The Rt. Rev. Donald J. Parsons, Bishop of Quincy from1973-1987, said that as bishop visitor for the All Saints Sisters of the Poor for about the past six years, he was aware that the convent was undergoing a process of discernment about its continued affiliation with The Episcopal Church. But he said he played no role in their deliberations. The Catonsville, Md.-based order announced it will be received into the Roman Catholic Church in September.
In recent years, Bishop Parsons said the sisters had become increasingly discouraged in their efforts to recruit new aspirants, or members, to their order. While attracted by the sisters’ beautiful 80-acre campus and their mission and ministry, most potential aspirants declined to pursue a calling with the order because they found its traditional “vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience” to be incongruous with what the visitor understood to be the mission and ministry of The Episcopal Church.
[blockquote]While attracted by the sisters’ beautiful 80-acre campus and their mission and ministry, most potential aspirants declined to pursue a calling with the order because they found its traditional “vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience†to be incongruous with what the visitor understood to be the mission and ministry of The Episcopal Church.[/blockquote]
Now there’s the understatment of the year. Just a quick glance at the Rev. Weeks thread a few posts down is confirmation enough.
What a terrible, terrible loss. I have a beautiful mental picture of
Reverend Mother Miriam’s dear, lovely young African novices from St. Mary’s delighting in the sight of the ocean for the very first time and enjoying the hospitality of the nuns of All Saints. We have treasured
their cards, particularly the ones with the beautiful words from the 1928 BCP. Our losses are tremendous due to TEC. We will not let
those sisters leave our prayers.
I have been edified by the comments on this story (reported on several blogs) from Anglicans. This is felt as a great loss among Anglicans (which it is, and for which prayers from all sides are called for), but everyone seems to recognize that the sisters’ decision is the only viable hope for their future as a community.
[i]He commended the sisters as a pioneer in the field of compassionate hospice care for the terminally ill. The order sponsors and is the spiritual advisor to a hospice which caters to those dying of AIDS, he said.[/i]
While I certainly wish the sisters well, they haven’t always been the easiest companions along the way for the companion parish to the hospice – Baltimore’s, Mount Calvary – which was my former spiritual home. Mount Calvary has always done its best to witness to orthodoxy in a generally hostile environment and the disputes only a few years ago – and over a hospice, mark you – were not pleasant (though there were no doubt communication problems on both sides).
[url=http://catholicandreformed.blogspot.com]Catholic and Reformed[/url]
Is TEC going to go after the convent property?
As the current rector of Mount Calvary, I can say that the relationship between our parish and the All Saints Sisters remains strong and will continue to be so after their reception into the Roman Catholic Church. The Joseph Richey Hospice (named for my predecessor who first invited the Sisters to Baltimore in 1872) was founded jointly by the Sisters and Mount Calvary in 1987. While there were some difficulties several years ago surrounding the hospice, those have been resolved, and both Mount Calvary and the Sisters are represented on the the hospice board of trustees. As for the convent, neither TEC nor the Diocese of Maryland have any claim on the property, so there is no danger of the Sisters being sued. I wish them well and fully expect them to flourish in their new ecclesiastical home.
Fr. Jason Catania, SSC
Rector, Mount Calvary Church
Baltimore
I, too, wish the sisters well. However, if they are leaving because of vocation problems due to the traditional vows, then I’m afraid they’re not going to be any more successful in the RCC. The RC religious orders have seen dramatic drops in vocations and many are rethinking and retooling their missions. Some have oblate programs that are flourishing because married people can join.
Teatime (#7),
I know that the vocation problem is not the sole or principal cause of their conversion.
It is also worth adding that the more traditional houses, orders, provinces, etc. in the RCC are apparently being blessed with vocations. The ASSP are, if anything, traditional.
The ever-shrinking Catholic wing of TEC must itself be near to needing hospice care. What could this order have in common with the intellectual positions of the presiding bishop? Practically nothing, I’m sure. I hope they will be able to bring their tridentine English offices to Rome with them. They would be a welcome alternative to the present dreary texts. Wonder if they will be able to continue using their Missal, go to Latin, or have to adopt the Book of Divine Worship compromise.
The more traditional orders in the Catholic Church are actually flourishing. I think the Nashville Dominicans it was that had to build a new novitiate.
http://nashvilledominican.org/Home
Another newer order that’s growing:
http://www.rsmofalma.org/
Just to echo: there are actually quite a few traditional religious orders that are flourishing … along with mutiple lay organizations.
It is equally true that the experience of previous female religious have left a deep sense of caution and even distaste of nuns amongst many Roman Catholics. But that is also true of priests and bishops. A title does not get them more than superficial respect … until it is earned. Tough on them; healthier for the Church.
Very discouraging news for Catholicism in TEC.