VATICAN CITY (AP) — A sweeping Vatican investigation of Roman Catholic sisters in the United States that began five years ago amid criticism they had become secular and overly feminist ended up mostly praising nuns for their contributions to the church, a sign of the shift in tone under Pope Francis.
The report released Tuesday praised the sisters, thanked them for their selfless work caring for the poor and promised to value their “feminine genius” more, while gently suggesting ways to survive amid a steep drop in their numbers.
Given the criticism of American religious life that prompted the Vatican under Pope Benedict XVI to launch the investigation in 2008, the final report was most remarkable for what it didn’t say.
