U.S. nuns meet Vatican officials to defuse “radical feminism row”June 12, 2012 - 18:04 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Leaders of the largest group of U.S. nuns are due to meet Vatican officials in a bid to defuse an escalating row. A Vatican report in April accused the nuns of adopting "certain radical feminist themes" and of ignoring official church teaching, BBC News said. Nuns from the group, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, say they have been unjustly criticised. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said they hoped to forge a "mutual understanding" with the nuns. "Obviously there is a hope for a positive usefulness for all parties, for the Church and the persons involved, and for the orders of nuns," he told reporters. Sister Pat Farrell, president of the Leadership Conference, will meet Cardinal William Levada, head of the Vatican's doctrine office and a former Archbishop of San Francisco. She will also meet the bishop charged with overseeing a Vatican-backed overhaul of the group. Despite the Vatican's hopes for "constructive" talks, the nuns have so far shown little desire for compromise. The Vatican report accused the Leadership Conference of taking positions on issues ranging from homosexuality to the all-male priesthood that undermined Catholic teaching. It proposed replacing the group's leadership with three bishops that would have the authority to rewrite the organisation's statutes, meeting agendas and liturgical texts. The nuns said the report has "caused scandal and pain throughout the Church community and created greater polarisation". Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |