NCR: Master of Divinity student organizes vigil to support sisters

WOC and WOC’s board member Christine Haider-Winnett were featured in this article about the vigils held throughout the country in support of the sisters in response to the recent Vatican mandate.

Master of Divinity student organizes vigil to support sisters
By Monica Clark

OAKLAND, Calif. — "I love women religious," said Christine Haider-Winnett, a 29-year-old graduate student at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley who is organizing a May 29 vigil at Oakland’s Cathedral of Christ the Light to show support for U.S. sisters in light of the recent Vatican mandate.

"To me, sisters are the best example of how to live Christ’s teachings in our terribly broken world," she said. "They have given me a place in the church and hope for the church when not much else has. I feel like this is the least I could do to thank them."

The prayer vigil is one of nearly two dozen being organized around the country through the Nun Justice Project, a group of Catholic organizations offering support for the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) as it deals with a mandate from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to reform its statutes, programs and affiliations to conform more closely to "the teachings and discipline of the Church."

The weekly vigils, most of which are taking place in front of local cathedrals, are being held every Tuesday through May 29 when LCWR’s officers will meet to discuss their response to the Vatican action.

"This is such an important time to surround women religious with love and support," said Haider-Winnett, who started wearing a button that said "I heart women religious" after learning of the April 18 appointment by the Vatican of a three-bishop panel to oversee LCWR with the power to review and revise the organization’s policies and practices. LCWR represents about 80 percent of the 57,000 sisters in the U.S.

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