In her recent Huff Post interview with Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, Sister Joan Chittister, author and member of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, spoke forcefully about the Vatican crackdown on nuns, with arguments that also addressed the broader issue of doctrinal dissent and how -- indeed, whether -- religions can find a way to accommodate it.
Of the current Vatican crackdown, Sister Joan spoke of a "Daddy knows best" attitude that implies: "Sit down and shut up. We will tell you what to think, we will tell you what to do -- what would a woman know?" Beyond the structural hierarchy of the Catholic Church and the question of Papal infallibility, the issue, according to Sister Joan, concerns a form of fundamentalism about doctrine and belief. As she put it, characterizing the current position: " 'We tell you what to think about scriptures, because you will destroy the sacred word. You won't understand it. You'll destroy it.' "
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