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Nuns' supporters protest Catholic bishops conference

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By Shelia M. Poole

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

More than a dozen people gathered outside the Hyatt Regency Atlanta hotel downtown Wednesday to protest a meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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Jason Getz, jgetz@ajc.comSister Marie Sullivan, left, and Princess Wilson, right, of Atlanta, talk as they show their support for U.S. nuns during a demonstraton at on Peachtree Street in front of the Hyatt Regency Hotel Wednesday morning in Atlanta, Ga., June 13, 2012.

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Jason Getz, jgetz@ajc.comThe president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Timothy M. Dolan, bottom left, greets new bishops during the spring meeting in the ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Hotel Wednesday morning in Atlanta June 13, 2012.

 

The group was protesting the Vatican's recent criticism of members of the Leadership Conference of Women's Religious, which represents many of the nation's nuns, for having "radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith."
"I Stand with the Sisters" read a button worn by many of the protesters.
"I think the nuns do an incredible job of reflective discernment about what is God's call for them," said Natallie Keiser, who is Catholic and owns a consulting business. "The bishops need to respect them trying to help the poor and the marginalized and not control it."
Elizabeth Sully of the Sinsinawa Dominicans Catholic Sisters said the criticism makes her "feel very sad."
"There's so much division," he said. "Jesus stood for peace, reconciliation and love."
The USCCB will focus on a number of issues during its General Assembly, including attacks on religious freedom, the economy and a 10-year update on a report about the priest abuse scandals.
Al Notzon III, chairman of the National Review Board, said while things have improved in the last decade, it's "an evolving process."