Women in Religious Congregations and Politics

Abstract

MUCH ATTENTION has focused in recent years on members of Roman Catholic women's religious communities who have sought and have held public office. Several of these women were asked by the Vatican to resign from office (or to withdraw from the electoral process) because of a perceived conflict between their holding of political office and their membership in a religious community. To many observers the Vatican directives appeared consistent with earlier moves against priests in political office; moreover, they seemed to be in accord with the opinions of John Paul II, who from the earliest days of his pontificate had strongly urged priests (and at times members of religious communities) to abstain from partisan political activity. To a group of priests at Rome, to priests at Puebla, and then in a separate address to women in religious congregations, at Puebla, John Paul had stated: