The Vatican called it a reform but it's actually a "war against nuns," an unprovoked "crackdown" on the dwindling ranks of America's 55,000-plus religious sisters by a power-hungry pope and his ungrateful bishops. Rather than thanking the aging sisters for their years of service to the oppressed, the patriarchal Catholic power structure is punishing them by putting their chief umbrella organization into receivership. The goal: Force the good sisters to stop focusing so much on the poor and start fixating on the same petty social issues that preoccupy bishops.

Well, at least that's what the wire stories say. Complete with photos of sweet-faced young nuns sporting old-fashioned habits as they kneel in communal prayer, most reports about the doctrinal assessment released...