Since Holy Wisdom Monastery is an ecumenical monastery without juridical status in the Roman Catholic Church, it should be clear that neither the liturgy, teaching, or governance at Holy Wisdom Monastery is part of the Catholic Church.
From Holy Wisdom Monastery… for disaffected local Catholics [ View ]
When the sisters disassociated from Rome, Bishop Morlino asked them to no longer celebrate Mass at the site so as not to cause confusion, said Brent King, a diocesan spokesman. “Many people had visited (the monastery) over the years, and the bishop felt it would take time for people to understand that it was no longer a Roman Catholic institution,” King said, adding the bishop “was in no way unfriendly toward their desire to start a non-Catholic ecumenical community.”
From Brother Paul Richards, OSB on Sabbatical [ View ]:
The sisters have several connections to St. John’s including a long friendship with St. John’s University president Father Robert Koopmann, OSB, who spent his sabbatical at Holy Wisdom Monastery and has returned numerous times to give concerts. Brother Paul visited Father Koopmann when he lived at Holy Wisdom Monastery and came to love the rhythm of the day at the monastery, and the Madison area.
According to the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin [ View PDF ]:
Since Holy Wisdom Monastery is an ecumenical monastery without juridical status in the Roman Catholic Church, it should be clear that neither the liturgy, teaching, or governance at Holy Wisdom Monastery is part of the Catholic Church.
From Ecumenical monastery in Wisconsin charts a new way [ View]:
Benedictine Fr. Dan Ward, the canon lawyer who handled legal matters, said the two Catholic nuns “risked a lot”–the risk of the hierarchy saying no, the risk of violating the tradition of the Benedictine order, the risk of misusing the resources they had. He also commended Smith “for the risk she took in sharing in the crazy vision of these women and then joining with them.”
From How to Leave the Church AND Keep the Deed [ View ]:
RCRI is an organization formed by the merger of two religious resource groups sponsored by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and the Conference of Major Superiors of Men. At their National Conference on October 23, participating religious leaders will have the opportunity to attend a workshop called “Going Non-Canonical”. It will be led by the former sister from Wisconsin, Mary David Walgenbach, and Benedictine Father Dan Ward, the canon lawyer who helped the Benedictines of Madison quit the Church.
Webmaster’s Note: Father Dan Ward, a Saint John’s Abbey monk and with multiple allegations of misconduct [ More ], now works in Silver Springs, Maryland.
