Leaders of some of the congregations of women religious invited to Rome last year for further discussion of the apostolic visitation in the United States told Global Sisters Report they considered their trips constructive and a sign of better relations with Rome.
"The conversation really did feel respectful and gracious," said Sr. Mary McKay, a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet who is on the community's leadership team and made the trip to Rome in October. "They didn't just talk at us. They really listened and asked us if there were other things wanted to talk about. We were all pleased by the experience and felt it was an experience of grace."
The apostolic visitation involved inquiry into approximately 340 female religious institutes in the United States that included some 50,000 women. The Vatican's Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL) launched the investigation in 2008 with the approval of Pope Benedict XVI.
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