at Yale Divinity School. A Sister of Mercy, she was the first woman appointed to serve full-time on the YDS faculty and shared with Henri Nouwen the distinction of being the first Roman...
, Ph.D., Yale Divinity SchoolYale Divinity SchoolYale Divinity School is a professional school at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. preparing students for ordained or lay ministry, or for the academy... - Barbara Ferraro, nun with Sisters of Notre Dame de NamurSisters of Notre Dame de NamurThe Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, is the name of a Roman Catholic order of religious sisters, dedicated to providing education to the poor.The order was founded in Amiens in 1803, but the opposition of the local bishop to missions outside his diocese led to the moving of headquarters to then...
- Maureen FiedlerMaureen FiedlerSister Maureen Fiedler, S.L., Ph.D. is an American activist and radio host and a member of the Sisters of Loretto. She is a progressive, sometimes controversial activist within the Roman Catholic Church...
, Ph.D., S.L., nun, pacifist, and activist for the Equal Rights AmendmentEqual Rights AmendmentThe Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution. The ERA was originally written by Alice Paul and, in 1923, it was introduced in the Congress for the first time...
1978 to 1982. Fiedler attended the first Women's Ordination ConferenceWomen's Ordination ConferenceThe Women's Ordination Conference is the oldest and largest national organization that works to ordain women as deacons, priests, and bishops into the Roman Catholic Church. Founded in 1975, it primarily promotes an agenda with the objective of ordaining women within the Catholic Church. The idea...
in Detroit in 1975. - Christine E. Gudorf, Ph.D., Xavier University
- Patricia Hussey, nun with Sisters of Notre Dame de NamurSisters of Notre Dame de NamurThe Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, is the name of a Roman Catholic order of religious sisters, dedicated to providing education to the poor.The order was founded in Amiens in 1803, but the opposition of the local bishop to missions outside his diocese led to the moving of headquarters to then...
- Paul F. KnitterPaul F. KnitterPaul F. Knitter is the Paul Tillich Professor of Theology, World Religions and Culture at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. He was formerly Emeritus Professor of Theology at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. Since publishing his acclaimed book, No Other Name? , Knitter has...
, Th.D., Xavier University - Agnes Mary MansourAgnes Mary MansourAgnes Mary Mansour was a Catholic nun from 1953 until 1983, when she was forced to resign her vows to retain her position as the director of the Michigan Department of Social Services. Mansour continued as director until 1987. She served as the president of Mercy College of Detroit from 1971 to 1983...
, former nun, director of the Michigan Department of Social Services, former president of the University of Detroit MercyUniversity of Detroit MercyUniversity of Detroit Mercy is a private, Roman Catholic co-educational university in Detroit, Michigan, United States, affiliated with the Society of Jesus and the Sisters of Mercy. Antoine M. Garibaldi is the president. With origins dating from 1877, it is the largest Roman Catholic university...
. - Kathleen E. McVey, Ph.D., Princeton Theological SeminaryPrinceton Theological SeminaryPrinceton Theological Seminary is a theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church located in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey in the United States...
- Jeanne L. NobleJeanne L. NobleJeanne Laveta Noble was an innovative black American educator who served on education commissions for three U.S. presidents. Noble was the first to analyze and publish the experiences of female African Americans in college...
, Ph.D., New York UniversityNew York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan... - Dolly Pomerleau, co-founder of the Quixote Center
- Donna Quinn, nun, past president of the National Coalition of American NunsNational Coalition of American NunsThe National Coalition of American Nuns , since its inception has been an advocate for social and structural change inside and outside the Catholic Church. It is said to officially represent from 500 to 2,000 U.S. women religious....
. - Jill Raitt, Ph.D., University of MissouriUniversity of MissouriThe University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
- Jane SchabergJane SchabergJane D. Schaberg is a Professor of Religious Studies and Women's Studies at the University of Detroit Mercy. Schaberg earned a BA in Philosophy from Manhattanville College, an MA in Systematic theology from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from the Union Theological Seminary. She...
, Ph.D., University of Detroit - Margaret Ellen TraxlerMargaret TraxlerMargaret Ellen Traxler was a prominent women’s rights activist and nun with the School Sisters of Notre Dame.- Biography :...
, nun with the School Sisters of Notre DameSchool Sisters of Notre DameSchool Sisters of Notre Dame is a worldwide order of Roman Catholic nuns devoted to primary, secondary, and post-secondary education. Their life in mission centers on prayer, community life and ministry...
, co-founder of the National Coalition of American Nuns - Marjorie TuiteMarjorie TuiteSister Marjorie Tuite, O.P., was a New York City-born and reared Dominican Sister, a progressive activist on issues related to the Church and the larger world, such as poverty, war and the ordination of women...
, Dominican nun, native New Yorker, feminist - Judith Vaughan, nun, director of the House of Ruth shelter for women, Los Angeles
- Elizabeth Jane ViaElizabeth Jane ViaElizabeth Jane Via is a California lawyer and one of 32 women ordained in the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement. RCWP is not sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church, which considers ordination of women a violation of its canon law and invalid.In 1984 she was one of 97 theologians and religious...
, district attorney, female priest, professor at University of San DiegoUniversity of San DiegoThe University of San Diego is a Roman Catholic university in San Diego, California. USD offers more than sixty bachelor's, master’s, and doctoral programs... - Mary Jo Weaver, author
- Arthur E. Zannoni, Ph.D., University of Notre DameUniversity of Notre DameThe University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...