Justice vigils for LCWR unite the church reform movement

Those wondering what the laity's response to the LCWR crisis might mean for the future of the church justice movement needed only look at the front steps of New York City's St. Patrick's Cathedral on the very warm evening of May 29.

More than 150 people gathered to hold a vigil in honor of women religious. The vigil was part of a movement spearheaded by Nun Justice, which called for peaceful protests at cathedrals throughout the country on three consecutive Tuesdays in the month of May.

LCWR supporters protest outside of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City in May. (NCR photo/Jamie L. Manson)Other vigils were equally successful, but the turnout at St. Patrick's was remarkable for a region that only successfully created a Call to Action chapter in 2011. Although New York is regarded as one of the most forward-looking cities in the United States, its brand of Catholicism has remained remarkably traditional.

Witness, for example, that in Manhattan, tens of thousands still stream through the cathedral on big feast days like Ash Wednesday, and the archbishop of New York is typically something of a local celebrity.

When Archbishop Timothy Dolan was elevated to cardinal in February, local new stations broadcasted the liturgy live from the Vatican. An even greater spectacle could be seen at the construction site of One World Trade Center, where for two weeks in February the tower's white lights were turned "cardinal red" to fete the church's newly anointed prince.

Hearing the crowd make impassioned demands of Dolan just outside the doors of his liturgical domain felt like a strong wind of change on that oppressively humid May evening.

Of course, it's not that the island of Manhattan is devoid of justice-oriented, Vatican II Catholics. For decades, most liberal Catholics could find several parishes where they could be spiritually fed, so there wasn't as strong a need for a formal church reform group.

But in the past few years, the culture of fear has reached even the most prophetic parishes, where allowing women to preach regularly or the public affirmation of LGBT rights was once the norm.

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"Progressive parishes were oases, but the oases are shrinking," said Jeff Stone, director of media relations for DignityUSA and a longtime activist and member of Dignity's New York chapter.

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Justice vigils for LCWR unite the church reform movement